A combo of Abike Dabiri-Erewa and Rufai Oseni Photo: Inshot
By Toyin Williams
The chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa has taken a swipe at the co-host of Arise Television’s The Morning Show, Rufai Oseni, describing his style of journalism as irresponsible.
Dabiri-Erewa while speaking on Saturday in Lagos during a panel session at the Kikelomo Atanda-Owo Abati 20th anniversary in the media industry lamented what she described as declining standards and values in journalism, noting that journalists must be held accountable for their conduct.
“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 incident involving a social media user who, according to her, operates under the name “Voice of Igbos”.
Dabiri said she investigated the X account and discovered the identity of the operator of the handle as one Stephanie.
According to her, the woman had repeatedly attacked her on social media, prompting her to respond to a comment on one of the posts.
Dabiri said the exchange later became controversial after Oseni interpreted her response as an endorsement of an offensive reference to the Igbo ethnic group.
“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.”
Dabiri said journalists must exercise greater restraint and responsibility, particularly when interpreting or amplifying statements made online.
“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.
“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 took to X to accuse Dabiri of using the public event to attack him, rather than to address the pressing issues confronting Nigerians abroad.
In a series of posts, the journalist alleged that Dabiri’s demeanour changed when she saw him arrive at the event and that she couldn’t help but mention his name during the panel discussion.
“Abike Dabiri is more concerned about attacking Rufai Oseni in public instead of doing her job,” Oseni wrote.
He claimed the latest incident was not the first time Dabiri had confronted him publicly.
Oseni insisted that Dabiri’s reaction to the social media comment was an endorsement of a “racist” post.
“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 challenged Dabiri to a public debate over the controversy, saying he was prepared to defend his position.
“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,” he wrote.
The journalist urged the NiDCOM chairperson to focus on the commission’s responsibilities rather than their personal dispute.
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