Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri, has expressed her strong dissatisfaction with the broadcasters and presenters of Arise Television over their comments made on Emdee Tiamiyu’s interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), where Tiamiyu seemingly supported the ban on Nigerian students bringing their dependents to the United Kingdom.
During a Morning show on Arise TV, anchor Ayo Mairo-Ese criticized President Muhammadu Buhari, accusing him of referring to Nigerian youths as lazy and criminally minded in his interactions with the UK government. Mairo-Ese also claimed that Dabiri had referred to Nigerian youths as drug dealers and cultists.
“I don’t understand why Nigerians like to undermine their fellow compatriots on the global stage. Let’s go back to 2016 when our president referred to Nigerian youths as largely lazy. He even advised the United Kingdom not to grant them asylum because many of them are criminals,” Ayo Mairo-Ese said
“The chairman of NiDCOM, Dabiri, also referred to Nigerian people as cultists and drug dealers. So what Emdee Tiamiyu said aligns with the sentiments expressed by our leaders,” she added, referring to Tiamiyu’s interview.
Responding to the comments made on the show, Dabiri stated that the presenters were demarketing Nigerians on the international stage and called for the orientation of the TV station’s presenters.
“I worked hard to be where I am today, and if women nowhere your age and achievements feel the only way to bring you down is spew nonsense, they will meet their waterloo! Nduka Obaigbena had better call these girls @ARISEtv ruining the broadcast profession to order,” Dabiri said.
It was reported that Tiamiyu granted an interview to the BBC, where he stated that Nigerians seeking admission to schools in the United Kingdom often saw it as an opportunity to escape from Nigeria rather than pursue new qualifications.
Tiamiyu, who is known for providing advice to Nigerians interested in studying in the United Kingdom, highlighted that many Nigerians were not primarily motivated by obtaining degrees but rather by the desire to start a new life abroad.
“The student route is like an answered prayer. It is a broad category that can accommodate many ordinary people. We are beginning to notice that a lot of people simply use student visas as a cover. So the pursuit of education is not their primary objective; they are not genuinely seeking degrees,” Tiamiyu said.
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