Dabiri-Erewa Under Fire for Amplifying Post Labeling Igbos as “Monkeys and Gorillas”
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Nigerians have expressed outrage after Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), amplified a derogatory post on X that described Igbos, an ethnic group from Nigeria’s South-East, as “monkeys” and “children of gorillas.”
The controversy began after Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa posted a video on Monday showing a trafficked Nigerian girl, identified as Mercy, who had been rescued from Libya. While many commended her efforts, one X user, identified as Wale Akere (@akerele_s), praised her work but launched into a tirade against Igbos, calling them “monkeys,” “bustards,” and “children of gorillas.”
“My sister, you are doing well, allow those monkeys to continue to make unnecessary noises, they are born to be ungrateful people… Kudos to you madam @abikedabiri,” the user wrote.
In apparent endorsement of the toxic post, Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa amplified it by reposting with memes of laughter. The post has since garnered more than 15,000 views, over 53 reposts, and more than 100 comments, many of them condemning the NIDCOM boss for promoting ethnic hate speech.
Several Nigerians accused her of deepening the country’s fragile ethnic fault lines.
“This is the lowest I have ever seen in the history of Nigeria,” one user, @O.David09926893, wrote. Another user, @fybebreed, said, “I thought this page was being handled by a responsible woman, but seriously I see it’s for her tribe’s interest. And we will respond to you as a tribal bigot.”
Criticism also came from @MrOzor1, who described Dabiri-Erewa as “one useless fellow who happened to be pushed into the corridors of authority… a concatenation of vicious and virulent characters hidden behind makeups.”
The uproar adds to longstanding concerns about Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa’s alleged ethnic bias. In a previous controversy, she was criticised for claiming that in Indonesia, 20 out of 21 Nigerians on death row were from a single South-East state, a statement many saw as stigmatising.
As of press time, Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa had not publicly addressed the backlash over her amplification of the derogatory post.
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