Poverty Is Not Empowerment: When Government Sells Poverty as Progress, the Hypocrisy Behind "Our Parents Sold Akara" Politics

I have watched and listened to the arguments of those trying to justify the statement made by the First Family. Let us begin with a simple question. What will the lifestyle of today’s akara, kulikuli, roasted corn sellers look like in the next thirty (30) to forty (40) years when they no longer have the strength to stand by the roadside. What will happen when they become elderly after spending their entire lives in petty trade with no pension, no savings, no retirement plan, no monthly salary from government, and children who are also struggling in today’s economy.

I stand by my statement. A business that cannot sustain you in old age is not empowerment. It is managed poverty. A business that cannot meet your basic needs, especially when government has already failed to provide essential services, is not an economic idea. It is poverty disguised as empowerment. It is a slow death disguised as survival. This is why old age poverty is rising and why many elderly Nigerians depend on neighbours, churches, mosques, or luck to survive. Anyone who wants to understand this deeper should explore old age poverty.

Yet leaders and supporters of corrupt politicians, especially those who benefit from corruption and the suffering of ordinary citizens, keep repeating one tired and dishonest argument. “Our parents sold akara, kulikuli, roasted corn, firewood, moinmoin, and petty goods and they still trained us. So what is wrong if government encourages people to do the same today.” This statement is not only misleading, it is insulting in a century where the world is moving toward technology, innovation, and the education of citizens.

It shows how low those in power rate the people they govern. It shows how they imagine Nigeria. A country where citizens should remain trapped in survival level businesses, living in 'face-me-I-face-you' apartments, struggling without basic amenities like proper kitchens, electricity, roads, hospitals, clean water, toilets, or safe sanitation. A country where billions are budgeted for leaders or looted without mercy while citizens are told to fry akara as empowerment. Many Nigerians still use pit toilets that damage their health because they cannot afford modern facilities. Yet these same leaders stand on national platforms and present petty trade as progress.

Such a statement should come from a local government councillor addressing a small community, not from people in the Presidency who travel widely and claim to understand global development. When national leaders speak like this, it reveals their mindset. They want citizens poor enough to be controlled, desperate enough to be obedient, and grateful enough to accept crumbs as empowerment.

We see the schools that children of petty traders attend. Classrooms without roofs, without chairs, without tables, where pupils sit on bare floors. This is what these leaders and their supporters want today’s children to continue experiencing simply because they themselves went through it twenty to sixty years ago. It shows the heartlessness of politicians and their supporters, especially when their own children will never attend schools with average Nigerians or any school below four hundred thousand naira (₦400,000) per term, even at kindergarten level. Their children get jobs without interviews, without experience, without starting as bank clerks earning one hundred and fifty thousand naira. They start at the top while telling poor Nigerians to start at the bottom.

The truth is simple. The Nigeria of our parents and grandparents is not the Nigeria of today. Those who keep repeating the “akara trained me” narrative refuse to acknowledge the lifestyle, economic structure, and social environment of earlier decades. They ignore the fact that our parents lived in a country where education was free or heavily subsidised, especially under leaders like Awolowo and Jakande. Healthcare was cheap and accessible. Food was abundant because families farmed. Land was cheap. Transportation costs were minimal. Communities shared food. Nature provided fruits and herbs at zero cost. People built houses with mud or lived in mud houses. That era had a strong currency, low inflation, and social systems that made survival easier. In that environment, petty trade could stretch far because major expenses were already removed. Anyone who wants to understand this properly should explore the historical reality of Nigeria’s past.

Maybe one day these leaders will tell Nigerians to start living in mud houses again if they cannot afford cement. Luxury is only for them, financed with money looted from the treasury. If they truly believe in old school survival, why do they not fly 1940 – 1980 airplanes instead of the latest jets. Their hypocrisy is loud.

There is a Yoruba adage that explains everything. “Ti o ba yọ oúnjẹ kúrò nínú òṣì, àbùsé àbùsé ni.” If food is removed from poverty, every other challenge becomes easier. In the past, food was cheap or free because families planted cassava, yam, maize, vegetables,okro, ewedu etc. Children walked into nearby bushes to pick mango, guava, cashew, agbalumo, pawpaw. Neighbours shared meals freely. Communities cooked together. Nature was accessible. So whatever small money someone made from selling akara or kulikuli could be used for school fees, clothing, or building a house gradually. Poverty was softened by community, nature, and low cost of living.

But here is the part supporters never mention. Even the children worked. Many of the children trained by petty trade also worked menial jobs after school or went to the farm to bring crops. Most families did not buy vegetables or okra. They grew them in their compounds. Some children hawked glass bottled water before pure water existed. Some sold groundnut, bread, fruits. Some worked as house helps. Some carried loads in the market. Some washed plates in restaurants. Some did farm labour. Some sold sachet water in traffic. Children between four and thirteen years old were hawking on the road just to support the family income.

So when people say “our parents trained us with akara money”, they should also admit the truth. We trained ourselves too. We suffered as children. We contributed to the family economy as children. We were part of the labour force. And now, the same government that arrests child hawkers is telling families to start petty businesses that cannot survive without child labour. This is hypocrisy wrapped in policy. Anyone who wants to understand this contradiction should examine the government hypocrisy behind child hawking.

Today’s Nigeria is the opposite of the past. Almost everything must be bought. Food, water, electricity, cooking gas, transportation, healthcare, education, even fruits that once grew freely. Urbanisation has removed forests. They have their 'prodigal sons' (bandits) in the forest. There is no stable electricity. Community support systems have weakened. Cost of living has exploded. The naira has collapsed. Social safety nets have disappeared. Comparing petty trade of the past with petty trade today is intellectually dishonest. It is a manipulation designed to silence citizens and justify government failure. Anyone who wants to understand the modern reality should explore the current cost of living.

Youth desperation is another symptom of economic collapse. Government condemns internet fraud, crime, and dangerous migration, yet refuses to address the economic conditions pushing young people into them. When survival becomes national policy, desperation becomes national behaviour. When leaders promote poverty as empowerment, young people will seek escape by any means. Many children of petty traders end up in scamming known as yahoo yahoo, agbero work, or other risky survival strategies. Anyone who wants to understand this crisis should explore youth desperation.

A serious government should create jobs, strengthen the currency, provide affordable education, ensure accessible healthcare, support small businesses to grow, and guarantee pensions and retirement dignity. Not tell citizens to start survival level businesses with twenty thousand or one hundred thousand naira. That is not economic development. It is poverty wearing the clothes of opportunity. It is a government telling citizens to remain small, remain poor, remain manageable. Anyone who wants to understand real leadership should explore the role of government.

Selling akara is honourable. Using it as national economic policy is dishonest. The Nigeria that allowed petty trade to flourish no longer exists. Any politician pretending otherwise is selling nostalgia, not solutions.

And since these leaders love petty trade so much, maybe during elections they should stop distributing rice to buy votes. Rice cannot be used to fry akara or make kulikuli. If they truly believe in akara empowerment, they should start sharing beans and corn instead. At least that will help citizens begin the akara, kulikuli, and agbado business they are promoting. If poverty is their idea of progress, they might as well campaign with the ingredients of poverty. The world is advising innovation, but they are advising Nigerians to return to abject poverty, using the 0.0001% who were lucky to succeed with or without corruption as justification for the suffering of millions.

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Disclaimer:

This article is written purely for argument and public reflection. It is not intended to attack, insult, or defame any person, group, or institution. The purpose is to encourage constructive dialogue about poverty, governance, and empowerment in Nigeria. All examples and references are used to illustrate social realities and provoke thought, not to target or disrespect anyone.