First Lady, Remi Tinubu recently faced intense public backlash after advising unemployed women to look into petty trading and small-scale businesses like frying of akara and kuli-kuli investment.
However, she has found herself an unexpected follower; controversial street-pop artist Portable, who insists the public completely misread her intentions.
Sitting down on the latest episode of The Honest Bunch Podcast, the singer jumped to the First Lady’s defense, arguing that there is zero shame in starting small. According to him, a massive percentage of Nigeria’s current wealthy elite were actually raised on the proceeds of petty trading.
“If you look at many wealthy people in this country, their mothers trained them by selling pepper and roasted corn,” Portable pointed out during the interview, challenging the narrative that small-scale business is a dead end.
The artist also pushed back on the idea that petty trading isn’t lucrative. To back up his point, he shared a rather bizarre observation from a recent trip abroad, claiming that small-scale hustle can lead to serious wealth if done right.
“When I went to London, I even saw someone selling corn while using a Benz,” Portable claimed, using the example to show that any hustle can be profitable. Ultimately, the singer believes the First Lady was simply encouraging foundational financial independence, a reality many successful Nigerians are already familiar with.
