Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Saturday, shocked many residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, as he was seen riding and stopping to pick passengers.
The onlookers expressed surprise at the former President riding the vehicle.
Obasanjo rode the tricycle popularly called Keke from the premises of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library through Kuto Under Bridge, amidst greetings and jubilation by onlookers along the road.
The ex-President, along the route, stopped and picked a male passenger to demonstrate that riding in the tricycle was safe, if used properly and for people to learn how to start small and grow their craft.
Speaking after returning to the OOPL premises, Obasanjo said he embarked on riding the Keke to demonstrate to the people that there was not nothing bad in riding the Keke and using same for commercial purpose.
Obasanjo said he rode the tricycle as a way to demonstrate safety of the means of transportation.
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He, however, urged the youth to embrace every opportunity with hard work and dedication.
He said his action was fuelled by wrongful societal classification of all keke riders as miscreants and the tendency of young people avoiding the virtue of starting small.
He said when he recently distributed 85 tricycles to young people across the nation, he received some feedback that made riding keke look like an inappropriate gift, even as some wondered if that was the best for young people.
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.”
Obasanjo said he had remained committed to the economic empowerment of young people through initiatives that can generate employment. This is how we can increasingly address unemployment in Nigeria.
