In this piece, Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka, Our Managing Editor writes that in a small market in Nnewi, a woman fries Akara before dawn, employs 12 people, and has built a home from the proceeds. Hundreds of kilometers away in Abuja, her trade became the subject of national debate after the First Lady mentioned it. Prince Orji Nwafor-Orizu’s press conference this week did more than defend a comment. It forced Nigeria to ask: do we respect the work that feeds us?
Senator Oluremi Tinubu suggested grants for women to start businesses like Akara and Kulikuli. Social media erupted. Critics asked why that business.
Orji Nwafor-Orizu, a prince from Nnewi and democracy advocate, called a press conference. His message was simple: don’t mock what works.
He told of women who have built houses and trained children from Akara. One employs 12 people. These are not statistics. They are livelihoods.
The distinction matters. A loan requires collateral most poor women don’t have. A grant can start a pot, buy oil, and hire help.
How well are you doing what you are doing?” he asked. In that question lies a challenge to Nigeria’s class bias against informal work.
He urged the First Lady to wear the nickname proudly. In politics, proximity to the grassroots is currency. But Nwafor-Orizu was not uncritical. He faulted plans to distribute vehicles and cows to APC women before campaigns begin. “That money is Nigerian money,” he said. Giving it along party lines, he argued, contradicts the office of First Lady. He listed ADC, NDC, PRP and independent voters. Should they be excluded from empowerment? His answer was no.
When asked if government keeps promises, he sidestepped partisanship. The test, he said, is delivery. He suggested lawmakers help identify beneficiaries. That could root the program in communities, not party offices. The conversation veered to musicians. Calls for artistes like Burna Boy to start foundations drew his defense: their wealth is private.
He compared Nigeria to America, where celebrity wealth is celebrated. The message: success is not a crime.
Over 80% of Nigerian women work in the informal sector. Policy that ignores them ignores the majority. Without transparency, grants can become patronage. With it, they can become transformation.
By defending Akara, Nwafor-Orizu is pushing a cultural shift: respect for small business as real business. The First Lady’s office now faces two tasks: design an inclusive grant system, and time it right.
What started as a comment about frying Akara has become a mirror. It reflects how Nigeria values work, wealth, and women. If government listens, the sizzle of oil in a pot could become the sound of policy that works.