Tinubu says he drove taxi in US to pay for university

President Bola Tinubu has said he drove a taxi and took other jobs in the United States to pay his way through university, and that the experience shaped his push to widen access to education at home.

In a post on his X handle on Wednesday, the President said he put off starting school for several months after arriving in the US so he could save enough money, before moving to Chicago.

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

He said every Nigerian child should get the same chance, whatever their background or what their parents can afford.

What the government says it has done

Tinubu used the post to set out his administration's record in education. According to him:

• The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has provided more than ₦372 billion in student loans for school fees and upkeep.
• The technical and vocational education programme has drawn over 2.8 million applications, and 38 technical colleges have been rehabilitated.
• Students in federal and some state technical colleges now get free tuition, boarding, textbooks and uniforms.
• A new agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) provides a 40 per cent rise in academic staff pay.
• ₦110 billion is going into rehabilitating 24 medical schools.
• Annual nursing enrolment has risen from 28,000 to 115,000, and medical and dental enrolment from 5,000 to 12,000.
• More than one million children who were out of school have returned to learning.

NELFUND was set up under a law Tinubu signed in April 2024. It gives interest-free loans to students in public tertiary institutions, with fees paid straight to the schools and upkeep sent to students' accounts. Repayment starts two years after the National Youth Service Corps programme, with 10 per cent of a working beneficiary's salary deducted at source.

The President also said a four-year course should take four years, adding: "Promise made, promise kept."

What happens next

Tinubu asked Nigerians to use a new interactive A–Z platform for the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative, which he said lists government programmes and opportunities for parents, students and teachers. He also urged people to report problems in their communities so the government can fix them.

He praised the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa'id Ahmad, and the wider education team.

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