Toke Makinwa’s lecture at the prestigious New York University might have come and gone, but the surprising fuss and controversy that surrounded her announcement of the event has threatened to derail the supposed glory that comes with such height. Luckily for the On Becoming author, Tonto Dikeh was close by to help fend of the trolls.
It all started when a simple inquiry led to some NYU students accusing Toke of misleading the public that she was addressing the general body of students in the school whereas she was merely invited by a lecturer to speak to her students in a closed class. The Instagram user @mr_so_made_rich, had asked Toke to indicate the location where she would be giving her lecture on the campus so they could attend but wasn’t the bit satisfied with her response.
Toke responded by asking him to a professor in the school, Lilian Ajayi, who invited her. Ajayi, in her reaction fuelled further doubts about the authenticity of Toke’s lecture as she replied that it was “a closed event and not open to the public” This led another fan, @achalugo.nwanyi to insist that Toke should not have misled the public into thinking that she will be giving a general lecture at NYU.
She wrote, “I’m confused as well @mr_so_made_rich . I am a student at NYU and I totally agree with you. Toke is probably speaking at @lilianajayi ‘s class. (Lilian is an adjunct professor I at NYU SPS). That’s normal because even students speak at classes across the school. Not a Big Deal. People are calling out Toke because she made it seem like she’s speaking to the general NYU Audience (this is a BIG DEAL) given to people of certain repute such as Global Execs, Presidents, PMs etc. So Biko, Toke should correct her statement. No hate! Just facts!”
The lecture did hold as planned and Toke thanked Lilian and the class she lectured for the opportunity. But probably due to one of the NYU student’s request above, she then deleted the post. Alas, it was late. Nigerian social media troll kings and queens had already hijacked her page, accusing her of grandstanding. It took the intervention of Tonto Dikeh (snapshot to the left) to help divert some of the attention, as her comment on the hate reactions gave the OAP some respite. Toke couldn’t hide her appreciation.
So much for a New York University lecture!
