My mother sold Akara – Dave Umahi also defends first Lady

Minister of Works David Umahi has defended First Lady Oluremi Tinubu over her comments encouraging Nigerians to embrace vocational skills, revealing that his mother sold akara while his father worked as a farmer

The First Lady advised young Nigerians to consider small businesses such as roasting corn and selling akara.

Speaking at a public event, Umahi said Mrs Tinubu’s comments were well-intentioned and should not be mocked, stressing that every honest job deserves respect and that hard work remains essential to national development.

To support his argument, the minister shared his own family’s background, explaining that his parents earned a living through farming and selling akara, which helped provide him with opportunities in life.

He said:

“When our First Lady, our Mother of the Nation, was trying to encourage the youths, we must change our work attitude. Everybody must be working, like in China. To take our country, everybody must be working. Everybody must have something to do.

“My mother was selling akara. My father was a farmer. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that having used that to train me, I will continue to farm at their scale, I will continue to sell akara at their scale.

“Why do we make joke of every genuine advice? Will everybody be a banker at the same time? So, let us be serious, for once.”

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