President Bola Tinubu jokingly called his wife “Iya Alakara” while speaking about the reactions to her recent comments on small food businesses. He made the remark during the maiden press corps dinner at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, July 2.
The first lady had drawn attention after saying small food businesses, such as selling akara and roasted corn, require little money to start. Akara is a popular Nigerian snack made by deep-frying ground beans. She explained that her office gives grants, not loans, to help people begin such businesses under the Renewed Hope Agenda. She said:
“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.”
Her comments faced criticism from people who said they expected larger empowerment programmes as Nigerians continue to struggle with the economy.
Speaking at the Villa, Tinubu joked about how her remarks were interpreted. His comment quickly drew reactions online, with social media users sharing different views.
One user wrote:
“And you will want me to believe that this government does not know what’s going on and the type of mess the streets are in with their renewed hardship? They knew what’s up.”
Another said:
“It shows my president acquitted himself with what is going on in the nation and on social media…. Kudos to you, Mr President.”
A third user added:
“President Tinubu will always show you he’s following the trend. I’ve been expecting this though.”
Another commented:
“I bet they all talked about it at home and they laughed about it. We are so cooked, ha!”
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