Dede Mabiaku, Afrobeat musician and protégée of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, stormed out of a session on 91.3FM, a radio station in Lagos, where he and Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, were involved in a discussion.
Mabiaku had interrupted Adesina, who was trying to respond to a question on calls for a nationwide protest over the economic situation.
“Mr. Dede that’s not your question,”Adesina had said.
“It is my question so I will answer it. This is a country of about 180 million… Don’t forget that there are some people who are yet to recover from the loss of the 2015 election. Some are still in the election mode.”
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Asked if those calling for protest are supporters of the losers of the election, Adesina said: “Majority of them.”
At this point, Mabiaku said: “Haba! Femi! Haba! Femi! Femi rora! (Take it easy).
Adesina wanted to continue, but Mabiaku kept interrupting him. Obviously irritated, he said: “Dede, will you keep quiet and let me talk?”
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Mabiaku allowed Adesina to finish making his point before staging a protest.
He demanded an apology from Adesina, but the presidential spokesman rejected the request, maintaining that he was not rude to Mabiaku.
The video of the incident, which happened on Thursday, has now gone viral.
According to Femi Adesina, if you’re calling for a protest against the current administration, you’re still in “Election Mode”.
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— Wolé II (@Kingwole) January 31, 2017
Apparently, the issue was later resolved, as the radio station later released another video where Mabiaku was heard saying: “No hard feelings,” and Adesina smiled, while the conversation continued.
Pictures of both men posing for photographs alongside the presenters of the programme are circulating on social media, but it is not clear if the pictures were taken before or after the altercation.
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8 comments
Dede should listen to their conversations again and apologize to Femi and his own fans all over the world, including his host. Femi said Dede will you keep quiet and let me talk, when you………He never said shut up your mouth I am talking. Dede lost his temper unnecessarily and calling Femi names. Why can’t he work for government if he thinks it is that easy. What a shameful behavior.
It is crystal clear that femi and his boss PMBuhari has failed in ALL ramification. He has no right to ask dede to keep quite because the last time I checked dede is not his son….. Femi adesina is a drawing man…. His is tired of lying(trying to paint black to white) oga we are waiting for the protest as it is long overdue…… God bless 2baba for being that courageous leader…
In my opinion mr femi didn’t tell mr dede to shut but the statement he made was still offensive “dede keep quiet let me talk” this is a statement you say to somebody who you see as your juniour
I totally agree with you, Nigerians have a different reaction to words, we’re not English or American and would never be. Femi felt superior to Dede.
It is an insult to tell an adult to keep quiet during a dialogue no matter how well packaged the statement is. A better way to get your opponent to allow you some space is by saying’ please, listen to me’
I see the conversation as a friendly discussion. No offense implied. Dede over reacted because of his hatred for the govt. of the day.
Mr. Adesina should please inform the Government he represents that Nigerians are HUNGRY. A hungry man cannot be patient. No matter who is representing them or what they are being promised. If he wants to appreciate what people are going through, he should remove his luxury shoes for a while and get the feel. I am sure that if he does, he will appreciate the reason people are no longer patient. He shouldn’t have told Dede to “be quiet” – no matter how subtle he puts it or sounded, it was rude. Dede over reacted but Mr. Adesina was rude.
I don’t know how close Dede and Femi are but what Femi said would only be seen as an insult if they aren’t close friends. No matter how polite you sound, an insult remains an insult.