₦airaland Forum

That's because I already have a better job. If I didn't have any at all, that would be a different case

sirray001:
My friend noone wishes to sell Akara na condition. You, why you no de fry Akara?

Look for the nearest junction.
Most people who sell akara rarely rent standard shops.
This kind of business is not for people that want white collar job.

tete7000:
³

Kindly do a breakdown of how much is needed to start akara business. Imagine the person has no shop and has no cooking utensils and condiments needed. Just do a breakdown, let's see how much it comes to.

OredoPikin:
Obi will never makee that suggestion in 2026.
Imagine keeping people in poverty just to use then for election.
God will judge you people

China goes back to China.

mascot87:
You are talking nonsense. I work hard for myself and my children so they can get a better life. I don't lazy around and depend on government. I use my God given brain to be a pace setter and trailblazer. Government in there own way have done the little they can to create an enabling environment for me to use my brain to do things that will make my life better. I don't come on social media every market day crying, blaming, cursing government when I can use my brain and the resources I have to involve myself in valuable and productive things. If you like, keep crying and wailing on social media. Tinubu will go and another person you like would be there YET your life will still not be better if you don't change your mindset. Hard words but ignore at your own risk.

So, all those graduates I see hawking puff-puff and ice cream didn't work hard enough, right? Typical. The biggest problem with some Nigerians is that once they manage to crawl out of poverty, they start acting like everyone else is just lazy or inferior, and they are the only "talented" ones.

​Try posting a vacancy for a waitress or a housekeeper paying 40k and watch how many graduates flood your DM. That amount can’t even cover a decent grocery run for the week, talk less of hospital bills.

​Honestly, I’m done here. The only thing I’ve gathered from this conversation is that you worship the rich and genuinely believe you deserve to be broke. You’ve convinced yourself that suffering is your portion.

​Enjoy the grind, but don't be surprised when your daughter finishes university and still ends up working as a private chef because her father spent his time defending a system that keeps people down.

​And thinking that because I stand with the masses I must be waiting for government stipends? That just tells me everything I need to know about your level of critical thinking. I’m out here calling for people to stand up for themselves, but it’s hard when people like you are busy keeping them blind to the reality of the situation.

I remember this childhood song about somebody calling akara seller jokingly.The aroma is driving me crazy.Talo pe iya alakara sere....

TylerForbes:
So, all those graduates I see hawking puff-puff and ice cream didn't work hard enough, right? Typical. The biggest problem with some Nigerians is that once they manage to crawl out of poverty, they start acting like everyone else is just lazy or inferior, and they are the only "talented" ones.

​Try posting a vacancy for a waitress or a housekeeper paying 40k and watch how many graduates flood your DM. That amount can’t even cover a decent grocery run for the week, talk less of hospital bills.

​Honestly, I’m done here. The only thing I’ve gathered from this conversation is that you worship the rich and genuinely believe you deserve to be broke. You’ve convinced yourself that suffering is your portion.

​Enjoy the grind, but don't be surprised when your daughter finishes university and still ends up working as a private chef because her father spent his time defending a system that keeps people down.

​And thinking that because I stand with the masses I must be waiting for government stipends? That just tells me everything I need to know about your level of critical thinking. I’m out here calling for people to stand up for themselves, but it’s hard when people like you are busy keeping them blind to the reality of the situation.

All this gibberish you are spilling shows how asinine you are and i must confess I underestimated the level of your reasoning. I can see you can never be helped and have permanently wish to remain in your state of delusional mindset. I will not engage you any further since it's a fruitless mission. I wish you whatever you wish yourself

fuke:
Good, you have asked a question, unlike the rough-edged ones.

Now you use what you have to get what you need.

The woman interviewed today, a Delta Igbo, actually said she could start with 20k

Obviously you have cooking utensils at home. You do not need to start big.

You do not need gas for now, but if you have it, its btter.

Beans is the most expensive and the seller around your house can give it to you on credit
Start with one measure.

If you are so poor without utensils, you can buy one big frying pot and spoon from the 50k.

Nigerians are considerate and compassionate; you can get a space without paying at least for now.

I know people in the food business who pay suppliers in the evening without expending money in the morning.

When you move, you will be surprised how much Nigerians can go to help, but unfortunately many abuse the gesture.

So this is where Nigeria has finally landed economically? The problem is not even selling or making akara; the problem is what exactly brought the people to this point ? And by the way, akara is not even a stable food in Nigeria. I remember seeing akara sellers struggling to make sales in my neighborhood in those days. It only takes two akara sellers to setup near each other and sales nosedive.

OredoPikin:
Interview by who?
Liars like u abi

Oya talk again now.

