The Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, has defended First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s recent empowerment of micro-traders, saying criticisms of the initiative are driven by ignorance of her record and the role of Nigeria’s informal economy.
In a statement shared on Monday, Olusegun described the backlash over the First Lady’s focus on traders such as akara and kulikuli sellers as a “performative circus of selective amnesia.”
He argued that critics had ignored the numerous interventions carried out by the Renewed Hope Initiative across healthcare, women’s empowerment, support for military widows and persons living with disabilities.
According to him, the First Lady’s interventions extend beyond petty traders, citing her donation of ₦1bn to the National Cancer Fund for cervical cancer screening and another ₦1bn for tuberculosis diagnostic equipment in Abuja in 2025.
He also referenced the disbursement of ₦250,000 each to 1,709 widows and orphans of fallen military personnel in 2023, as well as ₦200,000 business grants to persons living with disabilities across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Olusegun further highlighted the Renewed Hope Initiative’s partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which targeted 18,500 women nationwide with ₦50,000 grants and the distribution of equipment, including industrial grinding machines, freezers and generators.
He further criticised what he described as an “Olodo uprising” on social media, accusing critics of reacting to trends without researching the facts.
“This entire controversy perfectly mirrors what is now happening with the broader ‘Olodo uprising” across our social platforms. We live in an era where people jump on trending hashtags and soundbites without dedicating a single minute to researching context. Memes are manufactured in seconds; accurate history takes time to read.
“When the critics are done making their superficial memes, writing cynical captions, and circulating ignorant narratives, the reality on the ground will remain unchanged. They would be better off advising their constituents to find credible means to key into these ongoing government initiatives,” he stated.
He maintained that empowering small-scale traders should not be viewed as “weaponising poverty.”
“According to various economic metrics, the informal sector contributes over 50 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP and accounts for over 80 per cent of employment. The akara fryer, the kulikuli processor, and the petty trader are not just marginal actors; they are the literal shock absorbers of our micro-economy.
“When you give a micro-grant or operational tools to an akara seller, you are not validating poverty; you are reducing immediate operational capital friction, securing food chains at the grassroots, and expanding household income. Mocking these initiatives as ‘petty’ shows a deep-seated contempt for the actual working class of Nigeria,” he said.
Olusegun also defended the political value of grassroots empowerment, saying such interventions create trust among beneficiaries.
He cited the TraderMoni and MarketMoni programmes introduced during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration under then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as examples of initiatives that directly impacted market traders.
“The opposition often wonders why the poorest segments of the population continually familiarise themselves with the All Progressives Congress during elections. The answer is simple: the party meets them at their point of immediate need,” he said.
Olusegun added that Tinubu’s record as former First Lady of Lagos State, a three-term senator and now First Lady of the Federation showed a consistent commitment to structured empowerment programmes.
“She will not be distracted by digital static from doing what she has mastered over decades: empowering the poorest among us, one structured intervention at a time,” he said.
punch.ng
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