By Ghazali Ibrahim
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has recounted how he worked as a taxi driver in the United States to raise money for his university education, saying he had to postpone starting school for several months to save enough money.
Tinubu disclosed this in a statement shared on his official X account on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, while highlighting his administration’s education reforms and efforts to expand access to higher education in Nigeria.
The President said he took up taxi driving shortly after arriving in the United States as a young man before eventually moving to Chicago, where he worked different jobs to finance his education.
“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.
He added that he continued working different jobs in Chicago to pay his tuition, accommodation and other living expenses while pursuing his university education.
Tinubu said his experience of struggling to finance his education had remained with him, noting that it shaped his belief that every Nigerian child should have access to educational opportunities regardless of their family background or financial circumstances.
The President used his personal experience to explain his administration’s commitment to education, particularly through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
According to him, the scheme has provided more than N372 billion in student loans to cover institutional fees and upkeep, as part of efforts to prevent financial difficulties from forcing students out of school.
He 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.
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 university system.
He further said the government was investing N110 billion in the rehabilitation of 24 medical schools to strengthen medical education and increase the country’s capacity to train healthcare professionals.
The President also disclosed that annual nursing enrolment had increased from 28,000 to 115,000, while medical and dental enrolment had risen from 5,000 to 12,000.
Tinubu maintained that education remained central to his administration’s development agenda, stressing that a child’s background should not determine the limits of their ambitions.
“We have more work to do, and I am determined to see it through,” he said.
