President Bola Tinubu has revealed that he was once slapped by a naval officer for accidentally overcharging him while working as a taxi driver in the United States (US).
In a biography published on the back cover of a national newspaper, Tinubu made the revelation, spreading the story of his humble beginnings.
The biography titled, ‘Tinubu: My Life as Gypsy Cab Driver in the US’, was written by veteran Nigerian journalist, Mike Awoinfa.
According to him, in the story, he worked as an unlicensed taxi driver in Chicago, USA, in charge of picking up passengers from the airport to their destination.
He explained that the driver’s job was to support him financially until he went to school.
He said:
“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 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.”
Elaborating on the incident, the President narrated a naval officer he picked at the airport slapped him for overcharging him as his destination was nearby.
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He again said:
“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.
“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.”
