President Bola Tinubu shared some parts of his humble beginnings, revealing that he once worked as a taxi driver in the United States and even experienced being slapped by a naval officer for unintentionally overcharging him.
INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the President’s experiences were published in a biography titled ‘Tinubu: My life as gypsy cab driver in the US’, written by seasoned journalist, Mike Awoyinfa and featured on the back page of a national daily.
According to the President, in the story, he worked as an unlicensed taxi driver in Chicago, picking passengers from the airport to their destinations.
The president said the driving job was embarked on in order to sustain him financially before he went to school.
He narrated, “We got an unregistered used car commonly called Gypsy, which we ran as a taxi. We operated at the airport where we picked passengers, and not anywhere else, like the hotel because it was forbidden for unlicensed cab drivers to do so.
“We did that for a while to raise some money. Bolaji went to Tennessee, while I headed for Chicago.
“I was supposed to have started schooling in April. I deferred it till September in order to have more money. Immediately I got to Chicago, I went straight to Richard Daley College. It was very interesting.
READ MORE: “Nigerians Please Relax”— Okonjo-Iweala Gives Reason For Not Posting Tinubu
“I was able to pay for my apartment and tuition fees at Chicago State University. I supplemented that by doing different menial jobs like door guard and security man.”
Speaking further about the incident, he said the naval officer he picked at the airport slapped him because he overcharged him, as his destination was nearby.
“Apparently, I didn’t know the direction. There was no GPRS in those days to locate directions. So, he gave me the direction to his house in a Virginia suburb.
“I gave him the price and the man responded with a slap to my face. He said I should know the correct price to charge to the location he mentioned. He slapped me and gave me the money.”
