NiDCOM Boss Abike Dabiri-Erewa Amplifies Ethnic Slur Against Nigeria’s Igbo Group

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has been criticised again for amplifying an ethnic slur depicting the entire Igbo race as “monkeys.”

Mrs Dabiri-Erewa had earlier posted a video of a Nigerian female victim of human trafficking, identifying her as Mercy, who she claimed was rescued from Libya on Monday. In response, a bigot, Wale S. Akerele (@akerele_s), wrote:

My sister, you are doing well. Allow those monkeys to continue to make unnecessary noises. They are born to be ungrateful people. Those animals tagging you, they are children of gorilla, history told us about them. Kudos to you, Madam,” as Akerele tagged the X handle of the Igbo community, to see “what their sister has done.”

Further using derogatory terms, Akerele described the trafficked victim as “Omo Ale Jatijati,” that is, a bastard in the Yoruba language.

Infamously, Mrs Dabiri-Erewa had once been criticised for saying that, in Indonesia, 20 out of 21 Nigerians on death row were from one state in the South-East.

This clearly and without a doubt indicates that Mrs Dabiri-Erewa, whose public responsibility as NiDCOM Chairman is to engage with and represent Nigerians living outside the country, not only endorses ethnic slurs against the Igbo people of South-East Nigeria, but also amplifies derogatory statements hurled towards them.

As a public office holder, this vilified group by Dabiri-Erewa contributes to what constitutes Nigeria. Their fundamental rights are protected under the 1999 Constitution (as amended), just like every other ethnic group that is recognised as Nigerian.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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