Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Yesterday, the Yoruba Union, a prominent socio-cultural group, launched a blistering attack on Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, over her recent remarks encouraging women to start small-scale roadside businesses such as selling akara (bean cakes), roasted corn, and kuli-kuli (peanut cakes). The group, which operates under the Yoruba name Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá, described the comments as “insulting” and “disconnected from the reality of modern economic struggles,” challenging the First Lady to lead by example by personally hawking the items in the Surulere area of Lagos.
The controversy erupted following a press briefing where Senator Tinubu defended the administration’s economic relief initiatives, stating that starting an akara business “doesn’t take a lot of money” and that the government had provided grants rather than loans to help low-income citizens set up such ventures. “We’re trying to give hope, and to start 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,” she was quoted as saying.
In a sharply worded statement signed by the group’s Convener, Olusola Badero, and released through its Home Director, Princess Balogun, the Yoruba Union expressed outrage at what it described as the First Lady’s condescending attitude toward the struggles of ordinary Nigerian women. The group argued that the world had moved on through invention, innovation, and technology, and that it was “insulting” for the First Lady to reduce the aspirations of Nigerian women to roadside trading.
The organisation challenged Senator Tinubu to “lead by example” by going to Surulere to start selling akara and roasted corn herself. In a further provocative suggestion, the group also called on the Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo — who is the President’s daughter — to hawk the items at Oju Elegba under the bridge. “It is very unfortunate that a woman who is the First Lady of a country will look down on her fellow women because she has the privilege of being in that position and thinks others are nothing,” the group stated.
The Yoruba Union also accused the First Lady of hypocrisy, alleging that she had distributed expensive buses to women leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for political purposes while advising struggling women to resort to petty trading. “Why can’t she distribute such cars to the women she told to start akara business if she is really interested in elevating women across the country?” the group queried. The organisation further accused Senator Tinubu of ignoring pressing national issues, including the abduction of schoolchildren in Oyo State and kidnappings in Kwara State, while focusing on political activities.
In a particularly harsh assessment, the Yoruba Union described Oluremi Tinubu as “one of the worst First Ladies Nigeria would ever have in history,” insisting that her actions showed insensitivity to the plight of the masses. The group also drew unfavourable comparisons with First Ladies in other countries, noting that while other nations were showcasing women breaking barriers in science, technology, and innovation, the Nigerian First Lady was telling women to sell akara and roasted corn.
The group’s criticism was echoed by other public figures. Arise News anchor Ayo Mairo-Ese, during a morning broadcast, also condemned the First Lady’s remarks, stating that it was “about time we stop insulting the intelligence of Nigerian women by saying the best they can do is to be selling this or that”. She noted that while small businesses have their place, the focus in 2026 should be on industrialisation and technology-driven entrepreneurship. While some Nigerians defended the First Lady, arguing that akara and kuli-kuli are legitimate and profitable businesses, others maintained that the real issue was not the trades themselves but what the advice revealed about the government’s understanding of the economic hardship facing ordinary citizens.
As of the time of this report, the Presidency had not issued an official response to the Yoruba Union’s criticism. The group, however, has made it clear that it views the First Lady’s remarks as emblematic of a broader disconnect between the political elite and the suffering masses. “For long these heartless people have taken Nigerians for granted. They treated people as if they are nothing. What moral and values is she teaching?” the statement concluded.
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