President Bola Tinubu says a naval officer once slapped him
for overcharging him unintentionally when he was a taxi driver in the United
States.
The president made this known as his shared stories of humble
beginning in a biography published on the back page of a national daily.
The biography titled, ‘Tinubu: My life as gypsy cab driver
in the US’, was authored by Nigeria’s seasoned journalist, Mike Awoyinfa.
According to Tinubu, in the story, he worked as an
unlicensed taxi driver in Chicago, the US 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.
“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.
“As a cab driver, one experience I will never forget was
when I over-charged a naval officer who was returning to the country. It was
not intentional,” Tinubu said.
“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.”
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