'Genius' Nigerian artist went viral this year after showing off artwork made within 5 minutes

Brilliant Nigerian street artist paints people within five minutes. In the images below, you can see why he has become a viral sensation.

A Nigerian street artist went viral this week. He caught the eye of Sulayman Abu-Bakr, a programme analyst at National Primary Healthcare Development Agency.

Ahmed, a 44-year-old street artist, stopped Sulayman outside his offices and asked if he could draw his portrait. Sulayman was intrigued and consented.

In under five minutes, Ahmed handed Sulayman the portrait. The image was so well drawn that Sulayman posted a picture of it to Twitter.

Saw this random dude outside my office and he offered to draw me under 5mins. His name is Ahmed. ~ @NupeMufasa

He attached the portrait Ahmed drew and Twitter users were blown away by his talent. The tweet garnered 45,000 likes.

Sulayman went on to explain that Ahmed had lost his wife. He was using donations he made from doing portraits to earn a living.

Sulayman invited Ahmed to his office to see the reaction the tweet was getting. He updated his followers saying, "He’s so happy his work is getting recognised all over… he was so excited. He’s hoping to set up a studio in the near future."

"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 someday." Sulayman tweeted.

He also helped set up a fundraising campaign to send Ahmed to a rehabilitation center. He hopes they will be able to help him find a place to stay, a studio, and materials to practice his craft.

Since the first original post, the brilliant artist has gained massive recognition. Sulayman's boss also decided to pitch in.

He

with Ahmed and pledged to support the cause by helping him be rehabilitated. He also made him the face of the upcoming Africa Vaccination Week.

Nigeria seems to be a hub for brilliant artists. Recently another artist made the news. Four months ago, an 11-year-old with brilliant portrait skills was discovered.

Then in 2017, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, 34, won a so-called MacArthur "genius" grant for her brilliant artworks.