The Presidency has shared an AI-generated image of Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, frying and selling akara, days after her remarks on small-scale businesses sparked widespread debate on social media.
The image, posted on the official social media accounts of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre on Friday, depicts the First Lady behind a roadside akara stall wearing an apron bearing the inscription, “Iya Alakara, fuelling the nation with love.”
The post comes after Oluremi Tinubu said during a recent interview that businesses such as frying akara, roasting maize and producing kuli kuli require relatively little capital to establish.
She explained that the Federal Government was supporting aspiring entrepreneurs through grants rather than loans as part of efforts to improve livelihoods.
“We’re trying to give hope, and to start akara business doesn’t take a lot of money. To start roasting corn, or somebody even said kuli kuli doesn’t take much. We didn’t give them a loan; we gave it to them as a grant,” the First Lady said.
Her comments prompted mixed reactions online, with some Nigerians accusing her of being out of touch with the country’s economic realities, while others defended her, arguing that she was highlighting affordable business opportunities for people seeking a source of income.
The AI-generated image has since intensified the debate, with supporters describing it as a humorous response to critics, while others argued that it downplayed the economic challenges confronting many Nigerians.
Reacting on X, one user, identified as @Top_GunM, wrote: “Warra country. It’s so unfortunate. This is meant to be the wife of the president of the most populous black nation in the world and this is what she’s being reduced to.”
Another user, posting under the name #mizmuchstella, criticised the Presidency’s media team, saying: “Whoever is the handler of this account should be sacked. Your job is to position this government as good, but it is obvious you have no basic knowledge of your job.”
