My Life Would’ve Been Better If My Mother Was Empowered To Start Akara Business— Wike’s Aide

The senior special assistant on public communications to the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Lere Olayinka, has weighed in on the controversy surrounding First Lady Oluremi Tinubu's recent remarks about small-scale businesses, saying his own life might have been different if his mother had received support to start an akara business.

Olayinka's comments came amid widespread public criticism of the First Lady's suggestion that government grants could help Nigerians establish modest ventures such as selling akara, roasted corn and kuli-kuli. Many Nigerians had described the remarks as insensitive, arguing that they failed to reflect the depth of the country's current economic hardship.

Reacting to the outrage, the FCT minister's aide recounted his difficult upbringing and the menial jobs he undertook to survive, insisting that even small financial support for struggling families could significantly alter their fortunes.

“In my journey of life; I trekked over 10km to and from our Ogborodo farm with load on my head,” Olayinka wrote in a post on social media.

He recalled working as a labourer as a young man, saying, "I remember four of us forming a Labourer Group. We travelled from Okemesi Ekiti to Ijebu-Jesha to go and do all kinds of labourer work."

The media aide further disclosed that he worked as a shoemaker under difficult conditions.

"I was a Shoemaker, with 11 of us living in a room and parlour face-me-I-face-you house with an uncle," he said.

According to him, he also worked as an insurance marketer, trekking long distances in search of clients willing to purchase life assurance policies, and later served as a site clerk and office messenger.

"They called me Admin Officer but me I know say na lie. I washed office toilets and went on errands to buy foods for Ogas dem," he added.

Reflecting on his childhood struggles, Olayinka suggested that his family's circumstances could have improved had his mother received financial assistance to start a small business.

"Maybe if my mother had seen someone to give her small money to do akara business then… probably life would have been better," he stated.