[Opinion] Dr Ella: Nigerians Need Bigger Dreams Than Akara and Kuli-Kuli

 The controversy surrounding recent remarks by Nigeria's First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, on the profitability of frying akara, roasting corn, and selling kuli-kuli has continued to generate reactions across the country.

Veronica's Daughter
Source: Dr Ella FB account 

Adding her voice to the debate through her social media handle, Dr Ella, popularly known as Veronica's Daughter, argues that the issue goes far beyond whether petty trading is profitable or dignified.

According to her, the real question Nigerians are asking is one of national aspiration.

Drawing from her personal experience, Dr Ella explained that she comes from a humble background. Growing up in Jos, she said she engaged in hawking as a child while her mother, a seamstress, supplemented the family's income through the sale of bananas and plantains.

Like many Nigerians, she acknowledged that countless families survived and raised children through petty trading, including frying akara, roasting corn, operating "mama put" businesses, and other small-scale ventures.

For her, therefore, the public outrage is not an attack on honest labour.

"The argument isn't whether akara is lucrative," she stated. "The argument isn't whether it's a viable business opportunity."

Rather, she believes the controversy stems from what citizens expect to hear from those occupying the highest levels of leadership.

"When you begin to listen to the leadership of a nation, that's when you understand what they think of you as citizens," she argued.

Dr Ella questioned whether promoting petty trading represents the highest dream or aspiration that the country's leadership envisions for Nigerian youths.

In her view, Nigerians are not primarily asking government officials to teach them how to start small businesses. Instead, they are demanding policies and an enabling environment that will allow individuals and businesses to thrive.

She listed stable electricity, affordable fuel, lower food prices, quality infrastructure, and improved business conditions as some of the issues citizens expect leaders to prioritize.

The Higher institution lecturer further argued that many Nigerian parents who engage in petty trading do so out of necessity rather than aspiration. Their sacrifices, she noted, are often driven by the hope that their children will have opportunities to pursue careers and attain greater achievements.

This, she said, explains why many Nigerians felt disconnected from the First Lady's remarks.

Dr Ella also criticized what she described as the reaction of government supporters who, rather than acknowledging public concerns, sought to defend the comments by emphasizing the profitability of akara and corn businesses.

According to her, this misses the central issue.

"The problem is that the leadership of our country should have loftier dreams for us," she said.

She argued that national leaders should be discussing innovation, artificial intelligence, technology, education, and infrastructure as pathways for national development, rather than focusing predominantly on subsistence enterprises.

While reiterating her respect for people engaged in petty trading, Dr Ella maintained that leadership must inspire citizens to dream bigger and assure them that government is creating conditions where those dreams can be realized.