One Man Is Drawing People in Under Five Minutes
This Street Artist Is Blowing People Away With His Five Minute Portraits
By Aimee LutkinUpdated Nov. 18 2019, 2:38 p.m. ET
What could you do with five minutes? If you're anything like me, not terribly much. See, I always end up overthinking everything (including this sentence I'm writing) and so nothing ever takes me less than 10 minutes, but 20 minutes if I'm being really honest.
Twitter user Sulayman Abu-bakr lives in Nigeria, and was outside his office one day when he was approached by a man who claimed he could draw his portrait in under five minutes. Am he actually did it:
Saw this random dude outside my office and he offered to draw me under 5mins.
His name is Ahmed. pic.twitter.com/hCiZQnmKIW
Abu-bakr shared the images on Twitter, along with a photo of the artist, and it's pretty amazing:
People who know Abu-bakr must think it's a pretty excellent likeness because they couldn't believe how good it was:
Did you say 5mins????? This guy is a great talent that need to be promoted. May his hustle be rewarded.
— Koleosho Muhydeen (@dudyemi) March 7, 2018He got the talent!
— Edward Obi-Akpere 🇳🇬 (@Obiakpere) March 11, 2018No way he did that in 5 minutes. No I won’t believe it. It’s too good! pic.twitter.com/uYmJUKa74Z
— Olivia (@Okiedokie_Liv) March 10, 2018Then it turned out that a lot of people had encountered this artist, and his incredible talent:
I know him real well, I have met him in Wuse Zone 1 and Portharcourt crescent. He has taken several people around me. He is good but needs support to maximise his potentials
— Ogunjimi Babajide (@fjiwad) March 11, 2018Seen him around once. Doing what he does best.
— Muhammad Ali (@deebeejal) March 11, 2018I am a witness, he has done such severally in my presence. He is just a talent.
— Ogunjimi Babajide (@fjiwad) March 11, 2018And quite a few got their portrait done:
He's very talented. He did one of my brother the other day. #WeAreNigerianCreatives pic.twitter.com/2StZdQ58Tl
— Blessing 🍅 (@Asmau_Zurmi) March 7, 2018I have met him too. Had to give him the last 1k I had on me that day pic.twitter.com/RjnrioCV7u
— Blakk Zaar (@IAmZaar) March 8, 2018I met him too at Downtown, Abuja. pic.twitter.com/xuPgWuI7vn
— Bello Sayyadi (@Bellosayyadi) March 8, 2018He is really talented, sketched @mstphly pic.twitter.com/amVyAMef2m
— Faisal (@mr_phaisal) March 7, 2018Drew my dad too. He couldn’t stop talking about it that night pic.twitter.com/XpjQxuz0OU
— eoo (@ehikowoicho_) March 8, 2018Met him in 2015, he drew about 6 people in my office. He’s a Genius pic.twitter.com/5YYkwBmoSw
— Ahmed S B (@Ahmedsaleem) March 8, 2018Iv met him too and I was amazed pic.twitter.com/N0rpbDiqnS
— Hadiza Abubakar Umar (@Matansarki1) March 7, 2018After seeing the response, Abu-bakr went back and looked for the artist and found him. His name is Ahmed Sulaiman, and he is currently squatting with some friends in Abuja. Abu-bakr showed Sulaiman how the tweet about him had gone viral and all the comments supporting his work. You can see the delight and wonder in his face as he reads the praise of his talent:
For those interested; @abikedabiri @AfroVII @Nobsdaslushhkid I invited him back to the office today to hear his story and I showed him your comments.
His wife is late, he has a family in Kaduna but squatting with a friend in Abuja and he would like to own a studio some day. pic.twitter.com/CjXs6KVJWq
— Sulayman Abu-bakr (@NupeMufasa) March 9, 2018Sulaiman's wife passed away recently—they met in a clinic that treats drug addiction. He is still struggling with his addiction and would like to receive treatment, but hasn't been able to raise enough cash. Abu-bakr introduced Sulaiman to his boss, who he drew a portrait of, of course:
This is breathtaking @AhmedArtistNGA .. You can tell how amazed @drfaisalshuaib is. pic.twitter.com/FusWvhfagp
— Sulayman Abu-bakr (@NupeMufasa) March 10, 2018His boss was so impressed, he offered to help Sulaiman with his recovery:
Update: Earlier today, @AhmedArtistNGA met with my boss ED/CEO @NphcdaNG @drfaisalshuaib and he pledged to support the cause by helping with rehabilitation & making him the face of the upcoming Africa Vaccination Week. pic.twitter.com/blXUGEXnzF
— Sulayman Abu-bakr (@NupeMufasa) March 10, 2018Abu-bakr also started a GoFundMe page for Sulaiman to help finish paying for treatment and to get him started in his own studio.
Please help Ahmed Sulaiman get a second chance at life https://t.co/Nqp4ZxDDkR
— Sulayman Abu-bakr (@NupeMufasa) March 9, 2018I am really encouraged by the response to Ahmed the Rapid Portraitist. There are good people everywhere. Don't give in to cynicism. May God bless @NupeMufasa for his efforts for a stranger.
— T. Rankïn' ∆ (@AfroVII) March 9, 2018Who knows what Ahmed Sulaiman can do if he has longer than five minutes?
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