The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has defended her recent remarks urging low-income citizens to engage in micro-businesses, such as frying akara, roasting corn, or producing kuli-kuli.
The initial comments, delivered to journalists in Abuja on Thursday, June 25, sparked widespread public backlash. Critics argued that promoting low-yield, traditional petty trading is regressive at a time when global economies are transitioning toward technology-driven industries.
Addressing the controversy during an official event in Jigawa State on Monday, June 29, the First Lady dismissed the criticisms, emphasizing that the federal government remains committed to supporting grassroots commerce. She noted that national empowerment initiatives regularly target small-scale vendors, including those selling tomatoes, pepper, vegetables, and roasted plantains.
To support her stance, Tinubu disclosed that the government has distributed ₦100 million in financial grants so far. Under this scheme, approximately 2,000 petty traders have received ₦50,000 each to recapitalize and expand their businesses.
“ I’ve told Her Excellency that we’ve already given, donated about 100 million to her to use to empower 2,000 petty traders. And I know they’ve been talking that I said akara. It’s not only akara, we also have tomato sellers. We have boole, and those also selling pepper, selling vegetables for us in the market.
We will continue to empower them and add to their resources so that their trade can really be sustainable. So that is what we are doing,” she said.
She maintained that the criticism trailing her earlier remarks would not deter the government from its empowerment programmes.
“I know all those people who are affected; they do appreciate it. And we are not intimidated by all those wrong reports. But we are forging ahead and making sure that our people, you know, are well cared for” she said
Mrs Tinubu prayed that Nigerian youths explore other opportunities around them to empower themselves economically.
“Nigeria is a really blessed country. I’ve been travelling, and I pray that our young people will see the resources we have in this nation. We have not even gone to explore yet because we are thinking it’s oil. But there are so many things” she said