₦airaland Forum

emkz:
People are shouting about small and medium enterprises.

Does akara, kulikuli and corn not fall in this category?

One thing is that no matter how bad the condition, people must eat. Go to several countries, and you will be amazed at how well people live from small business. See this picture, his name is Brad Ribar. He is referred to as corn king and runs a successful corn stand at state fairs in Minnesota.

In Nigeria, we are too quick to attack.

Elusive001:
See data boys ooooo

Una go explain tire.

Like say the data boys wey comment up there don get their own grant for the akara, kwuli-kwuli and roasted corn. Madridguy, Naptu2 and co, I see una. Make una enjoy

BATified2023:
u don't watch it but u can comment on it?


That shows your level of reasoning

naptu2:
No, according to you Obi is now the yardstick for measuring mediocrity.

kernniejay:
I will reserve my comment because you are one of the people I like on this Nairaland platform.

malali:
Even if you give someone 50k Naira, It doesn't give you the right to insult them or make backhanded comments, she should apologize instead of doubling down with paid damage control media posts all over social media.

Remi Tinubu’s “advice” that Nigerian women should go and fry akara, sell roasted corn, and hawk kulikuli to survive is not just tone-deaf, it is a disgusting display of elitist detachment from the hell millions of Nigerians are living in.

This is a woman whose family lives in obscene luxury, shielded by state resources, while the masses she lectures are drowning in inflation, unemployment, and hunger caused in part by the very policies her husband champions. Telling struggling families to “go and sell akara” as a serious economic solution is not wisdom, it is mockery. Akara and kulikuli cannot pay rent. They cannot buy school books. They cannot cover hospital bills in a country where one malaria episode can wipe out a month’s earnings.

This is the height of arrogance from a First Family that has turned Nigeria into a brutal emerging caste system: them at the top in private jets and bulletproof luxury, while the rest are expected to accept petty trading as their eternal destiny. And the worst part? The sycophants standing behind her, nodding vigorously like broken puppets, clapping for crumbs. Prosperity will judge all of you. Your own children will one day sell akara and roasted corn on the streets. Your daughters will hawk kulikuli under the sun while the children of the powerful study abroad and inherit empires.

This is not leadership. This is class warfare disguised as advice. The Tinubus are not building a country, they are entrenching a new feudal order where the poor must remain grateful for crumbs while the ruling class feasts. History will remember this moment as one of the most insulting utterances ever made by a First Lady to a suffering nation.

malali:
Even if you give someone 50k Naira, It doesn't give you the right to insult them or make backhanded comments, she should apologize instead of doubling down with paid damage control media posts all over social media.

Remi Tinubu’s “advice” that Nigerian women should go and fry akara, sell roasted corn, and hawk kulikuli to survive is not just tone-deaf, it is a disgusting display of elitist detachment from the hell millions of Nigerians are living in.

This is a woman whose family lives in obscene luxury, shielded by state resources, while the masses she lectures are drowning in inflation, unemployment, and hunger caused in part by the very policies her husband champions. Telling struggling families to “go and sell akara” as a serious economic solution is not wisdom, it is mockery. Akara and kulikuli cannot pay rent. They cannot buy school books. They cannot cover hospital bills in a country where one malaria episode can wipe out a month’s earnings.

This is the height of arrogance from a First Family that has turned Nigeria into a brutal emerging caste system: them at the top in private jets and bulletproof luxury, while the rest are expected to accept petty trading as their eternal destiny. And the worst part? The sycophants standing behind her, nodding vigorously like broken puppets, clapping for crumbs. Prosperity will judge all of you. Your own children will one day sell akara and roasted corn on the streets. Your daughters will hawk kulikuli under the sun while the children of the powerful study abroad and inherit empires.

This is not leadership. This is class warfare disguised as advice. The Tinubus are not building a country, they are entrenching a new feudal order where the poor must remain grateful for crumbs while the ruling class feasts. History will remember this moment as one of the most insulting utterances ever made by a First Lady to a suffering nation.

SixSeven:
Sir, if this advice is so excellent, let the government launch an empowerment scheme where the children of APC chieftains take the lead in frying Akara on the streets. If it isn't good enough for your children, do not get angry when other people's children reject it. True leadership leads by example. Until we see the children of APC chieftains roasting corn on the streets of Abuja after graduating from UK universities, nobody should preach petty trade to other people's children.


Why did they start with cars for the women leaders last week? 🤡

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7647286952948944136


If this advice is so filled with wisdom, why are politicians' children being appointed into secure NNPC and CBN roles while everyone else's children are being handed a frying pan? If frying Akara is such a lucrative blueprint for economic recovery, let's see the government allocate the next round of CBN grants to the children of the poor to set up roadside akara stands.

In 2011, Mrs Tinubu sponsored the National Social Security Agency Bill to build institutional government safety nets and provide formal monthly stipends for unemployed graduates. In 2026, instead of advocating for systemic social security or institutional economic safety nets from the government, she is telling citizens to rely on roadside survivalist trading to get by.

