{"id":2159,"date":"2026-07-22T04:49:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T03:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=2159"},"modified":"2026-07-22T04:49:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T03:49:50","slug":"first-lady-encourages-nigerian-youths-to-explore-local-food-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=2159","title":{"rendered":"First Lady Encourages Nigerian Youths to Explore Local Food Businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Juliet Erherebue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu<\/strong>, has encouraged young Nigerians to embrace small-scale businesses such as akara<\/strong>, roasted maize, and kuli-kuli<\/strong> production as a means of becoming self-reliant and reducing unemployment across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Lady made the remark during a public engagement where she emphasised the need for youths to develop entrepreneurial skills instead of depending solely on white-collar jobs. According to her, many successful business owners started with little capital and gradually built sustainable businesses through hard work, consistency, and determination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Tinubu said businesses such as akara<\/strong> frying, maize roasting, and kuli-kuli<\/strong> production require relatively small start-up capital and can provide a stable source of income when properly managed. She urged young Nigerians to make good use of the opportunities available around them instead of relying solely on government employment or white-collar jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Lady stated that government jobs alone cannot absorb the increasing number of graduates produced every year. She therefore advised youths to acquire vocational and entrepreneurial skills that would enable them to become self-employed and eventually create jobs for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> DELSU Student Collapses in Overcrowded Library During MIA Examination<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also encouraged young people to remain hardworking, creative, and determined despite the economic challenges facing the country. She advised them not to underestimate small businesses, stressing that dignity lies in honest labour rather than the size of a business. According to her, self-employment remains one of the most practical ways to reduce poverty and improve living standards. She added that government alone cannot provide employment for every graduate, making entrepreneurship an important alternative for young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her comments have generated mixed reactions among Nigerians. While some citizens agreed that small businesses can serve as a reliable source of income and help reduce unemployment, others argued that the statement does not fully address the economic hardship currently being experienced by many Nigerians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reacting to the statement, Odion Blessing Jesutekevwe<\/strong>, a final-year student in the Department of Public Administration, said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I cannot go through the stress and spend a large amount of money on school fees only to end up frying akara or roasting maize. If school is just a means for the government to make money, then they should simply say it upfront.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> DELSU Agricultural Farm Boosts Practical Learning Despite Operational Challenges<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Nigerians maintained that although small businesses remain important, the rising cost of food items, transportation, electricity, and other production materials has made it difficult for many entrepreneurs to operate successfully. They called on the government to introduce more policies that would reduce the cost of doing business and improve the business environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Economic experts have also emphasised that micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises remain important contributors to Nigeria’s economy. According to them, supporting small businesses through access to affordable loans, business training, improved infrastructure, and stable electricity supply would increase productivity, reduce unemployment, and stimulate economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, the Federal Government has introduced several programmes aimed at empowering young people through vocational training, financial support, and business development initiatives. These programmes are expected to encourage innovation, reduce poverty, and improve the standard of living of many Nigerians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many youth groups have continued to call for more practical support in the form of grants, skills acquisition programmes, affordable business loans, and better infrastructure to help young entrepreneurs succeed. They also urged the government to create policies that would make it easier for small businesses to grow and compete effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> The Myth of Owing Nobody: When Independence Becomes An Excuse<\/a>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Lady’s statement has continued to generate public discussion across the country, with many Nigerians expressing differing opinions on social media and other public platforms. While some believe entrepreneurship offers a realistic solution to unemployment, others insist that greater government investment in job creation, industrial development, and economic reforms is equally necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the debate continues, many observers agree that youth empowerment remains one of the key issues in Nigeria’s political and economic development. They believe that combining entrepreneurship with supportive government policies, improved infrastructure, quality education, and agricultural development will provide more opportunities for young Nigerians and contribute to sustainable national growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Juliet Erherebue Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has encouraged young Nigerians to embrace small-scale businesses such as akara, roasted maize, and kuli-kuli production as a means of becoming self-reliant and reducing unemployment across the country. The First Lady made the remark during a public engagement where she emphasised the need for youths to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[571,526,570],"class_list":["post-2159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trendingnews","tag-akara-business","tag-first-lady","tag-nigerian-youths"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2159"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2161,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2159\/revisions\/2161"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}