The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre is facing criticism after sharing an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image of Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, frying and selling akara.
The image, shared on the Presidency’s official social media accounts on Friday, shows the First Lady at a roadside akara stand wearing an apron with the words: “Iya Alakara, fueling the nation with love.”
The post came after the First Lady said in an interview that small businesses like frying akara, roasting corn and making kuli kuli need little money to get started.
She said the Federal Government is helping such businesses with grants, not loans, as part of efforts to improve the lives of Nigerians.
“We’re trying to give hope, and to start akara business doesn’t take a lot of money. To start roasting corn, or somebody even said kuli kuli doesn’t take much. We didn’t give them a loan; we gave it to them as a grant,” she said.
The AI-generated image led to another wave of reactions on X, with many users questioning why it was posted.
An X user, @dinnydavinci, wrote: “Official handle of the president media? This is not comical as it should look. It is utterly ridiculous and grossly insulting. What do these people take us for??”
Another user, @wilverzaddy, criticised the post, saying: “I hope Nigerians are seeing the man they voted for using them to catch cruise?… A president directly mocking the masses while the economy of the country bites harder with high level of insecurity in the country.”
Also, @outtahighbee said the post did not help the administration, writing: “You guys are not helping this president of ours at all… Everybody can’t sell akara and kuli kuli now.”
Another user, @NEWTONEZEKA90, said the post shifted attention from other issues drawing public interest and added that the image was “not even funny.”
Some users also said the image placed too much focus on informal businesses like akara and kuli kuli as ways to create economic opportunities.
The reactions came after the First Lady’s earlier remarks drew mixed responses online. While some Nigerians called the comments insensitive to the country’s economic situation, others defended them as pointing to affordable business opportunities for people trying to earn a living.