There is the informal sector, there is the formal sector. Mrs Tinubu is being clever by half by suggesting this to people and don't give us that manure of the wisdom behind words. What you can't do with your own child, don't do it to others. For a former Senator not to know that there are specific institutions to do what she is talking about, I now forgive Aisha Buhari who channeled her frustration to the right quarters. Madam, there are budget allocations for these things. It means you are not on top of your game if you have to fund the country with your charity when there is a government. Shame again. When a First Lady operates a private non-governmental organization (NGO) from the Presidential Villa, it almost always triggers public suspicion regarding accountability, funding, and the abuse of power. She stated that the Renewed Hope Initiative would initially be funded using unspent money from the 2023 APC presidential campaign purse. Can you see why this is a meddlesome affair? The governing board of her "charity" does not consist of independent humanitarian experts. Instead, it features the Wife of the Vice President, the Wife of the Senate President, and the APC National Women Leader. Please sell us another story.

naptu2:
Mrs Tinubu was referring to the people that she gave grants of ₦50,000 each, not to you






Shehu Sani, Desmond Elliot, Muhammadu Buhari, Yemi Osinbajo and Oluremi Tinubu, Peter Obi.

I do not seek fame because being famous would mean that you have to deal with the opinions of many stupid people.

I know somebody who belongs to a charitable organisation. Many years ago I came across her while she was writing a letter to one of their partners. There were several interesting things in her letter and she took the time to explain them to me.

In the letter she referred to the people that she was helping as, "My master". She explained that this was what they did in her organisation so that they would put the beneficiaries first. It would prevent them from looking down on the beneficiaries and it would force them to respect the beneficiaries.

There was another thing she said that I was already familiar with. That thing is the subject of this post.

She said that they don't act like they have all the answers and they don't act like they know all. Instead they ask the beneficiaries what they need and that determines the assistance that they give them.


Surprisingly this is something that many Nigerians cannot understand.

Forgotten example

This was on my mind when something happened years ago. Unfortunately I can no longer remember who it was and exactly what he donated, but this story might trigger someone's memory and the person might remind me of the details.

There was a serious uproar on Nigerian internet. What happened? A man had donated somethings to a community and the whole of Nigeria was condemning him.

I can't remember exactly what it was, but it was something like wheelbarrows (let's assume that it was wheelbarrows).

Nigerians were livid. "How can you donate wheelbarrows to people? What do you want them to use it for? Would you give wheelbarrows to your children? You want to turn them to labourers? We are in the ICT age and he could have donated things that would take people out of poverty, yet he is donating wheelbarrows to keep them in poverty".

There were all kinds of very loud, angry and st up id reactions. The photos went viral and the reactions were so loud that they got to the donor and so he made an explanation.

I can't remember for certain, but I think I created the thread about the donor's explanation.

The donor explained that he had been donating things to communities for decades and that he has learnt a lot from the practice. One of the things that he learnt was that he shouldn't just go and give the community whatever he wanted to give. He does not live with them and his experience is not their experience. They know what they need better than he does.

So he goes and asks them what they need, they tell him and he provides it. This obviously does not stop him from providing what he initially had in mind.

So in the case of this community he donated what he had in mind (I think he donated computers and other things) and he donated what members of the community asked for. Basically, it was members of the community that asked for wheelbarrows. The man posted photos of all the things that he donated and je accused the media of being mischievous because they only posted what would support their agenda.

Bill Gates

Bill Gates said something similar. He said that je was excited when he began doing charity work in Africa and what he had in mind was that he was going to donate computers and software, etc. But then he hit reality.

Of what use are the computers to a child that has not eaten? What use is the software to a child that is dying of malaria? How would the child use the computers if he has not seen the inside of a classroom?

That's why his foundation began focusing on healthcare, education, food security and similar issues.

Bayo Onanuga

Bayo Onanuga did not say that there was no hunger in Nigeria. What he said was that he had not seen that level of hunger in Nigeria.

I told you that he is not a good judge. Bayo Onanuga has owned his own media house (The News, PM News, etc) since the 1990s and he currently works in the Aso Rock Villa. He is a member of the elite. Therefore it's no surprise that he has not seen that level of hunger, but the fact that he has not seen it does not mean that it does not exist.

Muhammadu Buhari and Yemi Osinbajo

The Buhari Administration began the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) in order to boost small businesses in Nigeria.

There were many programmes under the GEEP and these included the TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni.

These programmes were not designed by magic. The Bank of Industry conducted a lot of research into the impact of these programmes while designing them. This reseaarch obviously included discussions with potential beneficiaries.

The tradermoni provided the least amount of money. It was designed for petty traders, for example, those that sold things on the roadsides, in corner shops or kiosks.

Beneficiaries were given ₦10,000 interest-free and collateral-free loans. They were required to invest the money into their business. This was level 1. When they repaid the loan (and provided proof that they invested it in their business) they would move to the next level which qualifies them to get a higher loan. The levels were:


Level 1: ₦10,000
Level 2: ₦15,000
Level 3: ₦20,000
Level 4: ₦50,000
Level 5: ₦100,000

Some Nigerians went crazy!

They asked what could ₦10,000 do? Some said that they spent more than that in a night's outing. They asked if government officials would give their children ₦10,000. Some talked about cost of renting a house or a shop, others talked about school fees and cost of a car, etc. You can see that all these people were mad.

