Austin Haruna, an Abuja-based Uber driver, who won a car alongside N3.5 million at the wedding of Deola Smart, says diligence in his transport job helped him gain entrance into the VIP event.
Deola, who is the daughter of Smart Adeyemi, the senator
representing Kogi west senatorial district, got married in Abuja to Olusola
Awujoola, a jeweller better known as Malivelihood.
Haruna had won a Lexus car and a
monetary gift of N3.5 million in cash and pledges after a giveaway was staged.
In an interview with TheCable, the Uber driver said he won’t have gained access to the venue of the
wedding event if not for the close relationship he had built with one of his
clients, whom he explained is a Lagos-based bank manager.
Haruna noted that the client had
asked him in when he attempted to wait outside the venue due to his diligent
service.
“I have a client I usually pick.
When he’s in town, I take him around to many activities before he goes back. He
stays in Lagos. He’s a manager with Zenith. The groom is his friend. He was
coming to the wedding,” the driver said.
“So he sent me money and I book a
hotel for him, picked him from the airport and brought him back to the hotel. I
waited for him and took him to the wedding venue. Ordinarily, I shouldn’t be
able to enter that wedding. There’s an IV without which you won’t access the
venue.
“When I dropped him off, I was
about to wait for him in the car but he said “no”. He asked me why I would do
that and requested that I followed him inside. He was of a simple personality
despite his socio-economic class.”
On how he ended up winning the
prize, Haruna said the bride and the groom initiated a giveaway at an
after-party.
“The bride is Smart Adeyemi’s
daughter. This banker was a friend to the groom. That was how I entered. There
were VIPs like the vice president, the senate president, minister of FCT, and
other senators were at the event,” he added.
“After everything, the friends of
the bride and groom wanted to have an after-party. At a point, they said the
groom wanted to do a giveaway. They needed 10 people. I was among those chosen.
“The MC said someone was going
home with a Lexus car but only after we answer questions. Eight failed. The
ninth answered correctly. I was the 10th. I got mine so we were both asked one
more question each. That one failed.”
‘God first, I’ll pay my tithe’ —
Haruna talks how he’ll spend N3.5m gift
On how he would use the funds,
Haruna, who identified himself as a pastor with one Omega Fire Ministries, said
he will pay his tithe. He also said he would help some people “as much as
possible” while investing in his business.
“I’m a businessman but I’m also a
pastor with Omega Fire Ministries. Part of the plan is God first. I will
definitely pay my tithe first after which I will help some persons as much as I
can. I have other business ideas,” he said.
“Apart from Uber driving, I’ve
also been an estate agent before now. I can further invest in adverts to make
people patronize me. The agency work is enough if I’m truly being patronized. I
don’t intend to sell the vehicle.
“It’s going to add to my agent
work. I’m going to be meeting very privileged people. How I appear matters. I’m
also into home interiors for which I do supplies. If a place is for sale at N50
million, the agent fee can be N5m or N2.5m.
“I intend to go into real estate
in the future but I have to start somewhere. If I’m able to fully establish
myself as an estate agent, I might quit driving because one can’t do many
things at a time.
“I’ll encourage everyone out
there. Whatever honest job you find yourself doing, do it well. If I wasn’t
diligent in my Uber work, I wouldn’t meet the man who helped me gain access to
that wedding.”
Haruna said he studied Banking
and Finance at the University of Abuja where he graduated in 2019. He said that
he had started working as a driver with Uber and Bolt, two e-hailing companies,
while schooling at the same time.
“Diligence pays. I’ve been doing
this job. It might not be my dream job but I’ve been doing it well. Most people
I’ve driven can attest to it. That’s why this man was pleased with me. I gave
him the best service in my ability,” he said.
“I’m supposed to go for NYSC,
although the school has been on strike for almost a year now. I’m just a year
past the NYSC age. I don’t know how it will happen. I schooled at the
University of Abuja, studying Banking and Finance.
“Being a student when I started
the job, it wasn’t easy because the university is far from town. I was mandated
to make money for the car owner at the end of the week. They don’t take
excuses. It has been a life of so much effort.”
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