Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has recalled making nothing less than ₦10 million monthly from his akara and bread business before venturing into politics.
Eno’s comment comes months after the Nigerian First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, sparked reactions after encouraging Nigerians to explore small businesses such as akara and kuli-kuli as part of efforts to improve their livelihoods.
Speaking after a Renewed Hope Initiative meeting with wives of state governors in Abuja in June, Oluremi said such businesses could be started with relatively little capital.
She said at the time, “We’re trying to give hope, and to start Akara business doesn’t take a lot of money. To start roasting corn, or somebody even said kuli kuli doesn’t take much. We didn’t give them a loan; we gave it to them as a grant.”
Speaking during Akwa-Ibom State’s monthly covenant prayer service on Tuesday, Eno, in a video trending online, said he started the business by selling akara and bread, which he packaged as “Akara Burger”, before expanding into a coffee shop.
Eno said customers, particularly workers heading to ExxonMobil in the mornings, patronised the business, adding that the experience taught him lessons about entrepreneurship and building businesses from small beginnings.
He said, “We still have that shop there. I started selling Akara and bread. Back then, I was doing Akara Burger. We open the bread and put it inside for you. People going to Exxon Mobil will buy it in the morning, take coffee.
“We started coffee shop and then they will take it. Every month, that Akara business used to give me nothing less than ₦10 million in a month.”
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