- “We can’t continue to have such persons in our midst. No country will encourage that sort of a thing in its backyard,” he said.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, University of Lagos, has described as illegal the arrest and detention of a Professor of English, Austin Nwagbara, in Ghana.
ASUU threatened that if anything untoward happened to the don, the Ghanaian government would be held accountable.
Nwagbara was on sabbatical at the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana, when a discussion he reportedly had with some members of the Nigerian community was leaked.
A video clip of the meeting reveals the don berating Ghanaians for mistreating Nigerians despite their contributions to Ghana’s economy.
He asked Nigerian media houses to investigate the allegations against the Ghanaian authorities and broadcast to embarrass the government.
After the video went viral, the Winneba University sacked him.
In a statement by the school’s registrar, quoted by Ghana-based Starr News, the varsity said the don’s sabbatical at the school, which started in October 2018, had been terminated over the controversy.
“In the said video, Prof. Nwagbara makes several unsavoury, unethical and damning comments about our country, its history as well as its educational system.
“The university totally dissociates itself from the grossly irresponsible comments and condemns it in no uncertain terms.
“The university after subjecting Prof. Augustine Uzoma Nwagbara to internal disciplinary process finds him culpable of gross misconduct and has, accordingly, dismissed him,” the statement said in part.
According to Ghana’s Star FM, the Ghana’s Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Mensah-Bonsu, backed the decision of the university.
“We can’t continue to have such persons in our midst. No country will encourage that sort of a thing in its backyard,” he said.
The lecturer was said to have been later invited by the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service.
He was reportedly accompanied by the Nigerian High Commissioner in Ghana, Ambassador Micheal Abikoye, and was allegedly subjected to hours of interrogation.
A statement by the Head of the Public Affairs Unit of the CID, DSP Juliana Obeng, said the professor was arrested for “offensive conduct conducive to the breach of the peace.”
It added that he was later released on bail.
Colleagues of Nwagbara at the UNILAG said the alleged harassment of the professor was wrong.
The UNILAG ASUU Chairman, Dele Ashiru, in a statement on Thursday, said the union received the reports of his alleged detention with “anguish.”
“It is the opinion of our union that no matter how scathing the views of Professor Nwagbara may be to the authorities of the university at Winneba, the government and people of Ghana, the fact remains that Professor Nwagbara’s views should be viewed within the context of academic freedom guaranteed by Article 3 and 4 of the Kampala Declaration on Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibility which states that
‘No African intellectual shall in any way be persecuted, harassed or intimidated for reasons only of his or her intellectual work, opinions, gender, nationality or ethnicity.
‘Every African intellectual shall enjoy the freedom of movement within his or her country and freedom to travel outside and re-enter the country without let, hindrance or harassment. No administrative or any other action shall directly or indirectly restrict this freedom on account of a person’s intellectual opinions, beliefs or activity.’
“In the light of the above, our union condemns in absolute terms the unwarranted harassment, intimidation and illegal detention of the erudite professor. Our union calls on the authorities of the University of Education, Winneba, relevant government agencies and the people of Ghana to ensure the safety of Professor Nwagbara’s life and property.
“They should take notice that should anything untoward happens to Professor Nwagbara, the authorities of the University of Winneba and the government of Ghana would be held squarely responsible with its reciprocal consequences for Nigeria-Ghana relations and the Ghanaian community in Nigeria,” he said in the statement.
Protect Nigerians in Ghana, FG tells envoy
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has asked the Ghanaian government to protect Nigerian nationals residing in Ghana following the xenophobic attacks against some Nigerian traders in Accra.
The Chief Executive Officer, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, made the demand during a visit to the High Commissioner of Ghana to Nigeria, Rasheed Bawa ,at the Ghanaian High Commission in Abuja, on Thursday.
She expressed concerns over the attacks on the businesses of Nigerians in Accra by some disgruntled Ghanaians who were protesting the alleged involvement of some Nigerians in the abduction of two Canadians and other criminal activities.
The presidential aide accused the unknown Ghanaians of attacking and destroying shops belonging to Nigerians, stressing that the relations between Nigeria and Ghana should not be allowed to deteriorate.
She demanded assurances from the Ghanaian government on the safety of Nigerians living in the country, insisting that their investments should also be protected.
Dabiri-Erewa-Erewa said, “We have come to demand the protection of Nigerians in Ghana and to ensure that the xenophobic attack against them doesn’t re-occur. The whole nation should not be maligned and attacked for the crimes of a few. We want assurances that the attacks on Nigerians and their businesses will not occur again.”
Bawa in his response, assured that everything necessary was being done to protect Nigerians in his country, adding that President Nana Akufo-Addo had ordered the deployment of policemen and soldiers to protect Nigerians.
He also explained that three Ghanaian youths had been arrested for alleged involvement in the attacks on Nigerians, adding that the relations between Nigeria and Ghana would not be allowed to suffer.
