More Than Just Akara: Nigeria Needs to Talk About Business Growth

A few weeks ago, Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, made headlines when she spoke about grants and encouraged Nigerians to consider small businesses like frying akara, roasting corn, and making kuli-kuli. This stirred up quite a debate. Should the First Lady really be suggesting that Nigerians fry akara? Is there anything wrong with frying akara? After all, many Nigerian women have done just that, raised families, and sent their children to school through hard work.

But what really caught my attention was something else she said: “We’ve encouraged Nigerians as best as we could. What is within our hands, I have given, and I keep giving.” These words stuck with me. What does it mean to say we have encouraged Nigerians as best as we could? It almost sounds like that is all we can do. We have encouraged you. We have given what we can. Surely, our leaders should not sound as if encouragement is the limit of what can be achieved.

To be fair to the First Lady, she also mentioned the efforts by the Renewed Hope Initiative in health, agriculture, education, ICT training, and social investment. She showed that they are open to doing more. But we need to be careful about the message we send. This is not just about the First Lady. It is about government and leadership as a whole. People vote for governments because they want to see improvements in their lives. Governments make promises about poverty, education, infrastructure, jobs, and economic opportunities.

Leadership cannot stop at encouragement. Maybe this is where we focus too much on the wrong thing when we argue about akara. There is nothing wrong with frying akara. There is dignity in every honest work. We know stories of women who sold food, hawked goods, and managed to educate their children. We should honor them and the sacrifices they made. But asking Nigeria to simply replicate the survival strategies of past generations by 2026 is not enough. Nigeria in 2026 should be asking bigger questions.

What incentives are we putting in place for small and medium enterprises (SMEs)? How are we helping existing businesses grow? How easy is it for them to access affordable financing? What about electricity, roads, logistics, and machinery? Trade should be a major part of our economic discussion. How easy is it for someone making something in Aba to sell it in Lagos?

How do we take that woman frying akara and help her turn it into a real business? Can she hire five people? Can she hire twenty? Can she improve her packaging? Can she access financing easily? Can she take online orders and deliver them? Can she supply supermarkets or even export? Why should her dreams be limited to selling by the roadside? That, for me, is the bigger conversation.

Nigeria has nearly 240 million people. This should excite us but also worry us. We have a huge market potential, but many people need jobs, education, healthcare, and opportunities. We cannot just rely on grants. Grants are important. Sometimes a small amount of money can change a life or give a small business the capital to start. But there is a difference between giving and enabling. Giving can help someone start. Enabling creates conditions for them to grow without always needing more help. What happens after the grant?

What incentives are we providing for SMEs? How do we help existing businesses grow? How easy is it for them to access affordable finance? What about electricity, roads, logistics, and machinery? Trade should be central to our economic conversation. How easy is it for someone in Aba to sell their product in Lagos? Or for someone in Kano to trade well with someone in Port Harcourt? And we should not only focus on Nigeria.

How easy is it for a Nigerian SME to sell in Ghana, Kenya, or South Africa? How are we positioning our businesses to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area? Beyond Africa, how do we help Nigerian products reach the global market? We have already seen what is possible. By December, the world will again turn its eyes to Lagos. 'Detty December' has become an economic phenomenon. In December 2024, tourism and entertainment in Lagos were estimated at over ₦100 billion. Look beyond the concerts and parties. Look at the ecosystem around them. Look at our fashion. Look at food businesses, photographers, make-up artists, caterers, designers, decorators, drivers, and many small businesses that benefit from this activity.

Government does not need to run her business. But government must create an environment for businesses to thrive. The same goes for agriculture. We need mechanization, storage, and processing. We need roads. We need to connect farmers to manufacturers and manufacturers to markets. We need infrastructure. Nigerians are already entrepreneurial.

Nigerian fashion especially interests me. Our designers are becoming more visible internationally. Technology and social media have opened markets that did not exist for past generations. A designer in Lagos can now have a customer in London. How do we help her grow? How does she go from making 30 pieces to 3,000? How does she get her products to global customers easily and competitively? That is where government needs to think creatively.

Government does not need to build her business. But government must create an environment for that business to thrive. The same applies to agriculture. We need mechanization, storage, and processing. We need roads. We need to connect farmers to manufacturers and manufacturers to markets. We need infrastructure. Nigerians are already entrepreneurial. You can see it everywhere. We are always creating, trading, and finding ways around problems. Imagine what could happen if all that energy was matched by an environment designed to help businesses succeed.

This is why we need to be careful about sharing a message of survival when we should be sharing one of aspiration. The world is moving fast. We cannot limit people’s dreams to survival. Technology is changing how we work, shop, eat, and trade. Small businesses can now reach customers thousands of kilometers away. So yes, let the woman fry akara. But let us not stop there. Let us ask how her akara can become a business. How that business can employ other Nigerians. How it can grow into a manufacturer and, perhaps one day, an exporter.

Government does not need to build the business for her. Nigerians have shown they can build businesses. But government must create the environment where those businesses can thrive. That is why those words, “we’ve encouraged Nigerians as best as we could”, lingered in my mind. Encouragement is good. Grants are good. Giving is good. But none of these can be the end of the conversation. The bigger task for leadership is enabling people to succeed. Provide Nigerians with the infrastructure. Create a better environment for businesses. Make trade easier. Help SMEs grow. And above all, do not limit our imagination.

There is so much more we can do!