Wife of the President, Senator Remi Tinubu, has urged economically disadvantaged Nigerians to consider small businesses such as selling akara, roasted corn and kulikuli as viable sources of income, saying they require little capital to start and can help families cope with the country’s economic challenges.
She gave the advice after hosting the wives of the 36 state governors in Abuja, where she highlighted empowerment programmes and financial support provided through her office to assist vulnerable Nigerians.
According to the First Lady, her interventions are centred on providing grants rather than loans to enable beneficiaries to establish small-scale businesses without the burden of repayment.
“We’re trying to give hope, and to start an 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.
Senator Tinubu said her office has continued to support Nigerians through various empowerment initiatives designed to improve livelihoods and promote self-reliance.
“So we’ve encouraged Nigerians as best as we could. What is within our hands, I have given, and I keep giving, and those are the things we’ve done,” she added.
The First Lady also outlined some of the financial interventions she has personally supported, including ₦2 billion for tuberculosis treatment, N1 billion for breast cancer interventions and N500 million to address 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),” she said.
She added that her office has also supported programmes in agriculture, education, social investment and digital skills development, including scholarships and ICT training in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
According to her, the interventions are intended to complement the Federal Government’s efforts to improve the welfare of citizens and create more economic opportunities.
Senator Tinubu also appealed to Nigerians not to lose hope despite the country’s economic difficulties, arguing that negative narratives have worsened public anxiety.
“The narrative has really changed. 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. They don’t give up. We’re a very proud nation,” she said.
