Tijani Muhideen, 21, is an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) II student of the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin and also a taxi driver. He shares his experience:

When Tijani Muhideen was spotted recently within the car park premises of Ilorin Airport in Kwara State, his fashionable look gave no clue that he is a taxi driver, at least in the Nigerian context. The young man, in a nice sporting wear and a pair of canvass to match, was mistaken for a sport man, who might be making use of the well cut but fallow open field of the airport for his morning jogging. But when the coordinator of the trip beckoned on him and the duo began to haggle over his charges to take us round the town, one became more inquisitive about the young man and his job.

In his Toyota Camry 2003 model were evidences of studentship such as handout notes which were carefully arranged and placed on the dashboard. Soon, I enquired from him about the city and as expected, his responses confirmed the guess that Muhideen could be a student.

"I am an ND II, Year III student of Kwara State Polytechnic in Ilorin here", Muhideen said in a manner that suggested clear assertiveness. One would wonder why a Year III student could be in ND II, but the guy was quick to add; "I am in ND II because I am a parttime student. While regular students spend two years, we spend three years for the same programme."

According to Muhideen, he chose to study on part-time basis to enable him work in the morning and afternoon time before leaving for class in the evening. According to him, he was 18 when he gained the admission, after he had been driving taxi within the city for more than a year, having finished his secondary school education at Fakunle Comprehensive High School, Osogbo, in Osun State, two years earlier.

"I am from Iragbiji in Osun State. My parents were then in Ilorin where my father was a driver and mother a petty trader. But being the last child of a polygamous family made things a bit hard for me because my father had already retired from active work before I completed my secondary school education. So the old man and his wives relocated to Osogbo and because of that, he could no longer finance my education. Although, all his expectation was that I should step into his shoes, I was more interested in schooling." Muhideen explained.

Meanwhile, Muhideen started driving since age 15, thus after leaving secondary school, the only choice he had was to join his elder brother who had taken over the profession of commercial driving from their father. "Though I had wished to enrol in a higher institution, there was no money and I soon began to drive one of my brother's taxi cabs to make my own money. He really tried and encouraged me lot even when I insisted on going to school," he said.

When Muhideen eventually gained admission to study Public Administration at the Kwara State Polytechnic, his brother according to him surprised him with an offer. He bought a nice looking Toyota car for him, which he is now operating as a rental service. And with the car, the young man for over two years now has become a regular chauffeur to important visitors to Ilorin and tourists. He also conveys whoever that can pay his bill in the metropolis and he does the job passionately while at the same time giving his education a deserved attention.

Asked how he copes with the volume of his academic work and the rigour of commercial driving, Muhideen simply said; "It is no small thing, but once it is about two weeks to my exams, I don''t do any business again but only focus on my studies. Though it affects my performance somehow in exams, I still feel good because even if I graduate today and take employment with any viable organisation, I will still engage in transport service in a big way. So, this will be an advantage to grow my business while still schooling. I believe you cannot eat your cake and still have it. So, I am satisfied with what I have and I hope to further my studies after this first level."

Muhideen said it would be his dream to modernise commercial transport business in Nigeria and possibly remove touting, thuggery, brigandage and all social vices currently associated with the trade. Though, he sees this as a Herculean task, he does not want to believe it is a tall order.