Joe Igbokwe, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has defended Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, following the wave of criticism that greeted her recent advice encouraging Nigerians to embrace small-scale businesses.
The backlash erupted after a viral video showed the First Lady urging Nigerians to consider petty trading as a means of livelihood, stating that businesses such as frying and selling akara are not difficult to start.
Her remarks sparked widespread reactions online, with many Nigerians accusing the government of failing to create enough jobs for unemployed youths and arguing that such advice was out of touch with the country’s economic realities.
Reacting in a Facebook post on Saturday, Igbokwe described the attacks on the First Lady as unfair, insisting that her comments were sincere and intended to encourage self-reliance among young Nigerians.
“This generation frightens me to the marrow. An honest advice HE Oluremi Tinubu gave to young Nigerians on how to help themselves has become a tool to abuse and to pour invectives.
“Social media has become a tool to unleash scurrilous drivels even when the truth is spoken.
“We will learn, last last. See the empty heads and headless mobs dancing naked in the public space left and right. Awon werey everywhere. Shame has enveloped me,” he wrote.
