ACTOR Joseph Benjamin, Shares Experience As Taxi Driver In America
Popular Nollywood star, Joseph Benjamin, has explained the motive behind his involvement in taxi driving while in the United States of America (U.S.A).
He made this revelation while appearing on Comedian, Teju Babyface’ podcast, ‘Deep Dive.’
According to Benjamin, he moved to America in 2016 and had to turn to being a taxi driver to make ends meet.
“I got to America on a promise that I had some gigs waiting for me. So I thought I was going to have a soft landing there. I packed up everything from Nigeria, bought a one-way ticket, and came to America.
“I was put in a well-furnished house and all of that. Then two days later, the person who I was supposed to book a deal with said to me, ‘Those our financiers have pulled out. They have an issue.’
“So, I said, what do I do? He was like, ‘From next month on, you will have to start paying rent in this house.’ The amount of the one-month rent was equivalent to a one-year rent in Nigeria.
“I’m like, ‘I’m not earning any money so what do I do?’ I don’t know what to do. So, shot into that life, I had to figure out what to do. I had nowhere to go. Nothing to turn to.
“My phone was buzzing, like, ‘When are you coming back to Nigeria? We have this gig for you.’ $1,500 was all I came to America with. How do I buy a ticket to go back to Nigeria?” Benjamin recounted.
“And then someone gave me a car. I’m like, What do I do with the car? And they said Uber. I was driving for Uber and Lyft to pay my bills.
“I carried a lot of Nigerians, my name on the Uber App was Joseph. The moment they get in or three minutes into the journey, they know I’m the one.
“One woman even had to call her husband, and she ended up taking pictures with me. I even had some people say to me ‘Boss you will make it,” Benjamin explained.
The actor’s revelation comes as no surprise seeing as many Nigerians move to the U.S in search for greener pastures but end up doing menial jobs as a form of livelihood in place of their dream jobs.
