From Simbo Olorunfemi
Abike Dabiri first made her name as one of the shining stars of Broadcast Journalism in the 90s with NTA Network Service. Her knack for breathing life into what might have otherwise passed as nondescript features made her stories for Newsline, the popular human angle Sunday night programme on NTA, unforgettable.
She became the natural choice to take over as Anchor of the programme after the departure of the effervescent Frank Olize.
Abike had a heart for people, her strong sense of empathy evident in the stories she took on. She had a passion for the underprivileged and she demonstrated that not just in the stories she brought to our screens, but the humanitarian interventions she championed.
It wasn’t just the stories though, it was her way of telling them, leaving no one in doubt about the kindness of her heart and the genuineness of her connection with the people involved in the stories was never in doubt.
She wrapped her heart around the subjects of her stories, which were often ‘ordinary’ people that viewers often found themselves emotionally entangled thirsting for more. I was only just cutting my teeth in broadcast journalism at the time, and she was one of the people I paid close attention to and looked up to.
Even though I would eventually step aside only a few years after, it just happened that I didn’t fully disengage from the industry. Soon after, I was back, moonlighting as Producer of MEE & YOU Show for MEE Mofe-Damijo, even with a full-time job with a Bank.
It was in the course of producing the TV programme that our paths formally crossed.
She had only just launched the story of the ‘miracle baby’. An intriguing story that would capture the imagination of all for almost a decade, a story that would define her sterling career as a Broadcast Journalist, cementing her place in the history of Journalism in Nigeria.
It was the story of the 65 year-old Mama Wuraola Abayomi, who claimed to have miraculously given birth to a baby. When that story broke, it sent quite a few tongues wagging, including that of the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council.
I remember accompanying Abike Dabiri along with officials of the NMDC, led by Dr Nwokoro, to her home in Ojota, where the Doctors conducted a check on her in our presence, which didn’t suggest that Mama could have been the mother of the baby.
But Mama insisted she was the mother of the baby, even when she, along with the proprietress of the clinic, Mrs. Esther Kobari, appeared on our programme, despite the pointed questions by Doctors from the
Nigerian Medical and Dental Council who were also present.
The story would eventually become a full-blown saga, with 3 women – Mama, Folashade Adeyemi and Kikelomo Obikoya laying claim to the ‘miracle baby’. It took years and a forensic test for the matter to be eventually. The baby was found to belong to Kikelomo. Mrs Kobari ended up in jail.
For Abike Dabiri, it wasn’t just a story that ran for years, it was a commitment to the child caught up in the saga. She took up responsibility for the education of Mary, the miracle baby, seeing her through graduation from school.
It was no surprise to see Abike Dabiri take to politics, seeing the ease with which she connected with people at the grassroots. Three terms in the House of Representatives. She had distinguished herself as Chair of the Committee on Information and Spokesperson of the House, and it was a surprise when she was assigned to the Committee on Diaspora Affairs, which, at the time, looked more like a posting to Siberia.
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But Abike Dabiri would make lemonade of the lemon handed to her. She deserves credit for virtually single-handedly taking diaspora affairs mainstream. Perhaps on account of her record in the House, she was appointed in 2019 by President Buhari as Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Matters, and in 2019, as Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission.
The passion and dedication she brought to the assignment was such that many erroneously assumed her as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, passing onto her responsibilities that were not directly hers.
In many instances, she rose to the occasion, taking on an often enhanced mandate to the best of her ability despite the limitations and challenges that inevitably come with that. Also, often in the face of criticism from people with limited or inverted understanding of foreign affairs and her mandate.
But she has largely taken the pressure and criticisms that have come in her stride, occasionally responding to traducers who often argue that the public official is only allowed to receive, and not hit back. For someone who has been in the public space for a long time, it is to her credit how she has been able to maintain her steeze, delivering on the different assignments she has undertaken.
It is also interesting to see that many of those who troll her on social media know next to nothing of her journey and record, with their frame of reference often limited to post-2015. Yet, by all standards, Dabiri’s record as a Journalist, Politician and public official has been exemplary.
As I have always argued, the media doesn’t celebrate its own enough, which might be the reason why there is not in the public space enough about her to let some of the new-age cynics better know her. Glad that Afe Babalola University deemed it fit to honour Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa with Doctor of Letters, D.Lit (Honoris Causa).
