‘My wife, Iya Alakara,’ Tinubu playfully nicknames First Lady

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday playfully referred to the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, as “Iya Alakara” (Mama Akara Seller), in what appeared to be a light-hearted reference to the recent controversy surrounding her remarks on small-scale businesses.

The President made the remark while observing protocol during his address at the Presidential Press Corps Dinner held at the State House, Abuja.

A video of the event, shared by Aso Rock TV on YouTube, showed Tinubu smiling as he acknowledged dignitaries in attendance before introducing his wife.

“Good evening, gentlemen of the press, ladies and gentlemen, my dear wife, the First Lady, Iya Alakara,” the President said, drawing laughter from the audience.

Tinubu’s remark comes days after the First Lady advised Nigerian women to consider small-scale businesses such as selling akara (bean cakes), roasted corn and kuli-kuli under the Renewed Hope Initiative’s empowerment programme.

She had stated that such businesses “don’t take much money” to establish.

The comment sparked widespread reactions on social media, with some Nigerians describing it as insensitive to the country’s economic realities and accusing the First Lady of trivialising the hardship faced by many citizens.

However, Mrs Tinubu later clarified that the Federal Government’s empowerment programme was not limited to akara sellers but also covered traders dealing in tomatoes, pepper, vegetables, roasted plantain (bole) and other petty businesses.

She made the clarification on Monday during the inauguration of the newly constructed Abubakar Maje Haruna Hall at the Emir of Hadejia’s Palace in Jigawa State.

Responding to the criticism, the First Lady disclosed that the Federal Government had donated N100 million to the Jigawa State Government to empower 2,000 petty traders.

“Because of the atmosphere and what is going on, I’ve told Her Excellency that we’ve already donated about N100 million to empower 2,000 petty traders.

“And I know they’ve been talking that I said akara. It’s not only akara. We also have tomato sellers. We have bole sellers, pepper sellers and vegetable sellers in our markets.

“We will continue to empower them and add to their resources so that their businesses can become sustainable. That is what we are doing,” she said.