Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno has given Nigerians another entrepreneurial success story to think about, and this one has people reaching for their calculators.
The governor recently revealed that before venturing into politics, he ran an akara and bread business that, according to him, brought in not less than ₦10 million every month.
Yes, akara.
Eno shared the story during the state’s monthly covenant prayer service, explaining that he started by selling akara and bread before turning the combination into what he called an “Akara Burger.”
His idea was simple. He would open the bread, put the akara inside and serve it to customers. The business reportedly attracted workers heading to ExxonMobil in the mornings, and he eventually added coffee to the operation.
Then came the part that got everyone’s attention.
According to Eno, the akara and bread business was making him nothing less than ₦10 million every month.
“Every month, that akara business used to give me nothing less than ₦10 million,” he said.
And honestly, Nigerians heard that figure and collectively went:
₦10 million? From akara?
Because this is where the story gets interesting.
If we take the governor’s statement literally and assume he meant ₦10 million in profit every month, that would be roughly ₦333,000 every day over a 30-day month.
And this is not today’s akara.
We’re talking about a business from years ago, when the prices of bread, beans, cooking oil and other ingredients were nowhere near today’s levels.
So how many akara would have to be sold every day to produce ₦10 million in profit?
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That is the question Nigerians are asking.
To be fair, there is another possibility: perhaps the governor was referring to revenue or business income rather than pure profit. His statement did not clearly explain whether the ₦10 million figure was turnover after sales or what remained after expenses.
And that distinction is a very important one.
A business can generate ₦10 million in sales without its owner actually putting ₦10 million in his pocket. The cost of ingredients, staff, rent, transportation, electricity, fuel and other expenses would all have to come out of the revenue.
So, before we accuse the governor of giving us motivational mathematics, perhaps we need the full story.
What we do know is that Eno was already an established businessman long before becoming governor. His official biography says he founded Royalty Hotels and Recreations Ltd in 1997, initially starting with five rooms before the business expanded into hotels, apartments, eateries, coffee shops, industrial catering and other ventures.
In other words, the governor’s entrepreneurial background is not in question.
The ₦10 million akara claim, however, is the part that has everyone looking at each other.
And perhaps that is what makes the story so fascinating.
Akara is one of the most ordinary foods in Nigeria. It is something people buy on their way to work, something students eat when money is tight and something you can find at roadside stalls across the country.
But apparently, somewhere along the line, Governor Umo Eno looked at akara and saw a business opportunity.
He added bread.
Then he called it an Akara Burger.
Then he added coffee.
And according to his account, the business was making millions.
Maybe the real lesson isn’t that everyone should start frying akara tomorrow morning.
Maybe it is that successful businesses are sometimes built by taking something ordinary and finding a better way to package and sell it.
Still, Governor Eno, Nigerians have one small request:
Please explain the ₦10 million mathematics.
Because some of us are ready to leave our jobs and enter the akara business.
