President Bola Tinubu on Thursday playfully referred to the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, as “Iya Alakara” (Mama Akara Seller), in an apparent light-hearted reference to the recent controversy surrounding her remarks on small-scale businesses.
The President made the remark while observing protocol during his address at the Presidential Press Corps Dinner held at the State House, Abuja.
A video of the event was shared by Aso Rock TV on YouTube.
It showed Tinubu smiling as he acknowledged dignitaries in attendance before turning to his wife.
“Good evening, gentlemen of the press, ladies and gentlemen, my dear wife, the First Lady, Iya Alakara,” the President said, drawing laughter and reactions from the audience.
The nickname comes weeks after the First Lady urged Nigerian women to consider small-scale businesses such as selling akara (bean cakes), roasted corn and kuli-kuli through the Renewed Hope Initiative’s empowerment programme.
She had noted that such ventures “don’t take much money” to start.
The statement sparked widespread reactions on social media, with some Nigerians criticising the remarks as insensitive to the country’s economic challenges and accusing her of trivialising the hardship faced by many citizens.
However, the First Lady later clarified that the Federal Government’s empowerment programme was not limited to akara sellers but also covered traders dealing in tomatoes, pepper, vegetables, roasted plantain and other petty businesses.
She spoke on Monday during the inauguration of the newly constructed Abubakar Maje Haruna Hall at the Emir of Hadejia’s Palace in Jigawa State.
Addressing the criticism directly, the First Lady said the Federal Government had donated ₦100 million to the Jigawa State Government to empower 2,000 petty traders in the state.
“Because of the atmosphere, what is going on, I’ve told Her Excellency that we’ve already given, 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 boole, and those also selling pepper, 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.
The PUNCH