The ₦10,000 was not given to finance the life of the beneficiaries. It was given so that the beneficiaries would invest it into their businesses.

Just like Bayo Onanuga, the critics were elites for whom ₦10,000 was nothing. The beneficiaries were not going to spend that money at a club or restaurant. They were going to invest it into their petty businesses. It was meant to enable them increase their stock and make more profit.

Journalists, social media users and others discussed with beneficiaries and all the beneficiaries praised the programme.

Some funny characters claimed that it was vote buying. That's pure nonsense. Otherwise we can also say that everything that government does is vote buying. Almost all programmes of government are designed to make the lives of citizens better so that the citizens will vote for them in the next election. Therefore, going by the claims of the funny characters, everything that government does is vote buying.


Mr Peter Obi

I constantly tell you that all politicians are the same. Obidients often act like Peter Obi is a messiah that will come and turn Nigeria into heaven on earth. They act as if Peter Obi is doing us a favour by contesting presidential elections (have you ever heard such nonsense in your life).

I have often shown (with evidence) that all the major contenders for the presidency will do the same things. They all said the same things about petrol subsidy, dollar subsidy, etc before the elections.

So here is another example.

Obidients condemned the TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni programmes. They asked what will ₦10,000 do in the life of someone. They claimed that it was vote buying.

Mr Peter Obi shamed Obidients by providing the answers to these questions. In the video below he talked about what happened when he gave some traders at the village market ₦10,000.

Was this vote buying?

The transforming power of micro-credit.

Excellent validation for what #TraderMoni and #MarketMoni have been working to achieve (at scale!) since inception. @growthplat_me pic.twitter.com/kL9X6TKZeM

— Tolu Ogunlesi (@toluogunlesi) January 19, 2022

Desmond Elliot

A lie travels very far and fast, while the truth is too slow.

Desmond Elliot has been a victim of this on many occasions. I bet that even today, many years later, many people have never even heard the truth.

There were two times that it was claimed that Desmond Elliot donated things to his constituents and the whole of Nigeria descended on him.

Firstly photos of a toilet went viral and it was said that Desmond Elliot had donated this public toilet.

Critics asked whether a public toilet was the problem of his constituents, some complained that the toilet was too small, etc. Everybody condemned Desmond Elliot and nobody was interested in hearing the truth.

The truth is that it wasn't Desmond Elliot that donated the toilet.

The toilet was part of a pilot project by the Austrian government and facilitated by Ladi Lawanson, the former Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation. It was a biofuel toilet that was designed to convert human waste to fuel.

All Desmond Elliot did was to advocate that some of the toilets should be sited in his constituency. The toilets were always going to be built somewhere in Lagos, so he convinced the owners of the project to site 3 of the toilets in his constituency and they invited him to inaugurate them.

The toilets were built by the Austrian Government.

Similarly, the next year, there was an uproar about a bridge. Some people claimed that Desmond Elliot donated a bridge to his constituency and that it was a substandard bridge.

Desmond Elliot did some projects in his constituency, but his constituents told him that they also need a bridge. They told him to give them the money and they would build the bridge, so he gave them ₦800,000.

Later he saw posts and pictures on social media that he had built a substandard bridge for the community (the youths that built the bridge put up a sign that said that he donated the bridge).


Oluremi Tinubu

The role of first lady was previously not a major role in Nigeria. Mrs Flora Azikiwe acted as hostess to visiting dignitaries.

Mrs Victoria Gowon was a style leader and often appeared in public with her husband and on her own. Women often copied her fashion styles.

Mrs Ajoke Muhammed was more reserved and she only began her activities (gardens) after she left the office of first lady.

The first lady role was not really performed during the Obasanjo, Shagari and Buhari eras.

It was Mrs Maryam Babangida that made the role a major charity role.

Mrs Babangida had her Better Life For Rural Women (later called Better Life For Rural Dwellers) through which she tried to improve the lives of people living in rural areas.

She had her annual First Lady's Children's Concert, where the child xylophonist Udo Maryam was discovered.

I have told you about the donation circuit. Mrs Babangida had similar programmes where wealthy people donated a lot of money that she used to fund her programmes.

In fact, I've still got a video of one of those events, but I'm too lazy to go and look for it.


All first ladies since Mrs Babangida have had similar charity programmes.

Mrs Oluremi Tinubu has had her New Era Foundation since she was first lady of Lagos State. She also runs a spelling bee competition and other such activities.


Recently a fake story, that Mrs Tinubu was telling Nigerians that they should go into akara frying and corn roasting, has gone viral. What really happened?


Mrs Tinubu had a meeting with wives of state governors and they reviewed their charity programmes. She addressed the media outside her office after the meeting. She was telling the media what they discussed and that's where the clip came from.

What she actually said

She said that they had given money (grants of ₦50,000 and above each) to women and that these were grants not loans. She said that the money was enough to help the women start businesses, they could fry akara or roast corn, at least these are very easy to start.

