Abike Dabiri-Erewa: When Duty Is Betrayed, Price Must Be Paid

 By Elsie-Bernadette Onubogu

It is no hyperbole when I say the internet erupted in a storm of tweets this past week. Unlike the cliché – ‘a perfect storm,’ there was nothing perfect in the sense of the word about this storm.

*Abike and Tinubu

That tweet on the ‘X’ platform soon found its way to other social media avenues in particular – WhatsApp. On the train to Ontario from New York, I realized I had missed several calls due in part to unstable network going through nature’s wooded scenery that allures me into taking the train to Canada rather than flying.

Upon investigation, I realized the raison d’etre for the storm was ‘the endorsement of a hate speech’ by a public officer appointed to represent and be the face of Nigeria in the Diaspora. Yes, there was outrage on the internet, and I keyed into that outrage. I did so because, in sharing and forwarding a tweet that was not only derogatory, bigoted, discriminatory, dehumanizing and denigrating, that Nigerian officer betrayed the sworn duty to promote respect, unity, and the dignity of every Nigerian irrespective of ethnicity, gender, class, religious belief or age.