Nollywood actress and evangelist Eucharia Anunobi has joined the public conversation sparked by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu's remarks on small-scale businesses, urging Nigerians to stop relying on handouts and create opportunities for themselves. In a video shared on her social media page on Sunday, the actress encouraged people seeking urgent financial help to consider ventures such as frying akara, roasting corn, and making kulikuli, arguing that every successful business starts small.
First Lady's Initial Remarks and Backlash
Premium Times reported that Mrs Tinubu urged Nigerians to enter the akara, kulikuli, and corn businesses rather than remain idle. She reiterated this after backlash, clarifying that her empowerment initiatives extend beyond akara sellers to include traders dealing in tomatoes, vegetables, pepper, and roasted plantain, popularly known as bole. The remark drew widespread reactions and criticism from many Nigerians and opposition politicians. Still, President Bola Tinubu, during the annual Presidential Press Corps Dinner in Abuja, acknowledged his wife's call to consider small-scale businesses.
Anunobi's Message to Nigerians
Anunobi said, "Every time you ask for an urgent 2k. Have you not heard that you can start a small-scale business like akara frying, corn roasting, kulikuli making, and before you can say First Lady Alakara, sorry, Chairman, Chairlady Alakara, you would have become a millionaire. Did you not hear, did you not read that it is written that God said I will bless the work of your hand. Hear me, if you lose, you will snooze. If you snooze, you will lose. I think that snooze, snooze, all right, whatever you want, don't snooze."
Furthermore, the 61-year-old advised Nigerians to start a business, warning that they would otherwise never become billionaires. According to her, God does not bless an idle person, but rather those whose hands are doing something. "You refuse to start small. You have nothing that you are doing. What is in your hands for God to bless? If you snooze, you lose and never become a billionaire if you don't start with these small-scale businesses: akara frying, corn roasting and kuli kuli making," she noted.
Public Reactions and Criticism
Anunobi's remarks drew widespread reactions, with her colleagues and netizens storming the comment section of her post with their views. Some comments included: "How many akara and roasted corn person go sell before e get enough money pay house rent or even build house" from Vivy; "The problem isn't that people don't want to work, it's that many don't even have the capital to start" from The Feroww; and "Madam prophetess just join the Akara progressive congress (APC) with your full chest, stop using style to sound stvpid" from Warthog. Others noted that starting even a small business requires capital, a suitable location, and opportunity, and is not always as simple as it sounds.