She said that they had also given

₦2 billion for tuberculosis,
₦1 billion for breast cancer,
and ₦500 million to tackle food malnutrition.
They had provided scholarships
And they had provided ICT training

"We're trying to give hope. To start akara business doesn't take much; to start roasting corn doesn't take much. We didn't give them a loan; we gave it to them as a grant. We have encouraged Nigerians as best as we could. What is within our hands, I have given, and I keep… pic.twitter.com/hdgTeAss8M

— TheCable (@thecableng) June 25, 2026

That's what really happened.


Shehu Sani

During Ramadan and Eid Senator Shehu Sani distributed 12 camels, several cows, and foodstuffs worth ₦15 million to his constituents. These went viral and led to criticisms with some people calling him the "Camel Senator".

He received even more criticism when he distributed 100,000 world band radios to his constituents. A former Nairaland moderator (who is now popular on Twitter) asked whether anyone still listens to radios. He is obviously unaware that radios are a major source of political awareness in northern Nigeria.

Shimmaa:
Can 50k even start akara business?

Rebelutionary:
If youre asking sincerely; your answer is a big YES but if not tomorrow morning GO VERIFY!

naptu2:
Mrs Tinubu was referring to the people that she gave grants of ₦50,000 each, not to you






Shehu Sani, Desmond Elliot, Muhammadu Buhari, Yemi Osinbajo and Oluremi Tinubu, Peter Obi.

I do not seek fame because being famous would mean that you have to deal with the opinions of many stupid people.

I know somebody who belongs to a charitable organisation. Many years ago I came across her while she was writing a letter to one of their partners. There were several interesting things in her letter and she took the time to explain them to me.

In the letter she referred to the people that she was helping as, "My master". She explained that this was what they did in her organisation so that they would put the beneficiaries first. It would prevent them from looking down on the beneficiaries and it would force them to respect the beneficiaries.

There was another thing she said that I was already familiar with. That thing is the subject of this post.

She said that they don't act like they have all the answers and they don't act like they know all. Instead they ask the beneficiaries what they need and that determines the assistance that they give them.


Surprisingly this is something that many Nigerians cannot understand.

Forgotten example

This was on my mind when something happened years ago. Unfortunately I can no longer remember who it was and exactly what he donated, but this story might trigger someone's memory and the person might remind me of the details.

There was a serious uproar on Nigerian internet. What happened? A man had donated somethings to a community and the whole of Nigeria was condemning him.

I can't remember exactly what it was, but it was something like wheelbarrows (let's assume that it was wheelbarrows).

Nigerians were livid. "How can you donate wheelbarrows to people? What do you want them to use it for? Would you give wheelbarrows to your children? You want to turn them to labourers? We are in the ICT age and he could have donated things that would take people out of poverty, yet he is donating wheelbarrows to keep them in poverty".

There were all kinds of very loud, angry and st up id reactions. The photos went viral and the reactions were so loud that they got to the donor and so he made an explanation.

I can't remember for certain, but I think I created the thread about the donor's explanation.

The donor explained that he had been donating things to communities for decades and that he has learnt a lot from the practice. One of the things that he learnt was that he shouldn't just go and give the community whatever he wanted to give. He does not live with them and his experience is not their experience. They know what they need better than he does.

So he goes and asks them what they need, they tell him and he provides it. This obviously does not stop him from providing what he initially had in mind.

So in the case of this community he donated what he had in mind (I think he donated computers and other things) and he donated what members of the community asked for. Basically, it was members of the community that asked for wheelbarrows. The man posted photos of all the things that he donated and je accused the media of being mischievous because they only posted what would support their agenda.

Bill Gates

Bill Gates said something similar. He said that je was excited when he began doing charity work in Africa and what he had in mind was that he was going to donate computers and software, etc. But then he hit reality.

Of what use are the computers to a child that has not eaten? What use is the software to a child that is dying of malaria? How would the child use the computers if he has not seen the inside of a classroom?

That's why his foundation began focusing on healthcare, education, food security and similar issues.

Bayo Onanuga

Bayo Onanuga did not say that there was no hunger in Nigeria. What he said was that he had not seen that level of hunger in Nigeria.

I told you that he is not a good judge. Bayo Onanuga has owned his own media house (The News, PM News, etc) since the 1990s and he currently works in the Aso Rock Villa. He is a member of the elite. Therefore it's no surprise that he has not seen that level of hunger, but the fact that he has not seen it does not mean that it does not exist.

Muhammadu Buhari and Yemi Osinbajo

The Buhari Administration began the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) in order to boost small businesses in Nigeria.

There were many programmes under the GEEP and these included the TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni.

These programmes were not designed by magic. The Bank of Industry conducted a lot of research into the impact of these programmes while designing them. This reseaarch obviously included discussions with potential beneficiaries.

The tradermoni provided the least amount of money. It was designed for petty traders, for example, those that sold things on the roadsides, in corner shops or kiosks.

Beneficiaries were given ₦10,000 interest-free and collateral-free loans. They were required to invest the money into their business. This was level 1. When they repaid the loan (and provided proof that they invested it in their business) they would move to the next level which qualifies them to get a higher loan. The levels were:


Level 1: ₦10,000
Level 2: ₦15,000
Level 3: ₦20,000
Level 4: ₦50,000
Level 5: ₦100,000

Some Nigerians went crazy!

