Oluremi Tinubu, Nigeria’s First Lady, has encouraged the nation’s citizens to hold onto hope amid ongoing economic hardships, suggesting that many small enterprises can be launched with minimal capital.
Addressing the Federal Government’s efforts to uplift the populace, Mrs. Tinubu highlighted that simple ventures like selling akara, roasting corn, and making kuli-kuli require only a slight financial outlay, yet can serve as viable income streams for numerous Nigerians.
“We’re aiming to instill hope, and starting an akara business does not demand a substantial amount of money,” she noted.
“Ventures like roasting corn or, as someone mentioned, producing kuli-kuli, are also affordable initiatives,” she added.
The First Lady further clarified that the aid offered to certain beneficiaries comes in the form of grants, not loans, providing important financial support.
“We didn’t give them a loan, we gave it to them as a grant,” she stated.
Highlights government interventions
Mrs Tinubu also highlighted several interventions she said had been undertaken to support vulnerable Nigerians and improve public welfare.
According to her, she donated ₦2 billion to tackle tuberculosis cases in the country, ₦1 billion towards breast cancer initiatives and ₦500 million to address food malnutrition.
“I remember giving for TB, when I heard there’s so much TB cases, I gave two billion. To breast cancer, I gave a billion. To food malnutrition, I gave half a billion,” she said.
She added that efforts had also been directed towards social investment programmes, education, scholarships and ICT training in partnership with relevant agencies.
“So in our work we’ve done, in social investment we have, in education we’ve given a little bit of scholarship, ICT training and with NIDA,” she said.
Calls for renewed hope
The First Lady maintained that the country’s narrative should inspire hope among ordinary citizens rather than discourage them.
“The narrative has really changed to challenge the average man, whereas the average man is supposed to have hope,” she said.
She praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, saying Nigerians must continue to believe in the country’s future.
“We have to renew our hope and that’s how we renew our hope,” she said.
Mrs Tinubu concluded her remarks by urging Nigerians not to give up, describing the country as “a very proud nation.”
“They don’t give up, just keep, we are a very proud nation,” she said.
Watch the video here…
“To start an akara business doesn’t take a lot of money. To start roasting corn or kuli-kuli doesn’t take much. We have encouraged Nigerians as best as we could. We have given people grants, and I also gave grants to several others” — First Lady Remi Tinubu…
— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) June 26, 2026