Tinubu says taxi work funded his US study

President Bola Tinubu in Abuja in November 2024. File photograph. Russell Watkins / Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, via Wikimedia Commons; cropped, CC BY 2.0.

President Bola Tinubu has linked his approach to education funding to the financial difficulties he experienced while studying in the United States, saying he drove a taxi and worked other jobs to meet his expenses.

In a post on X on Wednesday, 4 November, the President discussed his time abroad alongside his administration’s student loan programme, school access initiatives and spending on medical education.

He said the experience of supporting himself through university informed his determination to widen educational opportunities for Nigerians whose families could not afford the costs.

“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.

“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.

“Those experiences have stayed with me. 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,” the President said.

Tinubu cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as one of the government’s interventions to help students meet the cost of tertiary education. He also addressed the time students spend completing their degree programmes.

“Through NELFUND, we have provided over ₦372 billion in student loans for institutional fees and upkeep, helping young Nigerians remain in school and pursue their education.

“A four-year course must take four years. Our young people deserve to complete their education on time and get on with their lives. Promise made, promise kept.”

On the training of healthcare workers, the President outlined a ₦110 billion rehabilitation programme covering 24 medical schools.

He said annual nursing enrolment had risen from 28,000 to 115,000, while the annual intake for medical and dental programmes had increased from 5,000 to 12,000.

“Nigeria needs more doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, and we must build the capacity to train them here at home,” Mr Tinubu added.

The President also reported that more than one million children who had previously been outside the school system had resumed learning. He listed teacher development and wider educational opportunities for girls among the government’s priorities.

Discussing changes to the national curriculum, Tinubu said the government was restoring Nigerian History to classroom teaching.

“Our children must know where we have come from, understand the country they belong to, and be prepared to take responsibility for its future,” the President added.

NELFUND provides interest-free loans to eligible students in public tertiary institutions, covering institutional charges and living expenses. The scheme pays approved institutional fees to participating institutions and transfers upkeep allowances to beneficiaries’ accounts.

Under the fund’s published repayment terms, beneficiaries who undertake the National Youth Service Corps programme begin repayment two years after completing their service. Employers deduct 10 per cent of an employed beneficiary’s monthly salary at source.

The fund links repayment to employment or income. Its guidance requires self-employed beneficiaries to remit 10 per cent of their monthly profit and provides a process through which unemployed borrowers can seek an extension.

Tinubu invited Nigerians to examine the programmes on the education portal, edu4pbat.ng, which presents an A–Z account of the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative. He asked parents, students and teachers to identify opportunities relevant to them and report problems affecting education in their communities.