Controversial singer Habeeb Okikiola Badmus, popularly known as Portable, has said Nigerians misunderstood the advice given by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu to women on starting small-scale businesses such as frying bean cakes, popularly known as akara, and selling roasted corn as a means of survival.
Speaking in a recent episode of The Honest Bunch Podcast, Portable said the First Lady’s comment was wrongly interpreted by many Nigerians.
He maintained that there was nothing wrong with encouraging unemployed Nigerians to embrace petty trading, arguing that many successful people in the country were raised by parents who financed their education and upbringing through small businesses.
Portable also described small-scale trading as profitable, saying he had seen corn sellers living comfortably, including some he claimed owned luxury cars.
“Nigerians misunderstood what Remi Tinubu meant. If you look at many wealthy people in this country, their mothers trained them by selling pepper and roasted corn. When I went to London, I even saw someone selling corn while using a Benz,” Portable stated.
Portable’s remarks came days after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu drew laughter at a public event when he jokingly referred to the First Lady as “Iya Alakara.”
The President made the remark while acknowledging guests at the Presidential Press Corps Dinner held at the State House in Abuja on Thursday.
In a video shared by Aso Rock TV, Tinubu was seen addressing dignitaries and members of the press when he introduced his wife with the nickname, in what appeared to be a light-hearted reference to the public reactions trailing her recent comments on petty trading.
“Good evening, gentlemen of the press, ladies and gentlemen, my dear wife, the First Lady, Iya Alakara,” the President said, drawing laughter from members of the audience.
The President’s comment followed the reactions that trailed the First Lady’s advice to Nigerian women to take up small businesses such as selling akara, roasted corn, and kuli-kuli under the Renewed Hope Initiative’s economic empowerment scheme.
Mrs Tinubu’s remarks had sparked criticism on social media after she said such businesses “don’t take much money” to start, with many Nigerians describing the comment as insensitive amid the country’s worsening economic hardship and rising cost of living.