The First Lady recently came under criticism after advising unemployed Nigerian women to consider ventures such as frying akara (bean cakes) and selling roasted corn as a means of earning a living.
Speaking during a recent episode of The Honest Bunch Podcast, Portable argued that Mrs Tinubu’s comments had been widely misunderstood.
According to the singer, there was nothing inappropriate about encouraging unemployed Nigerians to engage in petty trading, noting that many successful individuals were raised by parents who financed their education and upbringing through small businesses.
Portable maintained that small-scale enterprises can be highly profitable, adding that he had encountered corn vendors in London, United Kingdom, who owned luxury vehicles.
He said many Nigerians failed to understand the message behind the First Lady’s remarks, insisting that countless families have built successful futures through income generated from businesses such as selling pepper, roasted corn and other everyday commodities.
The debate began after Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, advised unemployed Nigerian women to embrace small-scale businesses such as frying akara and selling roasted corn as a means of earning a living. While some Nigerians described the remarks as a practical call for self-reliance and entrepreneurship, others criticised them as being out of touch with the country’s worsening economic realities, including high inflation, unemployment and the rising cost of doing business. The comments quickly sparked widespread reactions across social media and public discourse, prompting several public figures, including Portable, to weigh in on the controversy.
