The comment made during Emdee Tiamiyu’s interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, which ostensibly confirmed the ban on Nigerian students bringing their dependents to the United Kingdom, has angered Abike Dabiri, the chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission.
The President, Major General Muhammad Buhari (retd. ), was criticized by Arise TV presenter Ayo Mairo-Ese on a morning show for informing the UK government that Nigerian youths are indolent and criminally inclined, adding that Dabiri also referred to the youngsters as drug dealers and cultists.
“I don’t know why Nigerians like to remarket Nigerians on the International scene. Take it back to 2016, our president had referred to Nigerian youths as largely lazy. And that United Kingdom should not grant them asylum because many of them are criminals.
“The chairman of NiDCOM, Dabiri also referred to Nigerian people as cultists and drug dealers.
“So what Emdee Tiamiyu has said is in accordance with what our leaders are saying,” she added while speaking to Tiamiyu’s interview.
According to Punch, Irked by her remark, Dabiri took to her Twitter page debunking the claims made by the presenter while calling for the orientation of the presenters (girls) of the television station.
“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,” she wrote.
According to The PUNCH, Tiamiyu told the BBC in an interview that Nigerians applying to study in the United Kingdom simply saw it as a temporary detour away from their own country.
Tiamiyu, who is renowned for counseling Nigerians on pursuing higher education in the UK, observed that the majority of Nigerians were not seeking fresh credentials but rather to begin a new life overseas.
He said, “The student route is more like an answered prayer. It is a big bracket that’s able to take a lot of people, the ordinary people.
“We’re beginning to see that a lot of people just hide behind the studentship. So the student thing is not real, it’s not like they need the degrees,” he added.