“Start frying akara instead of begging for N2,000” — Eucharia Anunobi joins ‘Iya Alakara’ debate

Nollywood actress and evangelist Eucharia Anunobi has joined the growing public conversation sparked by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s remarks on small-scale businesses, urging Nigerians to stop relying on handouts and to create opportunities for themselves.

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In a video shared on her social media page on Sunday, the actress encouraged people seeking urgent financial help to consider ventures such as frying akara, roasting corn and making kulikuli, arguing that every successful business starts small.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mrs Tinubu urged Nigerians to enter the akara, kulikuli, and corn businesses rather than remain idle.

She reiterated this after backlash, clarifying that her empowerment initiatives extend beyond akara sellers to include traders dealing in tomatoes, vegetables, pepper, and roasted plantain, popularly known as bole.

The remark drew widespread reactions and criticism from many Nigerians and opposition politicians. Still, President Bola Tinubu, during the annual Presidential Press Corps Dinner in Abuja, acknowledged his wife’s call to consider small-scale businesses.

Start now

Anunobi said, “Every time you ask for an urgent 2k. Have you not heard that you can start a small-scale business like akara frying, corn roasting, kulikuli making, and before you can say First Lady Alakara, sorry, Chairman, Chairlady Alakara, you would have become a millionaire.

“Did you not hear, did you not read that it is written that God said I will bless the work of your hand. Hear me, if you lose, you will snooze. If you snooze, you will lose. I think that snooze, snooze, all right, whatever you want, don’t snooze.”

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Business

Furthermore, the 61-year-old advised Nigerians to start a business, warning that they would otherwise never become billionaires.

According to her, God does not bless an idle person, but rather those whose hands are doing something.

“You refuse to start small. You have nothing that you are doing. What is in your hands for God to bless? ” If you snooze, you lose and never become a billionaire if you don’t start with these small-scale businesses: akara frying, corn roasting and kuli kuli making”, she noted.

Anunobi’s remarks drew widespread reactions, with her colleagues and netizens storming the comment section of her post with their views.

Below are some of the comments.

Stop Asking For Urgent ₦2,000, Start Frying Akara Or Roasting Corn Instead — Actress Eucharia Anunobi Advises pic.twitter.com/3pXyh4dvr9

— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) July 5, 2026

How many akara and roasted corn person go sell before e get enough money pay house rent or even build house

— Vivy (@IbekweVivi17048) July 5, 2026

This advice will make some men want to now support the akara and kuli kuli everyone have been condemn 😀

— LONDON😳 (@mono_knowless) July 5, 2026

The problem isn’t that people don’t want to work, it’s that many don’t even have the capital to start.

— The Feroww (@theferoww) July 5, 2026

Madam prophetess just join the Akara progressive congress (APC) with your full chest, stop using style to sound stvpid.

— Warthog (@awunatarila) July 5, 2026

The message about finding ways to earn an income is valuable, but we should also acknowledge that starting even a small business requires some capital, a suitable location, and opportunity. It’s not always as simple as it sounds.

— Ucnation (@Ucnation3) July 5, 2026

Me wey don open one sharp spot for sambisa

— Joseph Friday dele (@joseph_fri34778) July 5, 2026

Let’s think of this together, the idea of selling Akara isn’t a bad one, but the context in which the first lady said it was bad. It is better to sell Akara than be jobless and be constituting nuisance around. We are now in a world where people do not want to work anymore. If we…

— /muːˈbɑːræk/(king of X)👑 (@LilmubeayCFC) July 5, 2026