President Bola Tinubu Opens Up on His Time as a Taxi Driver in US

• Nigerian President Bola Tinubu opened up about driving a taxi in the United States as a young man to fund his education
• Tinubu shared the personal revelation in an X post on November 4, 2026, alongside a sweeping update on Nigeria's education reforms
• The president disclosed that he had to delay starting school by several months just to save enough money

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pulled back the curtain on a rarely discussed chapter of his early life, revealing that he once drove a taxi in the United States to raise money for his university education.

In an X post published on November 4, 2026, Tinubu described arriving in America as a young man with little to his name, taking on taxi driving and other jobs just to get by.

He wrote that he even had to put off enrolling in school for several months until he had saved enough to proceed.

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Tinubu's struggles before Chicago

After eventually making his way to Chicago, Tinubu said he juggled multiple jobs to cover tuition and living expenses.

"I know what it means to worry about tuition, accommodation and how to make ends meet while pursuing an education," he wrote in the post.

He added that those formative experiences have never left him.

The president framed the personal disclosure as the foundation for his administration's focus on education.

"I know what education made possible in my own life, and I believe every Nigerian child deserves that same opportunity, regardless of where they are born or what their parents can afford," he said.

Nigeria's education reforms under renewed hope

Tinubu used the post to lay out a detailed account of what his administration claims to have achieved under its Renewed Hope agenda.

He said the Nigeria Education Loan Fund has disbursed over ₦372 billion in student loans to help young Nigerians stay in school.

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The government's technical and vocational education programme has drawn more than 2.8 million applications, and 38 technical colleges have been rehabilitated, with students in federal and select state institutions now benefiting from free school fees, boarding, textbooks and uniforms.

On university stability, Tinubu announced a new agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities providing for a 40% increase in academic staff pay.

He also shared that ₦110 billion is being invested in rehabilitating 24 medical schools, while annual nursing enrolment has jumped from 28,000 to 115,000 and medical and dental enrolment from 5,000 to 12,000.

The president said over one million children who had been out of school have been returned to learning, and that a new national curriculum now includes Nigerian History as a subject.

Tinubu commended Education Minister Dr Tunji Alausa, Minister of State Professor Suwaiba Sa'id Ahmad, and the wider education team for their work, and directed Nigerians to a government portal where an A-to-Z breakdown of the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative has been published.

He also invited citizens to flag problems they encounter on the ground so they can be addressed.

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"The circumstances of a child's birth should never determine the limits of their ambition," he wrote.

The X post below has President Tinubu sharing his story.

Ebola in Nigeria: Opposition questions Tinubu over funds

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that when a confirmed Ebola case emerged in Abuja in October 2026, many Nigerians expected their government to point to a clear plan of action.

What the opposition got instead, they say, was a punchline.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council had called on President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress to provide a full account of the ₦10 billion that the Presidency announced in June 2026 for Ebola emergency preparedness.

Source: YEN.com.gh