Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, has weighed into the controversy on sale of akara, roasting corn, and making ‘kuli-kuli’.
Angry reactions swept across social media on Friday after First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu advised Nigerians to embrace small businesses.
She had called on Nigerians to consider businesses such as frying akara, roasted corn vending and kuli-kuli production, among others.
The backlash intensified after a video of her remarks circulated online, prompting criticism from Nigerians who said the comments failed to reflect the hardship confronting millions of households.
But defending the First Lady during an interview on Mic On Podcast, Dare said his mother, a petty trader, raised him through proceeds of akara, banana and so on.
He said most of the people commenting online missed the point made by Tinubu’s wife.
“You must not miss her point, her point is that whatever it is, try and do something, have some level of entrepreneurial skill… The point she is making is, whatever it is, be engaged in some kind of enterprise.”
“When you look at the informal sector of our country, its resilience continues to lift this economy… You find it predominantly everywhere, and also in the north, they’re also significant.
“Look at me. Wherever I am today, my mother sold akara. Wherever I am today, my mother sold bananas. I carried bananas in a tray on my head to markets in Jos, Plateau State. My mother sold oranges, and through that, they were able to train me.”
He also questioned why an economic survival model that worked for older generations should be ridiculed by contemporary youths.
“What is wrong with that? If that was right 60 years ago, what is wrong with that now? Because it’s about what capital you have. When you grow these small businesses, you start small,” he said.
