Official condemns backlash to Tinubu's small-business advice

A senior official of Nigeria's ruling party has expressed shame over the backlash directed at First Lady Oluremi Tinubu following her public advice to young Nigerians to pursue small-scale businesses. The controversy erupted after a video of the First Lady's remarks, made earlier this week, circulated widely on social media.

The First Lady made the comments on Wednesday while addressing journalists after a meeting of the Renewed Hope Initiative with wives of state governors at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. She highlighted the initiative's efforts to provide grants, not loans, to support vulnerable Nigerians. As examples of viable enterprises, she cited businesses such as frying akara (bean cakes), roasting corn, and producing kulikuli (groundnut snacks), noting they require little capital to start.

"We're trying to give hope, and to start Akara business doesn't take a lot of money," she said. "We didn't give them a loan we gave it to them as a grant."

She also outlined other humanitarian and social investments, including donations of two billion naira to combat tuberculosis, one billion naira for breast cancer programs, and five hundred million naira to address malnutrition,...