Akara, Kulikuli empowerment and the one-sided view of the Olodo uprising: Dissecting First Lady Remi Tinubu’s empowerments in three years

By Dada Olusegun

Public discourse in Nigeria has increasingly taken a troubling turn, shifting from constructive criticism to a performative circus of selective amnesia. The latest manifestation of this trend is the media frenzy surrounding the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s recent focus on micro-traders; specifically those who survive on small-scale culinary trades like frying akara (bean cakes) and selling kulikuli (peanut cakes).

In some sections of the media and digital spaces, this intervention has been swiftly framed as an attempt to “weaponize poverty.” However, a look through the history of Senator Tinubu’s public life reveals that this narrative is born out of a profound ignorance of both her extensive track record and the fundamental mechanics of Nigeria’s informal economy.

To claim that the First Lady’s interventions are strictly targeted at petty traders is a deliberate distortion of the facts. Over the last three years, the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) has functioned as a multifaceted national social platform, rolling out heavy-investment programs across various critical sectors. These interventions are well-documented, with specific dates and locations:

>Major Healthcare Interventions (April 2025, Abuja): Senator Oluremi Tinubu made a massive financial commitment by donating ₦1 billion to the National Cancer Fund to scale up cervical cancer screening, testing, and treatment. This was closely followed in August 2025 by another ₦1 billion donation for Tuberculosis diagnostic equipment at the Dutsen Makaranta Primary Health Center in Abuja.

>Empowerment of Military Widows and Fallen Heroes’ Families (November 2023, Abuja): Under her social investment scope, the First Lady disbursed ₦250,000 each to 1,709 widows and orphans of the Nigerian Armed Forces—drawn from associations like DEPOWA, NAOWA, and NOWA—amounting to over ₦427 million to help them recapitalize or start businesses.

>Inclusivity for Persons Living with Disabilities (December 3, 2025, Nationwide): Commemorating the International Day of Persons Living with Disabilities, the RHI launched a coordinated program across all 36 states and the FCT, providing ₦200,000 business recapitalization grants to 250 PLWDs per state.

>National Women’s Economic Empowerment (February 2025, Niger State): In Bida, Niger State, she flagged off the RHI/Tony Elumelu Foundation partnership, targeting 18,500 women nationwide with ₦50,000 grants each, alongside heavy machinery distribution like deep-chest freezers, generators, and industrial grinding machines.

Whether sorting out life-saving medical bills, providing industrial equipment, or handing out substantial cash injections to families of fallen heroes, her footprint spans the apex of structural support.

Even if we accept the critics’ premise that the First Lady has now tilted her focus towards micro-enterprises like akara and kulikuli sellers, the resultant outrage betrays an elitist disconnect.

The critics, however often dubbed the online “Olodo armchair economists”, have zero idea how Nigeria’s informal economy operates. According to various economic metrics, the informal sector contributes over 50% of Nigeria’s GDP and accounts for over 80% of employment. The akara fryer, the kulikuli processor, and the petty trader are not just marginal actors; they are the literal shock absorbers of our micro-economy.

When you give a micro-grant or operational tools to an akara seller, you are not validating poverty; you are reducing immediate operational capital friction, securing food chains at the grassroots, and expanding household income. Mocking these initiatives as “petty” shows a deep-seated contempt for the actual working class of Nigeria.

There is also a significant political dimension that critics willfully ignore. Grassroots empowerment builds immediate, visceral brand loyalty.

The opposition often wonders why the poorest segments of the population continually familiarize themselves with the All Progressives Congress (APC) during elections. The answer is simple: the party meets them at their point of immediate need.

We saw this masterfully executed during the first term of former President Muhammadu Buhari, under the supervision of then-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, through the TraderMoni and MarketMoni schemes. While intellectuals in Abuja and Lagos dismissed the ₦10,000 interest-free loans as political tokens, those micro-funds became lifeline injections for millions of real-life market women. Political goodwill is built in the markets, not on social media feeds. The APC understands this matrix of empathy and political equity, while the opposition chooses to trade in detached, high-level rhetoric that means nothing to a starving household.

This entire controversy perfectly mirrors what is now happening with the broader “Olodo uprising” across our social platforms. We live in an era where people jump on trending hashtags and soundbites without dedicating a single minute to researching context. Memes are manufactured in seconds; accurate history takes time to read.

When the critics are done making their superficial memes, writing cynical captions, and circulating ignorant narratives, the reality on the ground will remain unchanged. They would be better off advising their constituents to find credible means to key into these ongoing government initiatives.

Senator Oluremi Tinubu has proven throughout her days as the First Lady of Lagos State, as a three-term Senator, and now as the First Lady of the Federation, that she is institutionalized in her approach. She will not be distracted by digital static from doing what she has mastered over decades: empowering the poorest among us, one structured intervention at a time.