On September 3 Abike Dabiri began to trend for something she may have done unknowingly. You see, on the internet, people can take a particular side to an issue, depending on what direction they are looking at it from.
Let’s see what happened and why people think she called Igbo people Monkey.
‘What have I done’, she wondered; when she saw her name had come up on Twitter and stayed up, with tweets pouring in with her name.
This temporal state of mind she had truly reflects in her tweet in the image below.
Return Of The Trafficked Girl
Looking at her tweet critically, is she even offensive in speaking? Well, that is a story for another day.
Indeed, a few days ago, she had sealed a deal to return a trafficked Nigerian girl from Libya.
When the girl arrived, she was interviewed by some media agencies and the Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri, shared that video on her X feed.
The Tweet Of ‘Bigotry’ Concern
Interestingly, that video got her praises from people, but one message dropped and carried in it what people now refer to as an ‘unthoughtful’ message, with many claiming the writer was referring to a tribe in Nigeria. Some say that tribe is Igbo.
The reply purportedly dropped by Wale Akerele contained these texts: “My sister you are doing well allow those monkeys to continue to make unnecessary noise 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” he then tagged @abikedabiri and @voiceofigbos, telling the former to “see what my sister has done omo ale jatijati”.
In response to this tweet, Abike Dabiri shared: “😂😂😂😂😂😂😂” (emoji).
That response has now become a source of concern, with many dragging her endlessly.
See the image below.
Many said that emoji was an endorsement of the tweet, which truly is.
Did this endorsement mean she is referring to Igbos as Monkey?
Contentions Over The Tweet
Really, let’s take a look at a few things. Often, when an account is mentioned on social network, it means that account has something to do with the message.
So, Wale Akerele mentioned @voiceofigbos in the tweet. This means the handler of that X account had something to do with the message.
If we dismantle the name in that account, you will see Igbo somewhere towards the end, If the account with 31.9k followers is tagged, there is a tendency that he speaks for many Igbo people.
But a second look at the profile image in that account will also make you wonder if the account is real at all.
The profile image is that of Kanayo O. Kanayo (a popular Nollywood Actor).
We know that the handler of the account may not be an Igbo man, considering how much people fake their lives online.
Have You Read: Simon Ekpa’s Conviction: How The Igbo Biafra Dream Died A Natural Death
However, we also know that with that number of followers, he could sell any narrative. Not minding whether it is the Igbo tribe or another. But with Igbo in the name, a lot of nerves could stand up in the east.
It is on the tagging of the @voiceofigbos X account in the tweet that Abike Dabiri responded to that she is getting roped in a narrative that the tweet was referring to people of Igbo decent.
Do you think the tweet refers to Igbo people? Is it just a malicious message, seeking to divide the people more along tribal lines?
Digressing a bit, we want to introduce an interesting content to you, and we are sure you will like it. It chronicles issues in Nigeria and serves them to you in a satirical way.
Recently, an incident occurred involving a truck owned by the Dangote Group. ‘Wahala Parliament’ focused on the issue, highlighting what the government should do to reduce this incidents.
