By Ola Kay
The first Lady,Senator Oluremi Tinubu has revealed that a university graduate who resorted to frying akara for a living, following his unsuccessful efforts to get a white collar job ended up becoming an employer of 12 workers with support from her office.
Senator Tinubu stated this on Saturday at the unveiling of the National Community Food Bank in Kogi State, According to the First Lady, the entrepreneur started his akara business by the roadside, following his struggle to secure employment.
Mrs. Tinubu explained that her office supported her without drawing public attention or publicising its involvement.
She said: “There was once I read an article about a young graduate who said he didn’t get a job. He said he sells akara because he couldn’t get a job. We approached him, but I didn’t put my name to it. We equipped him more, and now he has 12 workers working under him, and he’s doing very well.”
She used the example of the success story of the akara seller to demonstrate that small-scale enterprises, including the sale of pepper, vegetables, okra, melon, akara and kuli-kuli, could provide sustainable incomes .
Mrs. Tinubu therefore called on wealthy Nigerians, particularly entertainers, to increase their charitable activities to complement government initiatives aimed at poverty reduction.
She made reference to the Senegalese-American singer, Akon as an example of philanthropy and urged Nigerian music stars, including Asake, Burna Boy and Davido, to establish foundations or expand existing initiatives to support vulnerable people.
She noted that there was nothing wrong in living a life of luxury but successful individuals should commit part of their wealth to helping the needy, because government alone cannot carry the responsibility.
Her statement follow her recent calls on Nigerian women, under the Renewed Hope Initiative’s economic empowerment programme, to appreciate small scale businesses including akara selling, roasted corn and kuli-kuli as other means of income.
The statement however drew the ire of netizens on the social media as they misconstrued her position and resorted to throwing jabs at the first lady and President Tinubu. The angry members of the public had wished more Nigerians could access gainful employment in government and private sector driven environment regardless of the present economic conditions in which Nigeria is not exempted from the global realities.
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