I miss television; it’s the best job in the world–Abike Dabiri
Former TV girl, Hon. Abike Dabiri- Erewa was quite popular in
Nigeria before she joined politics. She was a journalist with the
Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Lagos and she became famous with her
innovative reportage on News line every Sunday, especially during the
‘MARY saga’ in 2008.Today, she is a legislator in the House of
Representatives representing Ikorodu constituency in the National
Assembly. In her second term in office she was appointed Chairman, House
Committee on Diaspora Affairs, a new committee with the challenge of
ensuring that Nigerians in Diaspora are integrated into developmental
activities of their motherland. Recently, she was in Lagos to receive
Ayoyemi Ajimatanrareje who is Miss Nigeria Florida. She spoke to CHRISTY
ANYANWU.
You are a very busy person, why are you in this gathering today?
In things like this, where we have a Nigerian like Miss Nigeria
Florida, what I think she has done is to celebrate the culture of
Nigeria in America. That’s why one took time out to come and encourage
her and people like her to continue to do what they are doing. You can
see that she is giving back to the society with her title as Miss
Florida. She’s not only propagating our culture in America, she is
coming back to do things for the younger ones here in Nigeria. I’m very
encouraged by what she is doing. At her age, she has done so much, any
mother will be proud to have her around. So, she’s my adopted daughter.
What are your views about Nigerians in Diaspora?
There are Nigerians, especially our women that are amazing success
stories even more than Americans. All we need to know is where our
people are. We don’t have the data of our people in Diaspora. We are
dealing with 16 million. We are supposed to have a database and then
break them down in a way that it will be easy to locate Nigerians
easily. So, let’s have a database, which is what we are trying to do
right now. Even Ghana has it. You must know where your people are, and
what they are doing. There is nowhere Nigerians are not extending,
although you have a downside. You have Nigerians in jail for committing
crime, for when 10 Nigerian
What are the challenges you have with Nigerians in Diaspora?
There are many challenges. The first one is that we have man
Nigerians in trouble in many parts of the world. We just came back from
South Africa, we have more than 409 Nigerians in South Af-rican prisons
and some should not be there. If you commit a crime, you will be
punished for it but when you did nothing, maybe you are just guilty by
association, there is no trial and you are stigmatized. Really, I think
Nigeria should intervene and we are pushing for that. Second, we need
to have a database of Nigerians in Diaspora to know exactly where our
people are, what they are doing. We are talking about local content.
There is nowhere Nigerians are not excelling. That is just the truth.
If you want Nigerian experts in any field in the world, you can always
get them, but we need to encur-age a synergy between Nigeria and the
Nigerians in the Diaspora. We plan to establish a Diaspora commission.
Alone, 26 countries have a full-fledged Diaspora ministr. Yet, we have
the largest number apart from Brazil that has the largest number of
blacks outside Africa. The next number will be Nigeria. We need to have
that commission so that when people like Miss Florida comes here, the
commission knows she is here and the commission knows you are there, and
they can work with you. It’s going to be a full-fledged commission wher
you can now tap into enormous resources. These are the immediate basic
things that I think should be tackled.
As part of your official duties, how do you feel when you are out there and found Nigerians doing all kinds of jobs?
I think the first thing is, lets tackle the cause, which is
unemployment. We met a Mass communication graduate in prison in South
Africa. When I heard him speak, I know he is well educated. He was
looking for a job and someone invited him to South Africa. When he got
there, there was really nothing there and he finds a way to survive and
got into trouble. The first thing is, lets solve the problem of
unemployment in this country. I know there is greed, I also know there
is desperation. Some people were brought back from Libya, 24 of them.
Four of them are graduates of University of Nigeria Nsukka. Ghadafi was
going to kill them.
They went to look for jobs and they were actually working before they
were arrested. So, we need to tackle unemployment. Government does not
create jobs but government creates an enabling environment for jobs to
be created. So, that has to be tackled. We are paying lip service and we
are deceiving ourselves when we say we are creating jobs because we are
not. I think that is the major thing. Again, a lot of awareness for the
younger ones is necessary. Look at what she is doing. You can say she’s
privileged but she could have been in America and gone into something
else. So, we need a lot of awareness for the younger ones to know that
it might not be greener out there because some are there out of
ignorance.
Take Cairo for instance, they have told the boys they are going to
play football. They get there and there is no football to play. Now
they are already stuck there. The devil has a workshop for idle hands
and they want to do this and that to make ends meet and they get into
trouble. Basically, there is need for awareness and we keep saying that
if you commit a crime, you will be punished for it. There are some that
are defendable and we are glad that we have been able to prevent such.
We intervened in some and we succeeded. The next thing is to tap into
these talents that are with Nigerians everywhere in the world. We have
the best doctors in the world. In America, we have the best doctors that
are Nigerians, and look at the state of our hospitals in Nigeria. A lot
of things are happening, so we must have a Diaspora Commission. I hope
we can, so that we won’t be left behind in Diaspora matters. There is
going to be a regional summit sometime next year.
So, how do you cope? I mean juggling your work as a legislator and travelling back and forth the globe.
I think work is work. Whatever you are told to do, you just do it
responsibly and ensure you put in your best. You are not going to work
forever. You have to balance your family with your job, which is the
most important challenge for a woman.
So, how do you spend your day?
The first thing is to pray. I’m a Muslim. The first thing I do is to
pray in th morning and get to sleep again; I enjoy sleeping. Then get
ready for work. I won’t say I have a typical day. Everyday is
unpredictable, whether as a journalist or as a politician. But I always
place my family first in whatever I do. Whatever I do, I will not
sacrifice my family fo any other thing. I give them the priority. No
point being successful in your career and not being able to raise
successful children. I don’t have a structured day but the first thing
is, you wake up an pry to your God for guidance till the rest of the
day. And of course, as a woman, you must have to take care of yourself,
do your spa, your facials, massage and relax.
Do you miss anything about your career as a journalist?
Of course, I miss television. Aah; I miss television, it’s the best
job in the world. First thing I do is news. As am seeing you now, I’m
wishing what I could do with you. I do miss it and I hope I will still
do a few things in journalism, just for the fun of it.
What are your plans for 2015?
We take a step at a time. I’m a member of House of Representatives; I still have a lot of work to do. I have put in my best.
You dress nicely, what is the secret?
Regalia makes my outfit. I just wea what I feel suits me.
Culled from Sun Newspaper
THE
fear of petrol scarcity is heating up the Lagos metropolis again and
the possibility of vehicle owners buying at higher prices and commuters
paying more for transport fare, as against what they used to pay, is
rising among Lagosians with the appearance of long queues in many
filling stations.
