Why akara and kulikuli trap always succeed

By Dele Sobowale

It is another election year; and suddenly, “free” money is being given at every convenient gathering. Givers, usually politically exposed individuals, call it empowerment; their paid megaphones in the media hail the altruism and, naturally expect widespread gratitude. Those of us, who have experienced this sort of grand deception before, know the truth from our history. 

The flow of funds will stop after the elections. The First Lady’s recent N50,000 grants to petty traders,   party workers, has sparked a necessary controversy for the wrong reasons. Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s reference to the possibility of starting a self-sustaining akara and kulikuli enterprise has overshadowed the real economic and social imports of the gesture itself.

“We are trying to give hope, and to start the akara business doesn’t take a lot of money. To start roasting corn, or somebody even said kulikuli, doesn’t take much….” – First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu

The First Lady was half-right and half-wrong in making such a broad assertion regarding how much aggregate economic development can be generated by occasional acts of politically-motivated grants called empowerment. There is sufficient evidence that thousands of great multi-national enterprises the world has ever seen were started on “shoe strings” in somebody’s backyard or garage.

Colonel Sander’s Kentucky Fried Chicken global business started out as a neighbourhood and door-to-door catering service before going national and then worldwide. Several food and drinks companies started the same way. Carlsberg lager started as a desperate attempt by a fellow called Carls on a hill top, berg in German language, and was sold to only a few customers in the town; before becoming a global brand. History is replete with examples of people and brands which started as mini-enterprises and became giants in their industries. To that extent, the First Lady was correct.

She was also absolutely right in extolling the dignity of honest labour of any sort. Idleness and criminal activities constitute the real dangers to society. The Devil will always employ idle hands; and sometimes pay handsomely; while the nation is destroyed. 

Every developed nation had risen on the labours of people performing menial labours and getting paid for it. Despite the emergence of labour-saving devices, there are still people working as dish washers and lawn mowers. Hundreds of thousands of people still work as pickers in farms globally during harvest time as casual labourers without whom much of the universal food chain would be broken. There is no question about the fact that most workers earn their daily bread from doing unpleasant things. In fact, for a significant percentage of workers, disaster occurs when their means of livelihood disappears. As one great economist said, “For someone who makes his living shoveling horse manure, a disaster occurs when there are no more horses”.

Where she got it wrong – three ways

“Exceptions don’t make the rule.”

Shortly after the controversy unleashed by her extempore remark erupted, a few women came forward – one selling moinmoin, another cooked beans and a third rice – all just a little better than selling akara. 

They all proudly claimed to have sent children to school, built houses and bought cars from their particular food item. Supporters of Mrs Tinubu have seized on these examples as absolute proof that she was totally right. That is precisely the major problem with such conclusions. Born entrepreneurs, male and female, people with the Midas touch, who can turn dust to gold are one in ten million. The rest of us, ungifted, are fortunate if we don’t turn gold to dust. Aptitude apart, luck and opportunity also play significant roles in turning people offering basic goods or services into financial successes. 

Most people given N50,000 today, as start-up capital would not be in business six months from now – if that is all they depend upon. That fact is proved virtually every day in Lagos Island’s several open markets.

Living and working within walking distance of several markets has provided research opportunities regarding the rise and fall of mini-enterprises spanning several sectors from raw and cooked food (roasted corn and plantain, rice, akara, indomine, etc) to footwear, clothing materials, spare parts, furniture, stationery and office equipment, etc. The turnover rate among under-capitalised businesses is extremely high; many close within a month of opening. Starting with N50,000 and hoping to make a living, is certainly out of the question; when they have to feed from the day’s sales. Three days of serious downpour is sometimes all it takes to ruin the business.

Low financial and other barriers to entry induce several competitors. On the Central Business District, CBD, like Broad Street, dozens of water and soft drinks retailers compete every day except Sunday. The capital requirement is actually less than N50,000; profit margin is low and the gross take-home does not amount to much. However, one encounter with and an   arrest by officials for street trading can result in a N25,000 fine. End of Business.

The third and most important reason interventions such as these don’t work is typically Nigerian and shocking. Mrs Tinubu said the money is a grant not a loan. That is just as well. Virtually all the recipients meanwhile regard it as their own share of the national cake; neither a gift nor a loan. They justify their position by the timing of the gesture. History supports them. 

In late 2018 as the campaigns for the 2019 elections were gathering momentum, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was in Lagos with sacks full of money – Trader Moni. Selected traders were handed N10,000 cash gifts to promote their business. Two things followed.

In an article published on this page a week after, I asked the former VP if the money was indeed for small business promotion or a campaign gimmick. If the former, then, the FG should continue providing the assistance – if Buhari was re-elected. Trader Moni grants stopped a few days before the election. But, the traders were not fooled. 

Two of the recipients in Lagos Island were not grateful at all. As far as they were concerned, the money was a bribe to buy their votes; and they knew it would stop after the elections. 

The FG was not giving them money for investment; but free money to spend as they chose.   If the government was interested in promoting their business, then, a feedback mechanism would have been put in place to monitor their progress. But, there was none. This leads to the questions most commentators have not asked.

What is the n50,000 for?

“O! what a tangled web we weave/ When first we practice to deceive.”

Sir Walter Scott,1771-1832

President Tinubu’s spokesmen have quite a plateful of matters on which they are called upon to defend the Presidential household – alleged N8 trillion unbudgeted and fuzzy expenditure; “fake agency” with office in Federal Secretariat and N1.3 billion budget and now “akara and kulikuli” empowerment programme.

Is there any Nigerian over the age of ten who really believes that the N50,000 was for akara, kulikuli or any such business? Why now? Will it continue after elections?

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