A Nigerian lady, Angela Job Emodiae, has sparked controversies on social media after claiming that she made N1 billion from selling spicy kuli kuli, a local snack made from peanut, and burger online.
Emodiae disclosed this on Facebook while commenting about her business achievements in the previous year.
She wrote: “I hit 1 billion naira in sales in year 2022 selling spicy kuli kuli and peanut burger. This year 2023 I set target for myself to hit 2 billion naira in sales. All from this online space [sic].”
The post which has gone viral, instantly began to garner a lot of reactions and conversations about the feasibility of making such amount of sales from kuli kuli business in Nigeria.
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Many social media users have expressed doubts, while others used her claim as an example to motivate others to work harder in their businesses.
However, Emodiae amidst the controversy, made another post on Facebook insinuating that her claim was a “publicity stunt” to grab attention.
She said, “So my publicity stunt worked? You go fear dragging people. People wet dem drag back to back dey try biko. See as I gave Nigerians work to do.”
She stated that she would like to have N1bn to add to her business, as she’s still trying her best and “trusting God to grow one day.”
A Facebook user, Victor Daniel, mocked those who supported her claim, saying: “You’re still using ‘We have watched her growth’ over someone whose entire business history you only know online. Some of us ‘watched Ovy grow’ in real life and watched her take those business trips to the bushes of Kano.
“And suddenly you people are bringing anecdotes of ‘I know someone that made this much from sugarcane in 1989 so this must be true.’”
Another person, Immaculate Patience said Emodiae was just doing damage control by claiming it was a publicity stunt because she didn’t get the acclaim she had wanted.
“That’s damage control because she did not get the reply she wanted. The response from her would have been different two years ago. She didn’t see her bait, that’s why the talk changed. It would have originally been,” said Patience.
Aishatu Ene said, “This has been my consistent point. They don’t want to learn, one was trying to get me to debate a comparison between kulikuli and cement, I asked for her PVC first. Can’t waste my energy with non PVC logic.”
Precious Chinaza: “They said we that didn’t believe have poverty mindset and will never rise above a certain financial level.
“Almost everyone started doing statistics and analysis. So you sabi the statistics to make 1b since and you’ve not even touched half of it yet.
Chim Nonso: “The ridiculous thing is that she said Kuli Kuli. Kuli Kuli that many people eat once or twice a year. Even importer and exporter of Kuli Kuli no even sell reach like that.”
Grace Phillips Rex: “I have watched that lady’s growth since 2020 and I must say she’s doing well based on what I see on SM.
“But 1billion naira? Abuja is just a stone throw from Jos, yet I’ve never come across her products in my local market. If it had been scattered everywhere, I would have believed.
“People are still on her debunking posts telling her they believe her. God Nigerians. All of us that didn’t believe yesterday automatically turned into haters.”
Jesse Chikwe: “If she said she made billions selling kuli kuli then maybe she actually made money but exaggerated it.
“Start making n selling kuli kuli in your area you might be shocked by how much you will make this year.
Ahmad Sadiq: “One billion naira from Kuli-kuli is very much feasible. The said product is #6,500 for 600g. You only need to sell 430 units a day to make one billion in a year.”
Speaking to Daily Trust, Emodiae said it’s true that she actually made one billion naira in sales in the previous year from her kuli kuli business, but when she revealed it, she had not expected it would garner such massive reactions.
She said her intention of stating it was to motivate other business people to work harder and believe in their struggles, adding that she didn’t claim to have made N1billion naira profit but 1 billion naira in sales.
She said, “I never thought what I said would go viral. So I made the disclaimer to let everything go, not because what I said isn’t true.
“But then, we will make an official statement to clear the air and then encourage young Nigerians that are doing the right things to continue what they are doing and always stand for the truth.
“We are in a society where people feel like one can’t actually make money legitimately, where people praise people that do wrong than those who do right. So the disclaimer was just to let everything go.”
