Nollywood actor, model, and singer, Joseph Benjamin has shared a touching story of his struggles in the US.
The movie star narrated how he became a Taxi driver after relocating to the US in 2016.
In an interview with Teju Babyface Oyelakin, he revealed that he drove cabs to pay bills after failed movie gigs.
According to him, he relocated to the US after someone promised him movie gigs, but the individual later disappointed him.
To worsen things, the person instructed him to start paying bills in the house, since he had no money to return to Nigeria. This led him with no choice but to become an Uber driver.
Joseph revealed that he did several odd jobs like working in a cold room in Publix, delivering packages in Amazon trucks, and driving Uber cabs, among others to make ends meet.
He said,
“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 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”.
On how he got the job as an Uber driver, he said, “I got connected to my church. 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.”
