President Bola Tinubu claims that while working as a taxi driver in the United States, a military officer once spanked him for accidentally overcharging the man.
In a biography that was printed on the back page of a major newspaper, the president made this public as one of his shared tales of modest beginnings.
‘Tinubu: My life as a Gypsy taxi driver in the US’ is the title of the biography written by Nigerian veteran writer Mike Awoyinfa.
According to Tinubu, the character in the narrative drove passengers to their destinations from the airport as an illegal taxi driver in Chicago, United States.
The president claimed that he started working as a driver to support himself financially before starting school.
“We got an unregistered used car commonly known as Gypsy,” he narrated.
“We got an unregistered used car commonly known as a Gypsy, which we ran as a taxi,” he told. Since it was against the law for unlicensed cab drivers to operate anywhere, such as a hotel, we only picked up clients at the airport.
“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.”
In addition, he said that the naval commander he chose at the airport slapped him because he overpaid him despite the fact that his destination was close by.
“As a cabbie, I once overcharged a returning navy officer, and that is an event I will never forget. “It wasn’t done on purpose,” Tinubu claimed.
“Apparently, I didn’t know where I was going. Back then, there was no GPRS to find directions. He then told me the address to his home in a suburb of Virginia.
“I paid him the cost, and the man slapped me in return. He advised me to be aware of the appropriate charge for the site he suggested. He spanked me and handed me the cash.