The secret behind Akara business pic.twitter.com/egoOck4d8A

— Dee-One (@DeeoneComedian) June 27, 2026

shortgun:
The brain static man who wrote the trashy article is also not surprisingly a tribal bigot. Imagine not having the capacity for rationality and also a tribal bigot.

Are you sure a static brain can write an article as long as that?

Kemetian:
NOT ONLY THAT O!

I'm very sure her Akara joint is just a small stool and frying pot with no branding.

Imagine if you as a young man enter the same biz and brand up your joint with a bright red or yellow canopy, with a flashy name like "Akara Junction" boldly emblazoned and visible to all passers-by, yellow uniform to serve, with yellow cap on, and music in the background.

That 150k a month will become 500,000k a month, MINIMUM. Sharp Sharp.

These Nigerian youths don't know business.

In this country, you can get rich selling ANYTHING, so long as you package yourself.

Exactly bro. Don’t pay too much attention to these guys rant, they also know there are people in the community that survive on all these things.

If it had been someone else that mentioned that, they would applaud it

OredoPikin:
So because Obi did it in 2008
Tinubu and his wife should do the same in 2026🤣🤣
Obi is now the standard for everything Tinubu is doing

The minimum wage in 2008 was 7500. 10k back then could do more than 100k today. I was in the university then so I know.

[quote author=LegendHero post=139856120]Oya talk again now.

The secret behind Akara business pic.twitter.com/egoOck4d8A

— Dee-One (@DeeoneComedian) June 27, 2026

you for bringing the video. They think everybody throws about lamba like them

This PR is getting out of hands. What a shameless post.
They started with trying to pacify the masses for the nonsense, now they are not pretending again. Shameless people

4

fuke:
Good, you have asked a question, unlike the rough-edged ones.

Now you use what you have to get what you need.

The woman interviewed today, a Delta Igbo, actually said she could start with 20k

Obviously you have cooking utensils at home. You do not need to start big.

You do not need gas for now, but if you have it, its btter.

Beans is the most expensive and the seller around your house can give it to you on credit
Start with one measure.

If you are so poor without utensils, you can buy one big frying pot and spoon from the 50k.

Nigerians are considerate and compassionate; you can get a space without paying at least for now.

I know people in the food business who pay suppliers in the evening without expending money in the morning.

When you move, you will be surprised how much Nigerians can go to help, but unfortunately many abuse the gesture.

Uhmm! Business always sound so simple on paper but I can tell you, it's not that straught forward. If we assume, it all looks so linear as you painted it. First few months of start up, the woman might not make any profit but loses because it will take people time to know her and become her customers. While she is trying to build up, she would probably exhaust the N50,000. Bro, I have opened a sale shop before in a market, I know how tough it can be to start up a business and I saw many people opened shops and shut it down after few months. It is not something you plot like a linear equation, it is complex with many variables you didn't factor in showing up as you go on. N50000 in modern economics will hardly start anyone up, it can help those who already found their footings and need fund to develop further.

fuke:
The reaction of many Nigerians, especially some young people, never ceases to amaze me.
When I read the responses to Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubu's suggestion that women could start small businesses with a ₦50,000 grant, I began to wonder whether many people truly understand entrepreneurship. The debate revealed that, for many Nigerians, what they do not know about business is far greater than what they know.

Some argued that ₦50,000 is too little to start any meaningful business. Others claimed that selling akara is demeaning. I disagree.

No honest work that puts food on the table is demeaning. With ₦50,000, there are several businesses one can start. In fact, there are businesses people begin with little or no capital at all.

History has repeatedly shown that many wealthy individuals started from humble beginnings. Success is often determined not by where you start, but by your determination, consistency, and ability to grow.

Coming back to the akara business, I was encouraged to see that some people refused to follow the crowd. Just this morning, I watched interviews with two akara sellers in Lagos. Interestingly, both happened to be from the ethnic group that has been among the loudest critics of the First Lady's comments. That alone suggests that perhaps politics played a bigger role in the outrage than economics.

The first interview featured an Igbo man selling akara at Ladipo Market. He quickly turned the interview into free advertising by mentioning his shop address. He proudly said he had trained his children through school, including graduates, and had built a house in Lagos. Anyone familiar with the cost of owning property in Lagos knows that this is no small achievement.

The second interview was with a woman in another part of Lagos. She explained that she invested about ₦12,000 daily and made at least ₦5,000 profit. That represents an impressive return on investment. Few legitimate businesses in today's Nigeria consistently produce such margins.

