Controversial street singer, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, has defended First Lady Remi Tinubu’s small scale business advice to unemployed Nigerian women.
Recall that the First Lady faced criticism after urging unemployed women to consider ventures such as frying akara and selling roasted corn as a means of survival.
Reacting to the controversy in a recent episode of The Honest Bunch Podcast, Portable claimed that the First Lady’s statement was misinterpreted
Portable argued that many people misunderstood the message she intended to convey about dignity in labour and humble beginnings.
He insisted that there was nothing wrong with Mrs Tinubu’s urging unemployed Nigerians to embrace small-scale businesses, claiming that the parents of many successful people in the country trained their children with the money they made from petty trades.
He also stated that small-scale business is lucrative, claiming that he met some corn sellers who drive luxury cars during his trip to London, United Kingdom.
“Nigerians misunderstood what Remi Tinubu meant. If you look at many wealthy people in this country, their mothers trained them by selling pepper and roasted corn. When I got to London, I even saw someone selling corn while using a Benz.”
The singer encouraged people to embrace opportunities, no matter how insignificant they may seem, noting that what some people ignore often becomes another person’s path to success.
“When it was our turn, what we did not cherish is what other people cherish.”
Portable also stressed the importance of starting from wherever opportunities exist.
Recalling one of his own experiences, he said he once encouraged someone to begin a kuli kuli business despite difficult circumstances.