Related story: 70-year-old Cross Sahara Desert (I)

In the previous edition, we got to know Dr. Jibunoh, a 70-year-old Nigerian who plans to drive across the Sahara Desert. This time, we will continue with our story about this unusual person. He recalls his first two Sahara experiences, as he told our correspondent in Lagos Wei Xiangnan about the beauty and the horror of the desert.

Reporter:

Dr. Jibunoh's life is quite a legendary one. His parents died when he was at an early age. He grew up with his only sister. As an ambitious young man, he went to London to pursue graduate studies and obtained a degree in engineering. From there, he started his first trip across the Sahara desert. The time was in the 1960s and he was 28.

"I still recall what is today's global world started in the 60s, with civil right movement, with women liberation, with independence of so many African states, with trial and imprisonment of Nelson Mandela. All those things happened in the 60s, and I didn't want to be outside of the movements. When I finished my studies, I decided to do something that made me part of that era. So I decided to drive my car from London across Europe, across Mediterranean, across Sahara desert to Nigeria. It took me two months. And I must be the first person ever to attempt such a feat."

That was the first time when Dr. Jibunoh was exposed to the Sahara Desert. Although well prepared, when he really got there, he did not feel fully ready for the sea of sand.

"The Sand, sand, sand and sand. Not only the sand, but the beauty and horror. I mean in the morning and evening, it was such a beautiful scenery, such a beautiful climate, but in the afternoon, it was such a horrible, 150 degrees. And sand blowing and encroachment. The mirage. The things you hear that don't exist. The things you see that unimaginable. It was such a scenery that I don't have any word to describe it."

Apart from the natural hardships, he had to guard against possible attacks from bandits. He had so many near-death situations that he thought he would never be able to go back to Nigeria alive. So after returning home after two months, he could not recover for weeks from the excitement that he had managed to achieve the impossible.

And right after the first expedition, Dr. Jibunoh started his career as an engineer and at the same time he also started his campaign against desert encroachment. He went to Israel to study desertification prevention and he founded an organization called "Fight Against Desert Encroachment" to educate people about environmental protection.

In 2000, in his 60s, he started his second trip across the Sahara Desert in an effort to refresh his memory.

"The desert has got bigger and bigger. More lands have been taken, that was the part that frightens me."

Now in the third expedition, he aims to call on more people to participate in his cause. His wife and life-long supporter of his career, Elizabeth Jibunoh believes more people will come in.

"It is obviously emotional for me each time he plans this journey of this nature. It is a normal thing husband is traveling, wife feels lonely. I do feel lonely. I do feel worried as well. He is no longer as young as he used to be. The very first trip he was in his youth. He was strong. So when he told me he was going to drive from Lagos to London, I was a bit apprehensive. But then I need to get behind emotion and look at reason why he is doing what he is doing. And it is the reason that I tap into that give me the strength and courage to give my full support. He is ahead of his time. With this trip, there will be more participation, there will be more people willing to come. They have six in his team this time around. I see this trip growing. There will certainly be another one very soon."

We see this team growing too. Dr. Jibunoh no longer needs to go through the desert alone. At the send-off ceremony of his team, I saw big smiles on his face. It tells me the baton has been handed over. We believe as more and more people join, the Sahara Desert will be replaced by the oasis.

Wei Xiangnan, for BB, Lagos

The desert warriors are now on their way. Let's wish them good luck and enjoy the stunning natural beauty of the Sahara Desert with these pictures sent by mission correspondent Ebun Olatoye.

Camping out in Mopti, Mali. Photo by Kelechi Amadi. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]