Many Nigerians underestimate small businesses simply because they appear ordinary. Yet some of these "ordinary" businesses generate extraordinary income. There is nothing humiliating about earning an honest living. Every legitimate occupation deserves respect.
Not every police officer will become the Inspector General. Not every soldier will become a General. Not everyone working in a hospital will become a doctor. Society functions because different people occupy different positions with dignity and excellence.

In my book, Businesses That Can Never Fail, Even If You Plan To Fail, I discuss several businesses that meet every day human needs. Food is one of them. Regardless of economic conditions, people must eat.

I know a graduate in Iyana Church, Ibadan, who, after years of searching unsuccessfully for employment, started selling rice. Today, he employs other people, drives a good car, and owns a beautiful house not far from where I live. Had he considered the business beneath him, he might still be depending on his parents.

So, what exactly is degrading about selling akara or kulikuli? How is it fundamentally different from selling rice, amala, porridge, or any other prepared food? Instead of appreciating the encouragement to explore viable business opportunities, many people chose to attack the messenger, largely because of political differences.

At Akobo, Ojurin Junction in Ibadan, there were two young Igbo men who sold fried plantain every evening between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Anyone who observed their business could tell they were making good money. Today, there are many similar roadside food businesses across Ibadan that are thriving.

Must we reject a good idea simply because it comes from someone whose politics we oppose? Ironically, many of those criticizing Mrs. Tinubu today were themselves raised by parents whose livelihoods came from similar small businesses.

What is wrong with starting from humble beginnings? Has the dignity of labour become an outdated value? Must everyone aspire only to white-collar jobs while looking down on honest entrepreneurship?

Many successful business empires began with modest ventures.

The Eleganza Group traces its roots to its founder, Chief Razaq Okoya, who started by selling wristwatches and other small items in Lagos before building one of Nigeria's most recognizable manufacturing brands.

In my hometown of Efon-Alaaye, there was a man who began life as a truck pusher. Before he passed away a few years ago, he had expanded into automobile sales, printing, farming, and construction. He became one of the wealthiest men in the town and left behind accomplished children. His story is not unique. Thousands of Nigerians have similar testimonies.

There is something we can learn from the entrepreneurial culture of the United States and Europe. Many enduring business empires grew from small family enterprises. Companies such as Starbucks began with a simple idea and expanded over time through consistency, innovation, and good management. Small beginnings should never be despised.

One principle I constantly teach young people is this: Start something. Just start.

You may not be able to build a refinery like Dangote today, but you can begin by selling Kerosene like Obat, the Olugbo of igbo kingdom did. You may not establish a manufacturing empire overnight like Eleganza, but you can start by selling simple products. You may not own a major automobile dealership immediately, but you can begin by helping people buy and sell cars like Elizade, the Toyota Magnate and owner of Elizade University located in Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, Nigeria did.

Every great business was once a small business.

If your starting point is an akara stand, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. What matters is your vision, your discipline, your willingness to improve, and your consistency.

Never be ashamed of honest work. Today's small enterprise may become tomorrow's business empire.

Otunba Jide Omiyale (Amateur political analyst and SME expert)

Nice one from Otunba!
Another great opportunity to come across ur work.
I will give u a call this evening.

fuke:
Thank you for bringing the video. They think everybody throws about lamba like them

They also know the truth. They are just angry na Tinubu wife talk am. If na Obi talk am, they go defend.

lordm:
Look for the nearest junction.
Most people who sell akara rarely rent standard shops.
This kind of business is not for people that want white collar job.

So you think you can just go to any nearest junction and start selling anything? You will put up firewood and start frying akara just like that at Nigerian junctions? Please go out and ask those already at junctions if it is just that they just woke up and take over the junctions at will and for free. At those junctions, those who sell still pay some landlords. If you don't know, let that sink.

Your write-up was making sense and I was vibing with it until you magicked the "my book" line.
All these book sellers with no practical experience of what they're writing about sef, no wonder your write-up be sounding too good to be true.
Oya OP, of all the business that you've written in your book, how many you don run with straight eye? Interviewing business owners doesn't count as experience abeg 🚶🚶🚶🚶🚶🚶🚶

I am not a supporter of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, and my political position on that remains unchanged. However, intellectual honesty demands that we separate political opposition from objective assessment of individual acts and on this particular matter, the First Lady did nothing deserving of condemnation.

Senator Oluremi Tinubu disbursed grants of ₦50,000 to beneficiaries and encouraged them to use the funds as seed capital for small-scale enterprises. This was not an empty motivational speech. She backed her counsel with action referencing her prior commitment of billions of naira toward tuberculosis treatment when she was briefed on the rising burden of the disease in the country.

