Dabiri-Erewa, Rufai Oseni Trade Words Over Alleged Ethnic Insult

The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and Arise Television presenter Rufai Oseni have exchanged words over a social media controversy involving an alleged endorsement of an offensive post about the Igbo ethnic group.

The disagreement resurfaced on Saturday during a panel session in Lagos at an event marking Kikelomo Atanda-Owo Abati’s 20th anniversary in the media industry, where Dabiri-Erewa criticised what she described as declining professional standards and irresponsible journalism.

“In terms of journalism, there’s no talk about irresponsible journalism. Yes, I’m on Twitter \(X\). I hear a lot of things,” Dabiri said.

She recounted an encounter involving an X user operating under the name “Voice of Igbos”, whom she said she identified as a woman named Stephanie after investigating the account.

According to Dabiri-Erewa, the user had repeatedly attacked her on social media, prompting her to react to a comment on one of the posts. She said Oseni subsequently interpreted her reaction as an endorsement of an offensive description of the Igbo people.

“Somebody replies to her. Then I do a smiley. And then Rufai Oseni comes and says, Abike Dabiri calls everybody — Igbos — monkeys and gorillas,” she said.

“So that is irresponsible. And then it went viral. Even though I didn’t say Igbos.”

The NiDCOM chief argued that journalists must exercise caution when interpreting online exchanges and reporting statements, insisting that accountability should apply to media practitioners as well as public officials.

Read Also: Dabiri-Erewa Congratulates Rosaline on Emergence as Mayor of Islington

“We have to ensure that you hold people responsible, but you must be responsible yourself. So we will not accept irresponsible journalism. For you to hold any government official responsible, you must be responsible,” she said.

Dabiri-Erewa also expressed concern about what she described as a decline in journalistic ethics and professional standards.

“And let me tell you, some journalism is going to the dogs. There’s no journalism anymore. There are no standards. There are no values.

“The journalists that we were trained \(by\) are going to the dogs. There must be values. There must be standards. And not everybody is a journalist, please. That profession is destroyed.”

Oseni later responded in a series of posts on X, accusing Dabiri-Erewa of using the public event to criticise him instead of concentrating on her responsibilities at NiDCOM.

“Abike Dabiri is more concerned about attacking Rufai Oseni in public instead of doing her job,” Oseni wrote.

The broadcaster alleged that Dabiri-Erewa’s demeanour changed when she noticed his arrival at the event and claimed that she could not avoid mentioning his name during the discussion.

He maintained that her reaction to the social media post amounted to an endorsement of what he described as a racist message targeting an ethnic group.

“You are guilty as charged. How can you share a laughter emoji at a post that denigrates a tribal group? I put it to you, your laughter here was an endorsement of a denigrating tweet against a certain ethnic group,” he said.

Oseni also alleged that the incident was not the first time the NiDCOM chairperson had confronted him publicly.

Challenging her to address the disagreement in a public debate, he wrote: “Your problem is you can’t stand the truth. I will like to challenge you to a debate on this issue where I will speak the truth to your face and prove to the world you endorse bigotry.”

The journalist urged Dabiri-Erewa to focus on the commission’s responsibilities rather than their personal disagreement.