President Bola Tinubu has publicly poked a fun at his wife, the First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu, calling her ‘Iya Akara’ in Yoruba language, meaning the Bean Cake Seller.
Tinubu made the remarks while speaking at the maiden State House Media Corps Presidential Dinner at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday night.
To start the protocol at the function attended by top government officials and journalists covering the State House, and with emphasis, Tinubu said: “Good evening, gentlemen of the press, ladies and gentlemen. My dear wife, the First Lady, Iya Alakara,” eliciting a thunderous laughter from the audience.
According to the viral video of showing the playful moment, the First Lady is seen nodding her head while speaking with another woman in the room in company of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, while the president himself also laughed.
Tinubu was apparently telling Nigerians that he was aware of the most controversial issue among netizens on social media this week.
LEADERSHIP reports that the president’s comment followed recent a controversial remark by the First Lady Remi Tinubu after the second-quarter meeting of the Renewed Hope Initiative with wives of state governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where she explained that beneficiaries of the programme had received grants, not loans, to establish small businesses requiring little startup capital like Akara, roasted corn, Kuli-kuli sellers, tasking other Nigerians to engage in such productive ventures.
“We’re trying to give hope, and to start an 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,” Mrs Tinubu had stated.
Her remarks triggered widespread reactions across social media and political circles, with critics describing them as evidence of a disconnect between the country’s leadership and the harsh economic realities confronting millions of Nigerians.
The Presidency subsequently defended the First Lady’s comments, with the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, insisting that nothing was demeaning about decent labour and entrepreneurship. Dare recalled that his mother once sold akara, bananas and oranges to support the family while he assisted her as a child in Jos, Plateau State.
The debate has since reignited conversations about youth unemployment, the quality of opportunities available to graduates and the broader challenge of translating higher education into sustainable economic advancement in Nigeria.
