First Lady Remi Tinubu says start akara business no cost plenty money and Nigerians are not happy

Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the First Lady of Nigeria, released a video earlier this week where she advised young Nigerians to start small businesses like selling akara, kulikuli, and roasted corn to survive the economic hardship. She specifically said, and I quote, "To start akara business no cost plenty money." The video has since gone viral and Nigerians are genuinely angry, not because the advice is wrong in theory, but because of the timing and the tone.

Here is the thing. The First Lady is not wrong that small businesses like akara selling require relatively low startup capital. In a normal economy, that would be practical advice. But we are not in a normal economy. A tuber of yam now costs N3,000. A measure of rice is N4,500. Transport to buy beans and palm oil has doubled in the last year alone. Telling someone who cannot afford a meal to start selling akara feels like a deliberate insult. It completely ignores the structural collapse that has made even petty trading unprofitable for millions.

What bothers me most is the disconnect. The First Lady lives in Aso Rock, travels in convoys, and has access to state resources. For her to stand in front of a camera and tell struggling Nigerians that their problem is not lack of capital but lack of initiative is tone-deaf at best and cruel at worst. If the government wants to promote small businesses, then provide the credit, the infrastructure, the security, and the market access. Do not just record a video. Am I the only one tired of this kind of poverty-shaming advice from people who have never had to count kobo to survive?