Tinubu media centre posts AI image of Remi Tinubu selling akara - Punch Newspapers
The Nigerian Presidency faced public backlash after its media centre shared an AI-generated image of First Lady Oluremi Tinubu selling akara
- Incident date
- Aug 2024
- Target
- Oluremi Tinubu
On August 2, 2024, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre published an AI-generated image of Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, depicted as a roadside akara seller. The image featured the First Lady wearing an apron inscribed with the words, “Iya Alakara, fueling the nation with love.”
What happened
The image was released following controversial remarks made by the First Lady during a recent interview, where she suggested that small-scale businesses—such as frying akara, roasting corn, or making kuli kuli—required little start-up capital and were being supported by government grants. These comments triggered significant criticism from Nigerians concerned about economic hardship and the rising cost of living.
Prior to the release of the AI-generated image, President Tinubu had playfully referred to his wife as “Iya Alakara” during the Presidential Press Corps Dinner at the State House in Abuja. The Presidency’s social media team subsequently shared the synthetic image, which supporters framed as a light-hearted engagement with ongoing online memes. Conversely, many social media users condemned the move as insensitive, arguing that the government was trivializing the economic struggles of its citizens. Public reaction on platforms like X was polarized; critics accused the media team of incompetence and mockery, while some supporters defended the post as a response to previous skits and memes created by the public regarding the First Lady’s original comments.