When you live to a certain age, life seems to get inevitably boring, no matter how wealthy or affluential you are, and you start looking for ways to spice it up.
Former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, seems to have found a new way to do this, as he took to the streets of Abeokuta riding a tricycle in celebration of his 85 birthday.
Baba Iyabo, as he is fondly called, was said to have donated some tricycles, also known as keke colloquially, to Ogun state youths to mark his birthday, and apparently decided to take one for a test run, The Nation reports.
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According to the pictures that surfaced on social media, former President rode a keke from his Pent House residence at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), through Kuto under bridge, amidst greetings and jubilation by shocked onlookers along the road.
The onlookers expressed surprise at the former president riding the keke, a reaction Obasanjo said was fueled by wrongful societal classification of all keke riders as miscreants and the tendency of young people to avoid the virtue of starting a small business.
Along the route, Baba Iyabo stopped to pick up a male passenger to demonstrate that riding in the tricycle is safe, if used properly and for people to learn how to start small and grow their craft.
Speaking after returning to his premises, Obasanjo said he embarked on riding the Keke to demonstrate to the people that there was nothing bad in riding the Keke and using same for commercial purposes.
According to him, he received some negative feedback after he distributed 85 tricycles to youths across the state that made riding keke look like an inappropriate gift, even as some wondered if that was the best for young people. This was apparently what prompted his cosplay act.
Obasanjo said: “There is nothing wrong in young people starting small. The Keke is secure and safe when handled professionally and with discipline. In fact, you can plan your business the way you wish and earn income that you can deploy to other investments. And if you are able to get a second one, you can give that to someone else. So you become self-employed and you have also employed somebody.”
“I have always had a passion for youths, empowerment and employment. When I started establishing farms, do you think I can run the farm alone? The people I employed on the farms, some of them are as educated as Ph.D. level. There are veterinary doctors among them, Agric economists and some people that are well educated. Some of my children have Ph.D.s and are still working with me.
“The other time I checked the people that are working with us directly on. our various establishments, we have over 5,000 and most of them are youths. I have always had a passion for youths because there is no substitute for employment.”
Expressing delight for riding in the tricycle personally driven by Obasanjo, the symbolic passenger, who simply identified himself as Lamidi, said the day will be immemorable in his life.
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House Help Breaks Down In Tears After Her Boss Surprised Her With A Smartphone
Obasanjo wasn’t the only one celebrating his birthday in style, in a video trending on social media, a boss who knows the value of hard work and dedication decided to surprise her house help with a birthday gift in the form of a smartphone.
The touching video, which was uploaded by a Tiktoker, with the user name, tush_alaga Aderonke Coker, saw the house help in tears as she read the loving note which was taped to the package, in which her boss extolled her efforts and the good luck that she brought into the family. The entire family then encouraged her to open it while they sang for her.
