By Ayomide Awe
A comment by First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu on small-scale businesses has made its way from social media into a university examination hall.
Students of the Department of Mass Communication of Prince Abubakar Audu University, Kogi State, were asked to develop an advertising campaign around the First Lady’s remarks in their Second Semester 2025/2026 paper.
The question appeared in the Advertising Copy Writing course, MCM 214. According to the exam paper sighted by our correspondent after it circulated on Facebook on Saturday, students were instructed to create an advocacy advertisement with the title: “Beyond Akara and Kulikuli Empowerment”.
The task was to encourage Nigerian women and youths to embrace small-scale businesses.
The First Lady had sparked national debate weeks ago after a viral video showed her urging Nigerians, especially women, to engage in cottage industries such as frying akara, roasting corn, and producing kulikuli, a snack made from groundnut paste.
The advice drew mixed reactions online. While some praised it as a push for self-reliance, others criticized it as out of touch with current economic realities.
The comment also inspired a wave of skits, memes, and commentary across TikTok and Facebook.
In the exam, students were required to identify four factors to consider in writing the ad copy, list three body copy styles, justify the most suitable style for the campaign, and produce a sketch of the advertisement with both text and visuals which mark was carrying 30 marks.
The paper was reportedly shared by a Facebook page, Northern Nigeria, before it went viral.
