Nigerians can sell Akara, Kuli Kuli to mitigate hardship – Remi Tinubu

Senator Remi Tinubu, Nigeria’s first lady has urged Nigerians not to lose hope despite prevailing economic challenges, saying small-scale ventures such as selling akara, roasting corn and producing kulikuli require little capital and can provide sustainable livelihoods.

She made the appeal after hosting the wives of the 36 state governors in Abuja, where she highlighted empowerment programmes and grants provided through her office to support vulnerable Nigerians.

Speaking on efforts to promote entrepreneurship, the First Lady said her office had prioritised grants over loans to help beneficiaries establish 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 Senator Tinubu, her office has continued to provide support to Nigerians through various intervention programmes aimed at improving livelihoods.

“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.

The First Lady also outlined some of the financial interventions she had personally supported in the health sector, including funding for tuberculosis treatment, breast cancer and efforts to combat food malnutrition.

“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 said.

She added that agriculture, social investment, education and digital skills development had 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 said.

Senator Tinubu further argued that persistent negative narratives about the country’s situation had made life more difficult for ordinary Nigerians, urging citizens to remain hopeful under 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.