Vice president Yemi Osinbajo shares inspiring story of how a Junior typist he helped years ago bought him a car

The vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, has narrated how he got a car gift from a typist he knew as a young lecturer at the University of Lagos.

The vice president on his official Facebook account encouraged young Nigerians to remain diligent and devoted to whatever handiwork they find themselves doing.

Sharing his story, Osinbajo said turning 60 this year was one of the greatest surprises he has ever experienced in his lifetime.

He said: “While I was teaching at the University of Lagos, as a young lecturer, in the department of Public Law in the Faculty of Law, there were three typists in the department.

The chief typist, senior typist, and the junior typist. Because in those days before laptops and personal computers, typists in universities had to do a lot of work and they were very important because you always needed to type all your materials.

When there was work to do, what l discovered was that the chief typist would disappear. He works only till 4 pm.The senior typist would be nowhere to be found. But a gentleman called Adereni the junior typist, who only had his school certificate, was remarkably hardworking. Sometimes I would drop him off at his home at 1 am.

Years after I was working as an adviser to the then Attorney-General of the Federation Hon. Bola Ajibola, who later became a judge of the World Court. While in the court at The Hague, in the Netherlands, one day he called me and asked if I could recommend a good secretary who is hard working and could do long judgments,” Osinbajo said.

The vice president noted that when the job offer for a typist came, he had three options – the chief typist, senior or this junior typist.

He, however, said the junior typist at a time had was not well qualified like the others.

Osinbajo said: “I had three options, chief typist, senior or this junior typist, but the junior typist at a time had only school certificate, he didn’t have any other qualification but l choose him.

“He got to the Hague, and typically worked hard and diligently. Every judge in the court wanted him to work with them. He later moved his family over to the Hague and got degrees and made a good living for himself. One day he remembered me and actually sent me a car,” Osinbajo concluded.