They asked what could ₦10,000 do? Some said that they spent more than that in a night's outing. They asked if government officials would give their children ₦10,000. Some talked about cost of renting a house or a shop, others talked about school fees and cost of a car, etc. You can see that all these people were mad.

The ₦10,000 was not given to finance the life of the beneficiaries. It was given so that the beneficiaries would invest it into their businesses.

Just like Bayo Onanuga, the critics were elites for whom ₦10,000 was nothing. The beneficiaries were not going to spend that money at a club or restaurant. They were going to invest it into their petty businesses. It was meant to enable them increase their stock and make more profit.

Journalists, social media users and others discussed with beneficiaries and all the beneficiaries praised the programme.

Some funny characters claimed that it was vote buying. That's pure nonsense. Otherwise we can also say that everything that government does is vote buying. Almost all programmes of government are designed to make the lives of citizens better so that the citizens will vote for them in the next election. Therefore, going by the claims of the funny characters, everything that government does is vote buying.


Mr Peter Obi

I constantly tell you that all politicians are the same. Obidients often act like Peter Obi is a messiah that will come and turn Nigeria into heaven on earth. They act as if Peter Obi is doing us a favour by contesting presidential elections (have you ever heard such nonsense in your life).

I have often shown (with evidence) that all the major contenders for the presidency will do the same things. They all said the same things about petrol subsidy, dollar subsidy, etc before the elections.

So here is another example.

Obidients condemned the TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni programmes. They asked what will ₦10,000 do in the life of someone. They claimed that it was vote buying.

Mr Peter Obi shamed Obidients by providing the answers to these questions. In the video below he talked about what happened when he gave some traders at the village market ₦10,000.

Was this vote buying?

The transforming power of micro-credit.

Excellent validation for what #TraderMoni and #MarketMoni have been working to achieve (at scale!) since inception. @growthplat_me pic.twitter.com/kL9X6TKZeM

— Tolu Ogunlesi (@toluogunlesi) January 19, 2022

Desmond Elliot

A lie travels very far and fast, while the truth is too slow.

Desmond Elliot has been a victim of this on many occasions. I bet that even today, many years later, many people have never even heard the truth.

There were two times that it was claimed that Desmond Elliot donated things to his constituents and the whole of Nigeria descended on him.

Firstly photos of a toilet went viral and it was said that Desmond Elliot had donated this public toilet.

Critics asked whether a public toilet was the problem of his constituents, some complained that the toilet was too small, etc. Everybody condemned Desmond Elliot and nobody was interested in hearing the truth.

The truth is that it wasn't Desmond Elliot that donated the toilet.

The toilet was part of a pilot project by the Austrian government and facilitated by Ladi Lawanson, the former Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation. It was a biofuel toilet that was designed to convert human waste to fuel.

All Desmond Elliot did was to advocate that some of the toilets should be sited in his constituency. The toilets were always going to be built somewhere in Lagos, so he convinced the owners of the project to site 3 of the toilets in his constituency and they invited him to inaugurate them.

The toilets were built by the Austrian Government.

Similarly, the next year, there was an uproar about a bridge. Some people claimed that Desmond Elliot donated a bridge to his constituency and that it was a substandard bridge.

Desmond Elliot did some projects in his constituency, but his constituents told him that they also need a bridge. They told him to give them the money and they would build the bridge, so he gave them ₦800,000.

Later he saw posts and pictures on social media that he had built a substandard bridge for the community (the youths that built the bridge put up a sign that said that he donated the bridge).


Oluremi Tinubu

The role of first lady was previously not a major role in Nigeria. Mrs Flora Azikiwe acted as hostess to visiting dignitaries.

Mrs Victoria Gowon was a style leader and often appeared in public with her husband and on her own. Women often copied her fashion styles.

Mrs Ajoke Muhammed was more reserved and she only began her activities (gardens) after she left the office of first lady.

The first lady role was not really performed during the Obasanjo, Shagari and Buhari eras.

It was Mrs Maryam Babangida that made the role a major charity role.

Mrs Babangida had her Better Life For Rural Women (later called Better Life For Rural Dwellers) through which she tried to improve the lives of people living in rural areas.

She had her annual First Lady's Children's Concert, where the child xylophonist Udo Maryam was discovered.

I have told you about the donation circuit. Mrs Babangida had similar programmes where wealthy people donated a lot of money that she used to fund her programmes.

In fact, I've still got a video of one of those events, but I'm too lazy to go and look for it.


All first ladies since Mrs Babangida have had similar charity programmes.

Mrs Oluremi Tinubu has had her New Era Foundation since she was first lady of Lagos State. She also runs a spelling bee competition and other such activities.


Recently a fake story, that Mrs Tinubu was telling Nigerians that they should go into akara frying and corn roasting, has gone viral. What really happened?


Mrs Tinubu had a meeting with wives of state governors and they reviewed their charity programmes. She addressed the media outside her office after the meeting. She was telling the media what they discussed and that's where the clip came from.

