I drove taxi to fund my education in US – Tinubu

By Ayobami Okerinde President Bola Tinubu has recalled how he worked as a taxi driver and took up other jobs to finance his education in the United States, saying his personal experience has shaped his commitment to expanding educational opportunities for Nigerian children. Tinubu, in a post on his X handle on Wednesday, said he postponed starting school for several months to save enough money before eventually moving to Chicago, where he worked different jobs to pay his way through university.

“When I first arrived in the United States as a young man, I drove a taxi to earn money for my education. I even had to postpone starting school for several months to save enough,” he said. “When I eventually got to Chicago, I worked different jobs to support myself and pay my way through university. I know what it means to worry about tuition, accommodation and how to make ends meet while pursuing an education.” The president said he understood the difficulties of paying tuition and accommodation while pursuing an education, adding that every Nigerian child deserved equal opportunities regardless of their background or their parents’ financial circumstances.

He said education remained a major priority of his administration, citing the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, through which he said over N372 billion had been provided in student loans for institutional fees and upkeep. Tinubu also disclosed that the government’s technical and vocational education programme had attracted more than 2.8 million applications, while 38 technical colleges had been rehabilitated.

According to him, students in federal and selected state technical colleges now benefit from free school fees, boarding, textbooks and uniforms. On university education, Tinubu said his administration had reached a new agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, providing for a 40 per cent increase in academic staff remuneration and measures to improve stability in the country’s universities.

He added that the government was committed to ensuring that students completed their courses within the stipulated period. “A four-year course must take four years. Our young people deserve to complete their education on time and get on with their lives,” he said. Tinubu further said the Federal Government was investing N110 billion in the rehabilitation of 24 medical schools, while annual nursing enrolment had increased from 28,000 to 115,000.

He said enrolment in medical and dental programmes had also risen from 5,000 to 12,000, noting that Nigeria needed to strengthen its capacity to train more healthcare professionals locally. Tinubu added that over one million children who were previously out of school had returned to learning, while his administration was investing in teacher development, expanding educational opportunities for girls and implementing a new national curriculum that restores Nigerian history to classrooms.

Tinubu commended the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, and the entire education team for their efforts in implementing the administration’s reforms. He urged Nigerians to explore the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative through an interactive A–Z platform developed by the education ministry, saying it would provide information on government programmes and opportunities available to parents, students and teachers.

Tinubu also called on Nigerians to report challenges affecting education in their communities, saying feedback would help the government identify and address gaps in the sector. “Our journey from reform to opportunities and shared prosperity must begin with education. “The circumstances of a child’s birth should never determine the limits of their ambition.

Our responsibility is to give every Nigerian child a fair chance to fulfil their potential. “We have more work to do, and I am determined to see it through,” he added.