Adekunle Gold: sickle cell crisis on a flight put him in a wheelchair

Adekunle Gold thought it was bad airport food. It was a sickle cell crisis, and by the time his plane reached Ethiopia he could not walk.

The singer, born Adekunle Kosoko, described the episode in an interview with Eddie Kadi on BBC Radio 1Xtra. The station posted a clip on Instagram on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, and Nigerian outlets including Vanguard and The Sun picked it up on Wednesday, 30 September.

He called it his last major crisis, and said it was not the one he has spoken about from when he was 20. It also left him with a rule he now follows on every flight.

What did Adekunle Gold say about the sickle cell crisis on the plane?

Adekunle Gold said the crisis began as stomach pain and cramping on a flight to Tanzania, with a stop in Ethiopia, and got so bad that the plane almost landed early because of him. According to Vanguard’s account of the interview, he first blamed a meal he had eaten at the airport.

When the flight reached Ethiopia he was taken off in a wheelchair, the first time that had happened to him, and driven to hospital. “I could not even walk,” he said, as quoted by The Sun. The doctor told him his oxygen level was low, that he had not drunk enough water that day, and that he should drink plenty whenever he flies.

For a man who says he is on a plane almost all the time, that matters. He told the show that sickle cell is all about oxygen, and that being up in the air makes it hard.

How did we get here?

Adekunle Gold has been talking about sickle cell in public for four years. The key dates:

• July 2022: he speaks publicly for the first time about living with sickle cell.
• 19 June 2025: on World Sickle Cell Day, his foundation launches 5 Star Care, free health insurance for 1,000 people with sickle cell in Lagos, with the Lagos State Health Management Agency, Premium Times reported.
• 3 October 2025: he releases the album Fuji.
• 20 June 2026: the Adekunle Gold Foundation gives consultations, lab tests and three months of medication to more than 500 people at Akerele Medical Centre, Surulere, according to BellaNaija.
• 29 September 2026: BBC Radio 1Xtra posts the clip of the flight story, near the end of September, which is Sickle Cell Awareness Month in the US.

Why does his sickle cell story matter so much in Nigeria?

Nigeria has more babies born with sickle cell than any other country: over 150,000 a year, according to figures the Adekunle Gold Foundation cited in June 2026. That is why a star of his size describing a crisis in plain words lands differently here.

People are listening. When GistMatrix checked the BBC Radio 1Xtra reel at about 5:35pm WAT on Wednesday, 30 September, it had 9,053 likes and 160 comments. Many came from people sharing their own crises, and one advised him to ask for oxygen on long flights.

What happens next

The full conversation with Eddie Kadi is on BBC Sounds, according to BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Instagram post; whether every episode can be played in Nigeria is not confirmed. On Saturday, 3 October, his album Fuji turns one.

FAQ

Does Adekunle Gold have sickle cell?
Yes. The singer has spoken publicly about living with sickle cell since July 2022, and his foundation runs support programmes for people with the condition in Lagos.

Where did Adekunle Gold have the sickle cell crisis?
On a flight to Tanzania with a stop in Ethiopia. He told BBC Radio 1Xtra he left the plane in Ethiopia in a wheelchair and was taken to hospital.

What is 5 Star Care?
A scheme the Adekunle Gold Foundation launched on 19 June 2025 to give free health insurance to 1,000 people with sickle cell in Lagos State.

Do you or someone close to you live with sickle cell? Share your travel tips in the comments.

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