What she actually said

She said that they had given money (grants of ₦50,000 and above each) to women and that these were grants not loans. She said that the money was enough to help the women start businesses, they could fry akara or roast corn, at least these are very easy to start.

She said that they had also given

₦2 billion for tuberculosis,
₦1 billion for breast cancer,
and ₦500 million to tackle food malnutrition.
They had provided scholarships
And they had provided ICT training

"We're trying to give hope. To start akara business doesn't take much; to start roasting corn doesn't take much. We didn't give them a loan; we gave it to them as a grant. We have encouraged Nigerians as best as we could. What is within our hands, I have given, and I keep… pic.twitter.com/hdgTeAss8M

— TheCable (@thecableng) June 25, 2026

That's what really happened.


Shehu Sani

During Ramadan and Eid Senator Shehu Sani distributed 12 camels, several cows, and foodstuffs worth ₦15 million to his constituents. These went viral and led to criticisms with some people calling him the "Camel Senator".

He received even more criticism when he distributed 100,000 world band radios to his constituents. A former Nairaland moderator (who is now popular on Twitter) asked whether anyone still listens to radios. He is obviously unaware that radios are a major source of political awareness in northern Nigeria.

naptu2:
Mrs Tinubu was referring to the people that she gave grants of ₦50,000 each, not to you






Shehu Sani, Desmond Elliot, Muhammadu Buhari, Yemi Osinbajo and Oluremi Tinubu, Peter Obi.

I do not seek fame because being famous would mean that you have to deal with the opinions of many stupid people.

I know somebody who belongs to a charitable organisation. Many years ago I came across her while she was writing a letter to one of their partners. There were several interesting things in her letter and she took the time to explain them to me.

In the letter she referred to the people that she was helping as, "My master". She explained that this was what they did in her organisation so that they would put the beneficiaries first. It would prevent them from looking down on the beneficiaries and it would force them to respect the beneficiaries.

There was another thing she said that I was already familiar with. That thing is the subject of this post.

She said that they don't act like they have all the answers and they don't act like they know all. Instead they ask the beneficiaries what they need and that determines the assistance that they give them.


Surprisingly this is something that many Nigerians cannot understand.

Forgotten example

This was on my mind when something happened years ago. Unfortunately I can no longer remember who it was and exactly what he donated, but this story might trigger someone's memory and the person might remind me of the details.

There was a serious uproar on Nigerian internet. What happened? A man had donated somethings to a community and the whole of Nigeria was condemning him.

I can't remember exactly what it was, but it was something like wheelbarrows (let's assume that it was wheelbarrows).

Nigerians were livid. "How can you donate wheelbarrows to people? What do you want them to use it for? Would you give wheelbarrows to your children? You want to turn them to labourers? We are in the ICT age and he could have donated things that would take people out of poverty, yet he is donating wheelbarrows to keep them in poverty".

There were all kinds of very loud, angry and st up id reactions. The photos went viral and the reactions were so loud that they got to the donor and so he made an explanation.

I can't remember for certain, but I think I created the thread about the donor's explanation.

The donor explained that he had been donating things to communities for decades and that he has learnt a lot from the practice. One of the things that he learnt was that he shouldn't just go and give the community whatever he wanted to give. He does not live with them and his experience is not their experience. They know what they need better than he does.

So he goes and asks them what they need, they tell him and he provides it. This obviously does not stop him from providing what he initially had in mind.

So in the case of this community he donated what he had in mind (I think he donated computers and other things) and he donated what members of the community asked for. Basically, it was members of the community that asked for wheelbarrows. The man posted photos of all the things that he donated and je accused the media of being mischievous because they only posted what would support their agenda.

Bill Gates

Bill Gates said something similar. He said that je was excited when he began doing charity work in Africa and what he had in mind was that he was going to donate computers and software, etc. But then he hit reality.

Of what use are the computers to a child that has not eaten? What use is the software to a child that is dying of malaria? How would the child use the computers if he has not seen the inside of a classroom?

That's why his foundation began focusing on healthcare, education, food security and similar issues.

Bayo Onanuga

Bayo Onanuga did not say that there was no hunger in Nigeria. What he said was that he had not seen that level of hunger in Nigeria.

I told you that he is not a good judge. Bayo Onanuga has owned his own media house (The News, PM News, etc) since the 1990s and he currently works in the Aso Rock Villa. He is a member of the elite. Therefore it's no surprise that he has not seen that level of hunger, but the fact that he has not seen it does not mean that it does not exist.

Muhammadu Buhari and Yemi Osinbajo

The Buhari Administration began the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) in order to boost small businesses in Nigeria.

There were many programmes under the GEEP and these included the TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni.

These programmes were not designed by magic. The Bank of Industry conducted a lot of research into the impact of these programmes while designing them. This reseaarch obviously included discussions with potential beneficiaries.

The tradermoni provided the least amount of money. It was designed for petty traders, for example, those that sold things on the roadsides, in corner shops or kiosks.

