The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre has sparked widespread public criticism after sharing an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image on the Presidency’s official social media accounts depicting Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, frying and selling akara at a roadside stand. Posted on Friday, the controversial digital artwork features the First Lady wearing an apron inscribed with the phrase, “Iya Alakara, fueling the nation with love,” drawing heavy scrutiny from netizens over the appropriateness and messaging of the official communication.

The post followed comments by the First Lady during an interview in which she said small businesses such as frying akara, roasting corn and producing kuli kuli require relatively little start-up capital.

According to her, the Federal Government is supporting such ventures through grants rather than loans as part of efforts to improve the livelihoods of Nigerians.

“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,” she said.

The AI-generated artwork sparked intense backlash on X, with users openly condemning the presidency’s decision to share it.

An X user, @dinnydavinci, wrote: “Official handle of the president media? This is not comical as it should look. It is utterly ridiculous and grossly insulting. What do these people take us for??”

Another user, @wilverzaddy, criticised the post, saying: “I hope Nigerians are seeing the man they voted for using them to catch cruise?… A president directly mocking the masses while the economy of the country bites harder with high level of insecurity in the country.”

Similarly, @outtahighbee said the post was unhelpful to the administration, writing: “You guys are not helping this president of ours at all… Everybody can’t sell akara and kuli kuli now.”

Another user, @NEWTONEZEKA90, argued that the post diverted attention from other issues attracting public interest and added that the image was “not even funny.”

Beyond the imagery itself, critics voiced deep concern over the broader message conveyed by the publication, arguing it places an undue emphasis on survivalist, informal businesses. Many internet users expressed frustration that the administration appeared to be championing micro-ventures like selling akara and kuli kuli as primary pathways to economic empowerment, rather than pushing for structural reforms, industrialization, and high-growth job creation.

This wave of digital backlash directly follows a series of earlier public remarks by the First Lady regarding low-capital entrepreneurship, which had already sharply divided the public. While a segment of Nigerians condemned her stance as deeply insensitive to the country’s harsh macroeconomic realities, others stepped forward to defend the messaging, arguing that it simply spotlights legitimate, accessible livelihoods for everyday citizens trying to survive.