A Chinese travel vlogger’s attempt to sample street food in Nigeria descended into a terrifying gauntlet of extortion after locals repeatedly demanded money, simply because he was a foreigner.
The footage, shared widely this week by commentator Mario Nawfal, shows the popular creator known as 小钟Johnny (Johnny Zhong) being accosted in a busy market. A group of men surround him and insist he pay up. When he asks why, their reply is blunt: “We’re Nigerian, you’re not, so we can take money from you.”
What follows is a grim tour of unofficial checkpoints. Over a stretch of roughly ten kilometres, the traveller says he was stopped more than 20 times and asked for cash again and again. In the video, he can be heard arguing that he is a paying tourist with a valid visa, while locals claim the right to halt him and extract money for standing in a public place or eating local food.
Johnny, a well-known African travel documentarian with millions of followers across Chinese platforms, looks increasingly exasperated as the confrontations pile up. At one point he tells the camera the experience is “disgusting” and that Nigeria “is just like this.”His final verdict is stark: “Don’t come to Nigeria.”
The clip has sparked fresh debate about the treatment of visitors in parts of Africa’s most populous nation. Unofficial roadblocks and “area boys” demanding unofficial fees have long been a complaint from both locals and foreigners, though officials have repeatedly promised crackdowns.
Johnny has spent years living and filming across the continent and has previously documented similar encounters. This latest recirculation of his Nigeria footage, however, has struck a particular nerve, a reminder, for many watching, of how quickly a simple market visit can turn into an expensive and intimidating ordeal.
For now, the vlogger’s advice to would-be tourists remains uncompromising. After more than 20 demands for money in a short distance, he has made up his mind: stay away.
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