Rufai Oseni, co-host of Arise Television’s The Morning Show, has engaged in a heated war of words with Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM).
Speaking on Saturday in Lagos during a panel session at the
Kikelomo Atanda-Owo Abati 20th anniversary in the media industry, Dabiri
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.”
RUFAI RESPONDS
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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