Former national squash champion Moses Olubo completes historic three-continent ride

...Calls for Nigerian embassies, high commissions across the world to become more proactive and responsive

By Maxwell Kumoye 

 

 

Former national squash champion Moses Olubo has completed a historic solo journey across three continents, using an extraordinary endurance feat to raise awareness about mental health and advocate for improved consular support for Nigerians abroad.

Olubo concluded the expedition on Wednesday when he rode into Lagos State from neighbouring Benin Republic, bringing to an end his remarkable journey that began in North America and passed through Europe before reaching Africa.

The expedition, undertaken on a three-wheeled Can-Am Spyder, saw Olubo cover thousands of miles across diverse terrains and extreme weather conditions, including sub-Arctic winds and some of the challenging roads of West Africa.

For the former squash champion, however, the journey was about much more than endurance, adventure and mechanical resilience. 

It was designed as a platform to confront the stigma surrounding mental health, an issue he said was influenced by his family's lived experience.

Olubo described the expedition as a demonstration of how sport, personal determination and purpose can be harnessed to create awareness around issues that affect society.

Beyond mental health advocacy, the journey also exposed what Olubo believes is a worrying gap in emergency consular assistance for citizens travelling or living abroad.

As a dual citizen, he highlighted experiences in which distress calls for information and assistance allegedly went unanswered during high-risk encounters at international borders.

He consequently called for Nigerian embassies and high commissions across the world to become more proactive and responsive to citizens seeking help, particularly in emergency situations.

According to Olubo, diplomatic missions should not only provide routine consular services but must also be prepared to intervene promptly when the safety and welfare of Nigerians abroad are at stake.

The historic ride, he noted, could serve as a valuable reference for future overland adventurers while also demonstrating the possibilities that emerge when sporting endurance is combined with a social cause.

Olubo's completion of the North America-Europe-Africa route therefore represents more than a personal endurance achievement. 

It leaves behind a message of resilience and a call for greater openness around mental health, alongside stronger diplomatic responsibility towards citizens beyond Nigeria's borders.

Through “A Ride for Life,” the former squash champion has transformed a demanding physical adventure into a wider campaign for awareness, human resilience and social change.