Yet rather than acknowledge the gesture, a segment of the public erupted in outrage mocking the amount, ridiculing the suggestion that recipients could start modest trades like selling akara or kuli-kuli, and turning what should have been a moment of quiet appreciation into a theatre of cynicism.
What these critics conveniently forget is a truth as old as commerce itself: great enterprises are born from humble beginnings. The multi-million naira businesses of today were once roadside stalls. The industrialists of tomorrow may well be the akara sellers of today. Persistence, discipline, and incremental growth are the engines of economic ascent and not the size of one's starting capital. A ₦50,000 grant, wisely deployed and consistently reinvested, can grow into something substantial for a determined individual.

More pointedly, one must ask those leading the chorus of condemnation: what tangible support have they extended to their fellow Nigerians? How much have they personally given, donated, or sacrificed for the vulnerable around them? The silence on that question would be deafening. It is often those who do the least who complain the loudest about the inadequacy of others' contributions.

The standard should be simple: if you cannot bring yourself to appreciate a genuine act of giving, the very least you owe is the decency not to condemn it.

There are lots of mad people in Nigeria supporting nonsense than we think. The First Lady should issue and apology and retract that statement of hers. It is insult to the Nigerian people!

How much was given to the First Lady’s office and how much does she make from her Lagos market endeavors? To you all who put your lives on the line to support these kleptomaniacs, it is a shame to your future generations.

Not everybody will work in an office bro.

Even the Bible says it.

tete7000:
So you think you can just go to any nearest junction and start selling anything? You will put up firewood and start frying akara just like that at Nigerian junctions? Please go out and ask those already at junctions if it is just that they just woke up and take over the junctions at will and for free. At those junctions, those who sell still pay some landlords. If you don't know, let that sink.

Arostar2023:
Go and implement your idea na. Abi u no wan make more money? In this age of AI and all manner of technological advancement na akara and kulikuli dey trend for Nigeria. No business is demeaning or too lowly, but progressive nations lay emphasis on business that will uplift their nations not on survival jobs. Same reasons why advanced nations live the menial and survival jobs in their nations to immigrants from poor countries.

But before they became "advanced countries", it was THEM doing those "survival jobs" as you foolishly call them. Not immigrants.

Nigeria is still a developing country, so those jobs are still needed and valuable. They earn money.

ARE WE TO NO LONGER EAT AKARA BECAUSE YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD BE AN ENGINEER OR DOCTOR OR IT CONSULTANT?

IF YOUR WISH CAME TRUE, IF ALL NIGERIANS BECAME WHITE-COLLAR WORKERS, WHO WILL PREPARE THE FOOD YOU EAT?

OR DON'T YOU EAT OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE?

WHO WILL BE THE SHOP ATTENDANT IN YOUR LOCAL SUPERMARKET IF WE ARE ALL LAWYERS AND ARCHITECTS?

Who will fill your tank at the petrol station?

WHO WILL SELL YOU MEAT IN THE MARKET?

WHICH ABOKI WILL TRANSPORT THE COWS FROM THE NORTH FOR YOU TO KILL AND COOK?

OR GROW THE TOMATOES AND ONIONS THAT YOU USE FOR STEW?

IF YOUR WISHES CAME TRUE, YOU WOULD STARVE.

lordm:
That's because I already have a better job. If I didn't have any at all, that would be a different case

even if you don't have, you will not fry Akara.

YourGFsnatcher:
May this be the portion of your family members and generations to come IJN

all these your bullshit doesn't change reality

Stephen0mozzy:
When people make a gaffe, let's accept it as a poor judgement. Why do we have to fire up different PR after a mistake is made to try to make it sound good.

what's d gaffe

I won't b surprised if your parents are petty traders n they train u I'm university through that business but today u are forming billionaire online

LegendHero:
So how do you know all this? Your mama dey sell akara or what?

One woman they interviewed yesterday said the lowest she makes in a month from akara is 150k profit. Some days it might be more.

So let’s say she makes an average of N200k monthly, are you saying she is below poverty level?

You will notice I said there is no shortage of akara sellers or corn roasters. For every one akara seller making it big, there are 100s barely surviving.

So you want the extra millions the incompetent dingbat has pushed into poverty to also fry akara. What happens when the akara frying market becomes oversaturated in light of the speed the dingbat is throwing millions into multidimensional poverty?

May akara frying and corn roasting by the roadside be the portion of your mother, daughters and sisters.

Op you reason like a child. Akara business with 50k in this present economy? Guy you smoke kolos? Abi Tinubu wife pay you to post nonsense. Why not give that 50k to her and see if she can start any meaningful business with it. Stop supporting rubbish. A supposed first lady isn't supposed to talk like that. Imagine Donald Trump's wife telling Americans to start vulcanizing work.