Akara Economics: The national prosperity curriculum, by Stephanie Shaakaa

Every nation possesses an underlying theory of prosperity. Singapore built industries. South Korea bet on technology. China transformed manufacturing into an economic superpower. Across history, the countries that escaped poverty did so by making deliberate investments in productivity, innovation and infrastructure. Every generation inherited that vision and expanded upon it.

Nigeria, however, appears to have developed something altogether different. We have gradually embraced a new economic philosophy, one where the distance between hardship and prosperity is measured not by the strength of our institutions, but by the space between a frying pan, a charcoal grill and a small patch of land behind the house. It is a philosophy sustained by countless motivational speeches, television interviews and social media sermons, all repeating the same reassuring message. Economic transformation is always just one side hustle away.

It is a philosophy built on optimism, and optimism has always been one of Nigeria’s greatest resources. Give Nigerians a challenge and they will search for an opportunity. Give them uncertainty and they will find a way to survive. Across markets, workshops and small businesses, millions of citizens have demonstrated an extraordinary ability to create something out of almost nothing.

The problem is not the dignity of that effort.

The problem begins when survival strategies slowly become substitutes for economic strategy.

This is the curious contradiction at the heart of many conversations about poverty and prosperity in Nigeria. We celebrate resilience, as we should. We admire entrepreneurship, as we should. But somewhere along the way, we have become too comfortable asking ordinary citizens to carry burdens that properly belong to functioning institutions.

That is where the National Prosperity Curriculum appears to have entered the national conversation.

The lessons are wonderfully simple. If prosperity seems distant, perhaps the answer is closer than expected. Start with akara. Add roasted corn. Consider a vegetable garden. Somewhere between the frying pan, the roadside grill and the backyard farm lies a pathway to economic empowerment.

There is nothing wrong with any of these activities. In fact, they represent some of the strongest traditions of Nigerian enterprise. The woman selling akara before sunrise, the man roasting corn by the roadside and the family cultivating vegetables behind their home are not examples of failure. They are examples of determination.

Yet a nation must eventually ask itself a difficult question: are these opportunities, or are they signs of how much citizens have been forced to improvise?

If this curriculum continues to expand, perhaps our universities will have to adjust. Economics students may no longer spend their entire time studying theories of production and development. They may need courses in Applied Akara Economics, where scholars examine the relationship between beans, inflation and national prosperity. Future economists may defend doctoral theses on whether a roadside grill can succeed without reliable electricity or affordable credit. The joke works because the reality behind it is serious.

Nigerians do not lack ideas. They do not lack creativity. They do not lack the willingness to work. If hard work alone determined national wealth, Nigeria would have solved many of its economic problems decades ago.

Then there is agbado.

Few crops have enjoyed such a remarkable journey through the national imagination. Rice feeds millions. Yam carries cultural importance. Cassava quietly supports communities across the country. Corn, however, seems to have achieved something far greater: influence.

One begins to wonder whether agricultural science has overlooked some hidden quality possessed by maize. If crops were allowed to contest elections, agbado would probably enter the race with an impressive manifesto, while yam and cassava demanded an explanation for their reduced visibility.

Somewhere, one imagines, a confused yam is asking a very reasonable question:

“What exactly must I do to receive this level of national attention?”

The conversation eventually expanded beyond agriculture and reached Nigeria’s most successful entertainers, with calls for wealthy musicians to do more for struggling citizens.

No reasonable person opposes generosity. Nigerians have always celebrated those who use their success to help others. Philanthropy has built schools, supported families and provided assistance where government systems have fallen short.

But there is something revealing about how quickly public expectations move from institutions to individuals.

The successful musician is no longer only expected to entertain. The wealthy business owner is no longer only expected to create jobs. The celebrity is increasingly asked to become an unofficial welfare agency. That tells us something important about our society. We have become remarkably skilled at finding heroes to solve problems that require systems.

And perhaps that is why Nigerians laugh so much about these conversations. Humour has become one of our oldest survival skills. We turn frustration into jokes, uncertainty into memes and hardship into stories we can share with one another. But behind every joke about akara economics is a parent calculating school fees. Behind every joke about roasted corn is a trader wondering whether today’s sales will cover tomorrow’s expenses. Behind every conversation about vegetable gardens is a family trying to create security in an economy that often feels unpredictable.

The laughter is real. So is the struggle. There is absolutely nothing shameful about honest work. Frying akara is honourable. Roasting corn is honourable. Planting vegetables is honourable. Every person who works to provide for themselves and their families deserves respect. But the ambition of a nation should be larger than producing citizens who become increasingly skilled at surviving.

Development is not measured by how many side hustles people can successfully manage. It is measured by how many people eventually have the freedom to pursue opportunities beyond survival.

Perhaps that is the lesson missing from the National Prosperity Curriculum. People do not only deserve another way to cope.

They deserve the chance to dream beyond akara.

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