The Imprisonment Of Professor Richard Akindele: Lessons For ASUU & LASU
For years, the problem of sexual harassment of female students by their lecturers has proven to be a national issue. All over the world, academics are expected to play the role of parents and mentors in the lives of their students. In Nigeria, this is largely not the reality. On Tuesday, 18th of December, 2018; millions of Nigerians were agog over the news of the imprisonment of Professor Richard Akindele - an erstwhile Lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University; who was caught earlier in the year in the devilish act of forcefully requesting for sex in return for grades. As encouraging as the news was to me, the thoughts of events at my alma mata - the Lagos State University forced me into a state of reflection.
Throughout my years as a LASU student, I saw myself in a university with promising students and a school that is blessed with some of the best faculty members you can find anywhere in the world. Just like in most Nigerian universities, we also have some Lecturers who have chosen to sexually exploit innocent female students in LASU. During my undergraduate years, many female students who were victims of sexual harassment suffered in silence as there was nearly no one to amplify their voices. Nevertheless, since the inception of the current university administration, there have been concrete efforts geared toward the extermination of sexual harassment in the university. In fact, in recent months, some randy Lecturers were dismissed after facing a disciplinary panel. Sadly, the leaders of ASUU - LASU see nothing encouraging in these developments. Rather, they will prefer to vilify the university administration for daring to stem the misconduct of its erring members. There are several examples of these in the recent past.
It is very much pertinent to recall that in October, 2018, three erstwhile LASU lecturers(Drs: Odubunmi, Gbeleyi and Ogunwande) were dismissed for molesting three innocent female students of the university. ASUU - LASU exco to this day has maintained a culpable silence since their dismissal. Not even the criminal act of sedation and rape of female students by Dr. Gbeleyi could ignite a word of condemnation from the executive of ASUU - LASU.
In reality, to hope that ASUU - LASU exco support the crusade against sexual harassment in LASU means expecting too much from them and is akin to expecting a Gazelle to support the dominance of a Lion in the Jungle. The Gazelle and the Lion are two opposing sides - one preys on the other for survival. The same can be said of ASUU - LASU exco and morality. Most of the Lecturers who have now grown a reputation for harassing female students in LASU are staunch ASUU - LASU members. Dr. Afisi and Oyekan are to this day renowned for their penchant for sexually exploiting female students in the Faculty of Arts. In the Faculty of Social Sciences - where I graduated from, Dr. Johnson Ayodele Oluwole in my final days at the university was on the verge of being dismissed after his escapade with an innocent female student in a hotel room was botched. These individuals are the leaders of ASUU in LASU. Consequently, awaiting ASUU - LASU exco to support the crusade against sexual harassment in LASU is not in tandem with reality. After all, the Gazelle can never truly support the dominance of the Lion in the Jungle?
Despite the presence of quite a number of Richard Akindeles masquerading as academics in LASU, the good eggs in the system still far outnumber the bad ones. Nevertheless, the conspiracy of silence among the good ones and their failure to speak out and stand up for innocent students is the major reason why our campuses remain a safe haven for these sexual predators. In the course of my conversation with one of my former teachers in LASU, he informed me that: "Majority of the academics in LASU truly wish to speak out but they are scared of being attacked by individuals who run the union like a secret cult".
This is not enough reason to keep mum in the face of the destruction of innocent lives. Academics in LASU, other members of staff; as well as students and alumni members owe posterity the duty of braving the odds and ensuring that the current crop of students - alongside those who will come after them will study in an environment free of harassments and intimidation. By standing up for truth and justice, we will make our university home to all. The administration in LASU should remain bold to follow the example at OAU. It is not enough to dismiss these fraudulent misfits. Criminal sanction must follow. The Vice Chancellor as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria should know better.
*Ibrahim Alao, MSc graduate of LASU ,writes from Ibadan*.
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