Nigeria’s First Lady Oluremi Tinubu on Saturday called on Afrobeats stars Burna Boy, Davido, and Asake to use their wealth to support poor Nigerians, saying the “burden on government is huge.”
Speaking in Lokoja, Kogi State, during the launch of the national community food bank, Mrs. Tinubu urged entertainers to emulate global icons like Akon who run charitable foundations.
“We Want To See You With A Foundation”
“Nigeria is a great country. We have a lot of wealthy people. But our priorities are different,” she said.
“I want to appeal to our young ones in the entertainment industry… The Burna Boys of this world, Asake, all of them, Davido. We want to see you with one foundation or the other, helping the poor with your money.”
“Good cars are good; a Maybach is good. Rolls-Royce is good, but still you can still help,” the First Lady added.
Mrs. Tinubu also urged Nigerians not to look down on small businesses and trades.
“There are pepper sellers. There are vegetable sellers. There are okra sellers, melon sellers, akara, kulikuli. Akara is delicious,” she said.
She recounted the story of a young graduate in Abuja who started selling “zakara” after failing to get a job.
“We equipped him more. He now has 12 workers working under him, and he’s doing very, very well. So our people should never despise jobs,” she said.
As part of the Renewed Hope Initiative, the First Lady announced a donation of ₦100 million to empower 2,000 petty traders in Kogi State with ₦50,000 each to recapitalize their businesses.
“Today in that same spirit, the Renewed Hope Initiative has donated ₦100 million to the First Lady of Kogi State and RHI coordinator,” Mrs. Tinubu said.
She commended beneficiaries who welcomed her with trays of food items, saying “the message is quite received no matter how people want to turn it around.”