By: Odeh Favour Adiya
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday threw the hall into fits of laughter when he playfully addressed the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, as “Iya Alakara” during the maiden Presidential Press Corps Dinner held at the State House, Abuja. The light-hearted remark, which immediately went viral online, was a direct reference to the recent controversy surrounding the First Lady’s public advice on women engaging in petty trading.
As captured in the video broadcast of the event, the President was observing the established protocols during his speech when he turned to his wife and said, “Good evening, gentlemen of the press, ladies and gentlemen, my dear wife, the First Lady, Iya Alakara”. The unexpected nickname instantly made the entire hall, filled with State House correspondents and top government officials, erupt into serious laughter before the proceedings continued.
The nickname follows weeks of intense social media debate after the First Lady, through the Renewed Hope Initiative’s empowerment programme, urged Nigerian women to consider small-scale businesses like selling akara (bean cakes), roasted corn, and kuli-kuli, noting that such ventures “don’t take much money” to start. While the remarks drew criticism from some citizens who felt it trivialized the country’s economic hardships, the First Lady later clarified during an event in Jigawa State that the N100 million federal intervention was meant for all categories of petty traders.
She stated, “And I know they’ve been talking that I said akara. It’s not only akara, we also have tomato sellers. We have boole, and those also selling pepper, selling vegetables for us in the market”.
Beyond the banter, President Tinubu used the platform to defend his administration’s economic policies, maintaining that the difficult reforms are already yielding positive outcomes. He stated that the country’s foreign reserves have crossed the $50 billion threshold marking a 17-year record high while the stock market has grown remarkably five times higher than its 2023 levels.
Addressing the journalists, Tinubu noted the initial friction between the press corps and his administration regarding the reforms, acknowledging that the media’s early reports were tough. He noted, “At the beginning of the administration, it was hard—the way you approached the reform. But I am glad tonight that you give credit to that reform. You nearly stopped me from reading then, but I had to summon courage that as one of you in the saddles, I must read you, I must hear you, I must feel you. And I read you every morning, sincerely, ever since then”.
He urged the media to maintain high standards of professionalism and avoid sensationalism, emphasizing that press freedom must be matched with national responsibility, especially in reporting security matters. While acknowledging that newspapers often praise and criticize his government within the same 24-hour cycle, Tinubu gave the assurance that the worst of the economic crisis is over, stating, “You can be rest assured that our economy is doing well. We are out of that tunnel the dark tunnel of uncertainty”.
