Tinubu: Even as brilliant student, I was security guard in U.S.

President Bola Tinubu says he was a security guard in the United States even as a brilliant student in the country.

Tinubu said he was also a teacher in school, noting that he was trained by one of the biggest accounting firms in the world.

He stated that he “started small” in life, saying a good education helped him to become Nigeria’s president.

The president said these during a meeting with Nigerians in India on Thursday, September 7, 2023.

Speaking at the meeting which was attended by several Nigerian students studying in India, President Tinubu stated that he was once a security guard before getting employment at Deloitte and Exxon Mobil.

He said with dedication, honesty, determination, and a change of mindset, the Nigerian students in India can reach for the top in their respective careers.

Tinubu said: “Good education brought me here and I am happy to stand before you here as the President of Nigeria. I started small. I was a security guard. I was tutor in school. I was a brilliant student. I joined Deloitte and was trained by one of the biggest accounting firms in the world, because of my education.

“When I joined them, I asked them, do you have branches in Nigeria and they said, ‘we have a lot of clients that will take you, if you want to go home.’ That’s how I got to Exxon Mobil and was a very successful accountant, auditor-general, and treasurer until I joined politics with a can-do attitude.

“You can also do it; do not be despondent in any way. Nigeria is ready to accommodate all. It does not matter which part of Nigeria you are from.”

The president called on Nigerians to harness the country’s rich diversity as a uniquely powerful tool for advancing prosperity and national development for the benefit of all citizens, stressing that the country’s diversity must be leveraged to drive economic growth, innovation, and social progress.

President Tinubu, according to a statement issued by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, added that he vied for the presidency because of the fact that, despite the great human and natural resource wealth of the nation, the leadership and public sector management deficit in the country held Nigeria back from manifest destiny.

“We are not poor in knowledge. We are not poor in human resources. We are only poor in management and leadership, and that is why I ran for president, to help all of us mould the soul of our country in the right direction,” Tinubu said.

Also speaking, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, said Tinubu’s foreign policy thrust included four Ds, with one of them being Diaspora, which focuses on improving the quality of services that Nigerians in the Diaspora receive at Nigerian Missions abroad.

Tuggar said: “The issue of passport delays will be a thing of the past. You won’t have to wait indefinitely for your passports to be ready.

“Secondly, you are the first point of contact between Nigerians and other countries. We can’t grow beyond what our people project. That is why it is very important for you to project a consistently positive image of Nigeria online and offline.”

On his part, billionaire businessman, Tony Elumelu, stated that Nigeria was the best place to invest, saying a bet on Nigerians is one of the best bets anyone can ever make, citing Nigerian success in all countries of the world.

“We believe in Africa, but especially in Nigeria. An investment in Nigeria promises a return that is scarcely found anywhere in the world and I do business across several continents,” Elumelu said.

The Star

Segun Ojo