The first Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, said on Saturday that a university graduate who turned to selling akara after failing to find a job has grown the business to employ 12 workers following support from her office.

Speaking at the launch of the National Community Food Bank in Kogi State, Tinubu said the entrepreneur had initially taken up the roadside food business after struggling to secure employment.

She said her office quietly provided assistance to help expand the business without publicising its involvement.

“There was once I read an article about a young graduate who said he didn’t get a job. He said he sells akara because he couldn’t get a job. We approached him, but I didn’t put my name to it. We equipped him more, and now he has 12 workers working under him, and he’s doing very well,” she said.

Tinubu said the success story demonstrated that small-scale enterprises, including the sale of pepper, vegetables, okra, melon, akara and kuli-kuli, could provide sustainable livelihoods.

She also appealed to affluent Nigerians, particularly entertainers, to increase their charitable activities to complement government efforts to reduce poverty.

The First Lady singled out Senegalese-American singer Akon as an example of philanthropy and urged Nigerian music stars, including Asake, Burna Boy and Davido, to establish charitable foundations or expand existing initiatives to support vulnerable people.

While acknowledging that there was nothing wrong with owning luxury cars, she said wealthy citizens should also devote part of their resources to helping those in need, adding that the government could not shoulder the burden alone.

Tinubu’s remarks follow her recent calls on Nigerian women, under the Renewed Hope Initiative’s economic empowerment programme, to embrace small businesses such as selling akara, roasted corn and kuli-kuli as viable sources of income.