President Bola Tinubu on Thursday playfully referred to his wife, First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, as “Iya Alakara” (Mama Akara Seller) in reference to the recent controversy surrounding her remarks on small-scale businesses.
The president made the statement while respecting etiquette during his speech at the Presidential Press Corps Dinner at the State House in Abuja.
Aso Rock TV uploaded a video of the event on YouTube.
It shows Tinubu smiling as he acknowledged the dignitaries in attendance before turning to his wife.
“Good evening, gentlemen of the press; ladies and gentlemen; and my dear wife, the First Lady, Iya Alakara,” the president said, drawing laughter and reactions from the audience.
The designation comes just days after the First Lady encouraged Nigerian women to start small enterprises like selling akara (bean cakes), roasted corn, and kuli-kuli under the Renewed Hope Initiative’s empowerment initiative.
She had mentioned that such ventures “don’t take much money” to launch.
The speech provoked extensive social media reactions, with several Nigerians condemning her words as insensitive to the country’s economic woes and accused her of trivializing the hardships endured by many individuals.
However, the First Lady later stated that the Federal Government’s empowerment campaign extended beyond akara sellers to traders dealing in tomatoes, peppers, vegetables, roasted plantain, and other small businesses.
She addressed it on Monday during the inauguration of the newly built Abubakar Maje Haruna Hall at the Emir of Hadejia’s Palace in Jigawa State.
Addressing the issue directly, the First Lady stated that the federal government had provided N100 million to the Jigawa State Government to empower 2,000 minor traders in the state.
“Because of the atmosphere and what is going on, I’ve told Her Excellency that we’ve already given and 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 booleans, and those are also selling pepper and 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.
