I am convinced that every public speech has an audience and should reflect the realities of that audience.
The Akara and Kulikuli proposition may have been appropriate as a survival strategy in the remotest communities of an earlier era, but it falls far short of the aspirations of 21st-century Nigerian women. After decades of advocacy for women’s empowerment—from the Better Life Programme to the landmark Fourth World Conference on Women—our conversations should be centred on access to quality education, affordable healthcare, entrepreneurship, technology, decent jobs, and sustainable economic opportunities.
How can women struggling under the weight of inflation, rising transport costs, and declining purchasing power be inspired by suggestions that merely reinforce subsistence living, especially when such advice comes from the comfort of the nation’s highest corridors of power?
The issue is not whether selling akara or kulikuli is an honourable business—it certainly is. The concern is whether such examples represent the level of economic vision Nigerians deserve at a time of deep hardship.
Economic reforms may be reflected in statistical reports, but the true measure of success is whether ordinary citizens experience relief in their daily lives. Until the benefits are felt in the markets, on the streets, and around family dining tables, many Nigerians will continue to question whether those figures reflect their lived reality.
Leadership communication should not only acknowledge hardship; it should inspire confidence through practical, scalable solutions that restore dignity, expand opportunity, and improve the quality of life for all Nigerians.
-Abiodun Lasile DL MnbR
