Education
By Anthony Isibor
PROF Ngozi Ezenwa-Ohaeto, Deputy Director, School of General Studies, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, UNIZIK, has accused the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Charles Okechukwu Esimone, of extortion and prematurely terminating her appointment.
Prof. Ezenwa-Ohaeto, who was not pleased with the premature termination of her appointment as the Deputy Director of the university’s School of General Studies, said that she was removed for asking questions about her money.
In an open letter addressed to the VC, she disclosed that her ordeal began when the school received 3500 Euros for each of the lecturers, who were billed to attend a training programme in Germany by their German partners.
She said that even though the amount received by the VC on behalf of each of the participants for the trip was 3500 Euros, when Prof Klaus, another staff of the school, presented to all the participants of that workshop with some documents that required their signature, she saw that the amount written on that document was at variance with what the Vice Chancellor, remitted to them as the financial package given to them by the organisers of that academic exercise. ‘I was surprised thinking that there must have been a mistake somehow. So I had to ask questions like any reasonable person would do.’
Prof Ezenwa-Ohaeto also added that her daring to ask questions made the VC to terminate her appointment as Deputy Director, School of General Studies, when she had only spent one year for a position that officially lasts for two academic years.
“I asked other members of the Awka contingent and no one could render any explanation as they were as surprised as I was. Prof Klaus himself first raised the issue telling us that the paper you, Prof Esimone, prepared bears 2000 Euros, which made me understand that he already suspected what you did. All he wanted was confirmation from us and I confirmed to him that you gave us 2000 Euros instead of 3500 Euros we were made to sign.
“The difference in the amount was 1,500 Euros and the deduction was done by you from every one of us, including a lecturer II, a very junior staff.
“At my level and experience, it will amount to stupidity to append my signature against an amount that was not remitted to me without asking questions and asking questions was what I did.
“Relatedly, I also found out that you, Prof Charles Esimone, our Vice Chancellor and our leader on that trip equally signed our per diem allowances from our university. That allowance never got to any of us and I want to ask you, my dear Vice Chancellor, what happened to the allowances you signed on our behalf?
“That was the crime you felt and still feel I committed against you,” she said.
She noted that she became aware of her removal on Friday, 21st April, 2023, when the publication of new appointments made by the VC started circulating on various university social media platforms.
The former DD SGS said that she was not surprised because she got the hint of the VC’s move to replace her with Dr Adaoma Igwedibia immediately after they came back from Germany in December.
She added that the situation became even more suspicious given that the director, who was appointed together with her was not removed.
To set the record straight, Prof Ezenwa-Ohaeto explained in her letter thus:
“Connectedly before we set out for the trip, we got a message from you asking us to travel to Abuja for onward processing of our papers in preparation for the trip. We, the intended participants moved to Abuja as you instructed. One of us travelled all the way from Lagos. Unfortunately, that was the last time we heard from you during the whole time we spent on that wasted and frustrating trip.
“After three nights of lodging in a hotel and clearly seeing ourselves in a confused situation as no information was sent to us from you, our principal, to know our next step. Day after day, night after night I personally called you and sent you messages requesting your directives on what next to do; if we were to continue staying or leave the Abuja hotel.
“You NEVER responded to any of the calls nor to the messages and up until today you have not, out of courtesy, at least or show of sign of leadership, explained to us why we deserved such inhuman and wicked treatment from you. I remember clearly telling in one of the messages I sent you that we had run short of money for renewing our hotel bills and for feeding. I also informed you that we had resorted to borrowing to avoid being asked out of the hotel rooms, yet you ignored and abandoned us. At the end, we spent six unplanned nights and later decided to come back to Awka.
“Meanwhile we learnt that you earlier left Abuja with Dr Adaoma Igwedibia without a single word to those you instructed to travel to Abuja. We felt sad, stupid, fooled and abandoned by you, our leader. I don’t want to go in details on your very petty behaviour at the Frankfurt Airport where you told the driver sent to pick us that we missed the flight when you knew quite well that the reverse was the case.
“Finally, on the above issue, I think it is important to state that my appointment as Deputy Director of SGS is not a favour by any standard. In fact, I personally do not need the position to be relevant in any way. I am sure you appointed me DD based on your perception of me as capable and my ability to add my quota to make your project 200 achievable and I make bold to state that within that short period I was there before my removal, albeit unprofessionally, that I made some mark there. Go and verify!
KEEPING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
“Yes, you have removed me as a deputy director for daring to ask questions about my money you took. I have the feeling that you might go further than that hence this information on the origin of the partnership with the University of Muenster, Germany and the projects that emanated there from.
‘That project was first brought to Prof Ezenwa-Ohaeto Resource Centre by Dr Onyebuchi Ile to help him finance and manage the administration of a Prof Ezenwa-Ohaeto Center’s journal I appointed him as the editor. After examining the project we later decided to bring it to the Department of English so that our staff will also benefit from it. The information about the partnership was clearly recorded in the minutes of meetings held at the initial stages of the project. The meetings used to hold at the Centre and were sponsored by the Centre as well. Our decision to involve the English Department was what informed the partnership between the Centre and Department of English, the partnership you later decided by your actions to ignore and play down on.
You may wish to know that the project was sustained at the Department as a result of my singular efforts as the Chairperson of the LOC of the Workshop we organized to build capacity as requested by our German partners. You may also wish to know that the decision to involve the English department in the project was what metamorphosed into your involvement because of your office as the Vice Chancellor of UNIZIK. That partnership metamorphosed into that German trip you participated in even though you are a pharmacist. That also metamorphosed into the per diem and the supporting money from Germany which you unfairly extorted from us. That decision metamorphosed into the Communication Skill that is now being hosted in School of General Studies. That involvement was what metamorphosed into my removal as the Deputy Director of SGS.
“Now I want to talk about the Communication Skill project. I have a hunch that you may also try to remove me from that project. If that is your next intended step, I suggest that you stop now because that may not end well. No threat intended anyway. I pray you understand.”
A.
Tags: Dr Adaoma Igwedibia Dr Onyebuchi Ile Nnamdi Azikiwe University Prof Ezenwa-Ohaeto Prof. Charles Okechukwu Esimone
