Reinventing the wheel with a Nigerian kids' unicycle coach

The teenager has been cycling on the one-wheeled vehicle for four years, learning the skill at a dedicated school, the GKB - or "God Knows Best" - Unicycle Academy, in Nigeria's commercial capital.

"People don't actually do it very much so it looks new to people when they see it with us," Oguntokun said at an after-school practice session, where pupils learned how to ride in unison, holding hands and twirling around each other.

A performance skill rarely seen on the streets of the west African country, Olalekan Kuyoro founded the academy in 2014 and has trained more than 40 children since.

After failing to get into university, Kuyoro learned to unicycle in 2012, soon deciding to full-time teach children rather than adults, saying they picked it up faster.

"I started with ... a 7-year-old boy and I was amazed that (it) took me a month to ride and a 7-year-old boy could just do it easily," the 29-year-old said.

The self-funded school, which holds classes in Kuyoro's driveway, trains children aged seven to 15, teaching them juggling, skipping and other tricks on unicycles. It has 18 unicycles, each costing 7,000 naira ($23) and requiring regular maintenance.

Pupils put on paid performances at events and carnivals and also impromptu shows at market venues when in need of urgent funds for costumes, unicycles and sometimes, food.

They take home money from their performances, Kuyoro said, and also show off their skills in Instagram posts, where the school's account has more than 16,000 followers.