Beneficiaries were given ₦10,000 interest-free and collateral-free loans. They were required to invest the money into their business. This was level 1. When they repaid the loan (and provided proof that they invested it in their business) they would move to the next level which qualifies them to get a higher loan. The levels were:


Level 1: ₦10,000
Level 2: ₦15,000
Level 3: ₦20,000
Level 4: ₦50,000
Level 5: ₦100,000

Some Nigerians went crazy!

They asked what could ₦10,000 do? Some said that they spent more than that in a night's outing. They asked if government officials would give their children ₦10,000. Some talked about cost of renting a house or a shop, others talked about school fees and cost of a car, etc. You can see that all these people were mad.

The ₦10,000 was not given to finance the life of the beneficiaries. It was given so that the beneficiaries would invest it into their businesses.

Just like Bayo Onanuga, the critics were elites for whom ₦10,000 was nothing. The beneficiaries were not going to spend that money at a club or restaurant. They were going to invest it into their petty businesses. It was meant to enable them increase their stock and make more profit.

Journalists, social media users and others discussed with beneficiaries and all the beneficiaries praised the programme.

Some funny characters claimed that it was vote buying. That's pure nonsense. Otherwise we can also say that everything that government does is vote buying. Almost all programmes of government are designed to make the lives of citizens better so that the citizens will vote for them in the next election. Therefore, going by the claims of the funny characters, everything that government does is vote buying.


Mr Peter Obi

I constantly tell you that all politicians are the same. Obidients often act like Peter Obi is a messiah that will come and turn Nigeria into heaven on earth. They act as if Peter Obi is doing us a favour by contesting presidential elections (have you ever heard such nonsense in your life).

I have often shown (with evidence) that all the major contenders for the presidency will do the same things. They all said the same things about petrol subsidy, dollar subsidy, etc before the elections.

So here is another example.

Obidients condemned the TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni programmes. They asked what will ₦10,000 do in the life of someone. They claimed that it was vote buying.

Mr Peter Obi shamed Obidients by providing the answers to these questions. In the video below he talked about what happened when he gave some traders at the village market ₦10,000.

Was this vote buying?

The transforming power of micro-credit.

Excellent validation for what #TraderMoni and #MarketMoni have been working to achieve (at scale!) since inception. @growthplat_me pic.twitter.com/kL9X6TKZeM

— Tolu Ogunlesi (@toluogunlesi) January 19, 2022

Desmond Elliot

A lie travels very far and fast, while the truth is too slow.

Desmond Elliot has been a victim of this on many occasions. I bet that even today, many years later, many people have never even heard the truth.

There were two times that it was claimed that Desmond Elliot donated things to his constituents and the whole of Nigeria descended on him.

Firstly photos of a toilet went viral and it was said that Desmond Elliot had donated this public toilet.

Critics asked whether a public toilet was the problem of his constituents, some complained that the toilet was too small, etc. Everybody condemned Desmond Elliot and nobody was interested in hearing the truth.

The truth is that it wasn't Desmond Elliot that donated the toilet.

The toilet was part of a pilot project by the Austrian government and facilitated by Ladi Lawanson, the former Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation. It was a biofuel toilet that was designed to convert human waste to fuel.

All Desmond Elliot did was to advocate that some of the toilets should be sited in his constituency. The toilets were always going to be built somewhere in Lagos, so he convinced the owners of the project to site 3 of the toilets in his constituency and they invited him to inaugurate them.

The toilets were built by the Austrian Government.

Similarly, the next year, there was an uproar about a bridge. Some people claimed that Desmond Elliot donated a bridge to his constituency and that it was a substandard bridge.

Desmond Elliot did some projects in his constituency, but his constituents told him that they also need a bridge. They told him to give them the money and they would build the bridge, so he gave them ₦800,000.

Later he saw posts and pictures on social media that he had built a substandard bridge for the community (the youths that built the bridge put up a sign that said that he donated the bridge).


Oluremi Tinubu

The role of first lady was previously not a major role in Nigeria. Mrs Flora Azikiwe acted as hostess to visiting dignitaries.

Mrs Victoria Gowon was a style leader and often appeared in public with her husband and on her own. Women often copied her fashion styles.

Mrs Ajoke Muhammed was more reserved and she only began her activities (gardens) after she left the office of first lady.

The first lady role was not really performed during the Obasanjo, Shagari and Buhari eras.

It was Mrs Maryam Babangida that made the role a major charity role.

Mrs Babangida had her Better Life For Rural Women (later called Better Life For Rural Dwellers) through which she tried to improve the lives of people living in rural areas.

She had her annual First Lady's Children's Concert, where the child xylophonist Udo Maryam was discovered.

I have told you about the donation circuit. Mrs Babangida had similar programmes where wealthy people donated a lot of money that she used to fund her programmes.

In fact, I've still got a video of one of those events, but I'm too lazy to go and look for it.


All first ladies since Mrs Babangida have had similar charity programmes.

Mrs Oluremi Tinubu has had her New Era Foundation since she was first lady of Lagos State. She also runs a spelling bee competition and other such activities.


Recently a fake story, that Mrs Tinubu was telling Nigerians that they should go into akara frying and corn roasting, has gone viral. What really happened?


Mrs Tinubu had a meeting with wives of state governors and they reviewed their charity programmes. She addressed the media outside her office after the meeting. She was telling the media what they discussed and that's where the clip came from.

