[TRENDING] ‘Journalists must be responsible’ | ‘You can’t stand the truth,’ Abike Dabiri, Rufai Oseni exchange words

The co-host of Arise Television’s The Morning Show, Rufai Oseni, has exchanged words with Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), following a disagreement over responsible journalism.

Speaking on Saturday at a panel session in Lagos to mark Kikelomo Atanda-Owo Abati’s 20th anniversary in the media industry, Dabiri expressed concern over what she described as declining standards and values in journalism. She stressed the need for journalists to be accountable for their actions.

“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 that the person behind it was a woman named Stephanie.

According to her, the woman had repeatedly criticised her on social media, prompting her to respond to a comment on one of the posts.

Dabiri said the exchange 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 called on journalists to exercise greater restraint and responsibility, particularly when interpreting or amplifying statements made on social media.

“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, accusing Dabiri of using the public event to attack him instead of addressing the pressing challenges facing Nigerians living abroad.

In a series of posts, the journalist alleged that Dabiri’s demeanour changed when she noticed his arrival at the event and that she could not resist mentioning him during the panel discussion.

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

He claimed that the incident was not the first time Dabiri had confronted him publicly.

Oseni maintained that Dabiri’s reaction to the social media comment amounted to 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.

The journalist challenged Dabiri to a public debate over the controversy, saying he was ready 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.

Oseni urged the NiDCOM chairperson to concentrate on the commission’s responsibilities rather than their personal disagreement.