- Safiu Kehinde
Popular Nigerian car dealer and CEO of Sarkin Mota, Aliyu Mohammad, has clarified his derogatory remark against government workers as he revealed that his parents are civil servants.
NPO Reported that the car dealer had attracted the attention of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) following a promotional video where he claimed civil servants cannot afford his cars.
The NOA, in a letter dated 20th of May, accused Sarkin Mota of ridiculing Nigerian civil servants in an effort to promote his car.
The agency condemned the video be a civil servant while emphasising on the role and impact of civil servants in Nigeria.
Reacting to the development in an interview on Channels TV on Wednesday, Aliyu, commended the NOA for the action while stating that humour was misinterpreted.
“I appreciate the feedback from the NOA. I understand their role in upholding public standards… I am very positive about civil servants. To prove that I have given them a lot of deals such as insurance, warranty, and cars on loan. Perhaps, my humour was misinterpreted but I love and respect civil servants.” He said.
As against claims that he was privileged the car dealer recounted his struggle while disclosing that his parents were also civil servants.
“About the privilege, I would like to clearly state that since when I started my business way back in 2019, nobody has given me a dime, and I started my business without anybody’s dime.
“You know I started with something we call Dan Zabu which means somebody that goes out and look for customers for other people’s car, they give you N50,000, N100,000, N150, N200. That was how I gathered money and brought my first car, Peugeot 307. The car almost killed me.
“We continued from there. I kept on hustling. I was very consistent and determined and I am where I am today. In terms of privilege, I did not have any privilege.
“I will shock you that both of my parents are actually civil servants. So, there is no privilege there. Sometimes, I get into their trouble when they see my videos.” He said.
While reiterating that he was not raised with privilege, Aliyu expressed his love and respect for civil servants, adding that his goal is to ensure they all become car owners.
“There was no privilege. To all civil servants who are watching this, I want to clearly state that my intentions are very positive. I love you people more than you actually love me. My goal is to ensure that all of you are car owners.” He added.