Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu, has urged Nigerians not to lose hope despite the country’s economic challenges, saying small businesses like selling akara (bean cake), roasting corn and making kulikuli need little capital and can help people earn a living.
She spoke after hosting the wives of the 36 state governors in Abuja, where she highlighted the grants and support her office has provided for vulnerable Nigerians.
Speaking on her efforts to empower people, the First Lady said she has focused on giving grants instead of loans to help beneficiaries start small businesses.
“We’re trying to give hope and to start akara business doesn’t take a lot of money. To start roasting corn… somebody even said about grants, you see they’re saying that kulikuli doesn’t take much. We didn’t give them a loan, we gave it to them as a grant,” she said.
According to her, both the government and her office have continued to support Nigerians through different empowerment programmes.
“So we’ve encouraged Nigerians as best as we could. What is within our hands, I have given and I keep giving, you know, and those are the things we’ve done,” she stated.
Senator Tinubu also listed financial support she said she had personally provided for healthcare and nutrition.
“I remember giving for TB when I heard there’s so much TB cases, I gave two billion (naira). To breast cancer, I gave a billion (naira). To food malnutrition, I gave half a billion (naira).
“So those are the things we’ve been doing and making sure we can make sure that whatever this government is trying to do, that it will see the light of the day.”
She added that agriculture, social investment, education and digital skills have also benefited from her initiatives.
“So in Agric, we’ve done; in social investment, we have; in education, we’ve given a little bit of scholarship, ICT training and with NITDA (National Information Technology Development Agency). So and all those are things and we are still open, still want to do more,” she added.
The First Lady said negative narratives have made life harder for many Nigerians and urged citizens to keep faith in President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“The narrative has really changed, has changed to challenge the average man whereas the average man is supposed to have hope. So I like the idea that Mr President said this is the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“We have to renew our hope and that’s how we renew our hope, you know, and that’s what I have to tell Nigerians.
“They don’t give up. Just keep… we’re a very proud nation,” the First Lady said.