What she actually said

She said that they had given money (grants of ₦50,000 and above each) to women and that these were grants not loans. She said that the money was enough to help the women start businesses, they could fry akara or roast corn, at least these are very easy to start.

She said that they had also given

₦2 billion for tuberculosis,
₦1 billion for breast cancer,
and ₦500 million to tackle food malnutrition.
They had provided scholarships
And they had provided ICT training

"We're trying to give hope. To start akara business doesn't take much; to start roasting corn doesn't take much. We didn't give them a loan; we gave it to them as a grant. We have encouraged Nigerians as best as we could. What is within our hands, I have given, and I keep… pic.twitter.com/hdgTeAss8M

— TheCable (@thecableng) June 25, 2026

That's what really happened.


Shehu Sani

During Ramadan and Eid Senator Shehu Sani distributed 12 camels, several cows, and foodstuffs worth ₦15 million to his constituents. These went viral and led to criticisms with some people calling him the "Camel Senator".

He received even more criticism when he distributed 100,000 world band radios to his constituents. A former Nairaland moderator (who is now popular on Twitter) asked whether anyone still listens to radios. He is obviously unaware that radios are a major source of political awareness in northern Nigeria.

Shimmaa:
50k to source for burner, cylinder, trays, space, before we even talk about the akara ingredients.

How?

naptu2:
When some people post nonsense, they assume that I would want to argue with them, but it's quite the opposite, I want to give it as much publicity as possible. Why?

Because sensible people should be able to see the nonsense and judge the poster accordingly.

emkz:
People are shouting about small and medium enterprises.

Does akara, kulikuli and corn not fall in this category?

One thing is that no matter how bad the condition, people must eat. Go to several countries, and you will be amazed at how well people live from small business. See this picture, his name is Brad Ribar. He is referred to as corn king and runs a successful corn stand at state fairs in Minnesota.

In Nigeria, we are too quick to attack.

BATified2023:
so obi said 10k is enough and u hailed him but the first lady said 50k upward n u are condemning her

That's y people don't take u lots serious, u are freaking hypocrites

naptu2:
That's why I am seriously tempted to write out exactly what she said. She talked about ICT, agric, scholarships that they had awarded, tuberculosis, breast cancer, malnutrition, but the only thing that the id iots can hear is akara and corn.

And they even took that out of context.

Remi Tinubu grants N50,000 to 37,000 women petty traders

She flagged off the disbursement of the grant in Asaba, the Delta State capital, where 1,000 petty traders benefited from the scheme.

Nigeria’s First Lady and chair of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), Oluremi Tinubu, has flagged off the Renewed Hope Initiative Economic Empowerment Programme for women petty traders nationwide with the disbursement of N50,000 business recapitalisation grant to 37,000 beneficiaries across the country.

She flagged off the disbursement of the grant in Asaba, thecapital, where 1,000 petty traders benefited from the scheme.

As one of the interventions under the economic empowerment programme of RHI, the grant, she says, is targeted at helping petty traders overcome some of their business challenges, create more jobs and expand the contributions of the informal sector to the national economy.

“As we are all aware of the challenges faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially the petty traders, who form the backbone of our local economies, these challenges, however, have not deterred the strength of our women. I salute you all and celebrate your courage and resilience that keep you going, to put food on the table for your families.

Today, through the Renewed Hope Initiative Economic Empowerment Programme, we are providing 1,000 pre-selected women petty traders per state with a grant of N50,000 each to recapitalize and grow their businesses. A total of One Billion, Eight Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N1,850,000,000.00) will be disbursed to 37,000 women petty traders across the nation.”

While identifying economic empowerment as a core objective that the Renewed Hope Initiative has consistently delivered on for both women and youth across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria to support the economic reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, the First Lady noted that empowering women economically is not just a moral imperative but a strategic one.

“We recognise that empowering women economically is not just a moral imperative but a strategic one. When women thrive, their families thrive, and by extension, our communities and nation prosper. We recognise that empowering women economically is not just a moral imperative but a strategic one. When women thrive, their families thrive, and by extension, our communities and nation prosper.

“To the 1000 women petty traders who are the beneficiaries of this programme, I say, “You are the heart of our local economies, the foundation of our communities, and the unsung heroes of our nation.

“You have shown incredible resilience in overcoming countless challenges to build your businesses. Today, we celebrate your hard work and determination.”

Applauding the intervention of the First Lady and for choosing the state for the flag-off of the grant, Delta State Governor Sherriff Oborevwori, represented by his wife, Tobore Oborevwori, announced the donation of an additional N50,000.00 grant by his administration to further empower the beneficiaries.

He noted that Mrs Tinubu has demonstrated true motherhood by the various contributions of her Initiative, RHI, especially in the areas of Agriculture, Education, Economic Empowerment and Social Investment.

The RHI Economic Empowerment for 1000 Women Petty Traders per state held simultaneously nationwide. Each beneficiary received N50,000 as a capitalisation grant from the Renewed Hope Initiative, RHI.

SIGNED
Busola Kukoyi
SSA Media to the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria