First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has defended her viral comment on empowering women through petty trading, saying the Renewed Hope Initiative’s grassroots empowerment scheme remains focused on supporting people at the community level.
She spoke on Saturday during the launch of the National Community Food Bank Programme in Lokoja, Kogi State.
The First Lady had, in June, suggested that women could be empowered through government grants to start businesses such as frying akara, roasting corn and processing kuli-kuli. The remark drew criticism from Nigerians, including the Yoruba Union, Ìgbìnmọ Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá, who said the suggestion trivialized the struggles of Nigerian women.
While making the clarification on Saturday, Tinubu stood by the Initiative saying petty traders, including pepper and vegetable sellers, deserved support.
The First Lady turned her appeal to Nigeria’s entertainment industry, urging young stars to establish charitable foundations for the poor. “I want to appeal to our young ones in the entertainment industry. I have mentioned it before, and I will use Akon, a music icon who does a lot of great charity work as an example.
The Burna Boys of this world, the Asakes, all of them, Davido, we want to see you with one foundation or the other, helping the poor with your money,” she said.
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She said luxury cars were not a problem but entertainers should also give back to society, adding that “good cars are good, a Maybach is good, a Rolls-Royce is good, but still, you can help.”
Tinubu listed pepper, vegetable, okra and melon sellers, alongside akara and kuli-kuli traders, as beneficiaries of her empowerment scheme, adding that such businesses deserve support.
“The burden on the government is huge. You can still help. There are pepper sellers, there are vegetable sellers, there are okra sellers, melon sellers, akara sellers that you can help. Akara is delicious, I can tell you that,” she said.
She narrated the story of an Abuja graduate who turned to selling akara after failing to secure a job, saying, “There was once I read an article about a young graduate who said he didn’t get a job, and he said he sells akara because he couldn’t get a job. He’s in Abuja.
“We approached him, I didn’t put my name to it, and we equipped him more. He now has 12 workers working under him, and he’s doing very, very well,” she claimed.
The First Lady’s June comment had trailed her for weeks, with President Bola Tinubu playfully referring to her as “Iya Alakara” at the Presidential Press Corps Dinner in Abuja.
She had also extended N50,000 grants to 2,000 petty traders during a visit to Jigawa State in June, insisting the criticism would not stop the programme.
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