On Efforts of Prof. Okwechime Emmanuel to Ameliorate or Negate the Guilt of Nigerian Lecturers in Sexual Harassment Scandal

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Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju

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Oct 9, 2019, 8:00:54 AM10/9/19
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                                 On Efforts of Prof. Okwechime Emmanuel to Ameliorate or Negate the Guilt of Nigerian Lecturers

                                                                                             in 

                                                                       Sexual Harassment Scandal

                                                                       Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju

                        
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                                                                  University of Benin Main Gate 

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As a former undergraduate and postgraduate student and eventually a lecturer at the Department of English and Literature, University of Benin, I am deeply disturbed by the efforts of Professor Okwechime Emmanuel of that university, in a voice interview posted online and linked here, to ameliorate or negate the guilt of lecturers in the ongoing scandal of sexual harassment of female students by male lecturers in Nigerian universities.

Okwechime frames as a hype generated by "people not being serious" a real, insidious and devastating problem, what is described as a culture of sexual harassment of female students by male lecturers in Nigerian universities, attested to by numerous eye witness accounts.

Power Differentials Between Students and Lecturers

Okwechime depicts the power of students and lecturers in equal terms by claiming that students' provocative dressing represents harassment of lecturers, an inducement students use as leverage to offer sexual favours in return for grades.

This perspective is inaccurate because students' style of dressing for any reason, is not equal to the power of the lecturer to distance himself from such dangerous scenarios.

The student does not have much power to compel the lecturer to do their will but the lecturer has great power over the student.

These students are often very young and need guidance. They need their self esteem boosted. They need their capacity for creative achievement, for taking charge of their lives, reinforced, not the lecturer aiding their negative development by giving in to the students’ inadequacies arising from the students’ poor understanding of their own creative forces.

The Lecturer as an Agent of Social Creativity Not Social Destruction

The fact that Nigerian society is significantly corrupt, as Okwechime suggests, does not mean that academics are thereby excused from higher standards of conduct. Teachers are building our future for a better nation and a better world. Perpetuating a negative status quo is not their role.

Differences Between Sexual Ethics in Various Social Contexts

Its not accurate to equate sexual attraction in general with amorous relationships between lecturers and students, as Okewechime does, particularly in the context of factual, wide ranging and recurrent accounts of sexual harassment of female students by male lecturers.

Such a conjunction distorts the reality of the role of the teacher as a guide and of the university as a place for training, as different from the general space represented by a street where such strict rules of engagement in terms of roles and relative power do not obtain.

Even in the workplace, sexual relations between bosses and subordinates need to be carefully managed lest they poison the workplace.

Such caution is vital even between adults and seasoned professionals, which many in the workplace are, caution even more vital given the tenderness of university youth.

What is a University?

In all, though Okwechime is correct in stating that some female students also harass lecturers, the examples he has given of such harassment in terms of how the students dress as well as his dismissal of the accounts of sexual harassment of female students and his equating of the university space with a general social space where sexual attraction roams free demonstrates a lack of understanding of the nature of a university and of the academic as a guide within a system meant for bringing up mainly youth, where the lecturer’s power enables them to guide rather than give into negative strategies of such youth.

I am disturbed by his response, particularly coming from a professor, representing almost the highest level of leadership in a university.

Compounding this terrible anomaly, it is coming as a globally public statement on an issue of such magnitude in relation to a system, the university system, of universal presence and in relation to which one can observe best practices on such issues around the globe.


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Victor Okafor

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Oct 9, 2019, 2:32:19 PM10/9/19
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As the US collegiate experience demonstrates, litigation is an effective tool that can be used to curb the widely-reported phenomenon of trading of sex for grades at certain institutions of higher learning within Nigeria and elsewhere. Apart from its moral turpitude, that practice ipso facto demeans the academic value of the degrees awarded by affected institutions. It raises questions—and rightly so—about the competence of graduates who got certified for one occupation/professional practice or the other by trading sex for grades.

In the case of the United States, universities evolved on their handling of this social problem: dating back to the 1980s or so, expensive court-imposed punitive damages eventually compelled universities to enact and strictly-enforce anti-sexual harassment codes. In sum, there is now in place a new cultural milieu on an average US university campus which makes a sexual relationship between a student and her/his instructor a forbidden act, a forbidden apple. Simply-put, it's a no-go area.  It's almost safe to assert that any instructional employee of a university within the United States who wants a future for his/her career knows that sexual relations with his/her student is a no-go area. A strategy utilized by universities in the US is an on-boarding orientation for new employees that usually incorporates and requires completion of a work-shop (now mostly online) that's designed to familiarize the new hires with the institution's policy on sexual harassment matters.

As I have been told, all too often, out of shame and fear of potential social stigma, there is a tendency for a female student who has been sexually taken advantage of by her teacher to  reframe from even owning up that she was a victim of that social ill.

Finally, I have heard so many anecdotal accounts of how female students are routinely sexually exploited with impunity across Nigerian institutions of higher learning by their instructors of record that I have silently promised myself that, as long as life permits, I will not allow any daughter of mine to study at a Nigerian university.


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Sincerely,

Victor O. Okafor, Ph.D.
Professor and Head
Department of Africology and African American Studies
Eastern Michigan University


OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 9, 2019, 5:21:55 PM10/9/19
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Victor.

Your vow is what the purveyors of the film want to sustain.

My first niece completed her first degree in Nigeria got happily married became a mother and is now completing her MPA at the University of Ibadan.

She was never a victim of sexual harassment or sex for grade because she is well brought up.

I am so proud of her as well as the recent graduate.

Institutions do reform.  The BBC should allow African institutions to reform themselves.  As Edward Kissi revealed the University of Ghana has been silently reforming itself getting rid of its bad apples.  They do not need the BBC to do that.

Both institutions invaded had anti sex harassment code in place.  The BBC should allow it to work.  The institution has no obligation to publicise those who have been dismissed.  It could be counter productive in their image making.

OAA



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.


-------- Original message --------
From: Victor Okafor <vok...@emich.edu>
Date: 09/10/2019 19:34 (GMT+00:00)
Cc: Edo-nationality <edo-nat...@yahoogroups.com>, Politics Naija <naijap...@yahoogroups.com>, Bring Your Baseball Bat <naijao...@yahoogroups.com>, nigerianworldforum <NIgerianW...@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - On Efforts of Prof. OkwechimeEmmanuel  to Ameliorate or Negate the Guilt of Nigerian Lecturers in SexualHarassment Scandal

As the US collegiate experience demonstrates, litigation is an effective tool that can be used to curb the widely-reported phenomenon of trading of sex for grades at certain institutions of higher learning within Nigeria and elsewhere. Apart from its moral turpitude, that practice ipso facto demeans the academic value of the degrees awarded by affected institutions. It raises questions—and rightly so—about the competence of graduates who got certified for one occupation/professional practice or the other by trading sex for grades.

In the case of the United States, universities evolved on their handling of this social problem: dating back to the 1980s or so, expensive court-imposed punitive damages eventually compelled universities to enact and strictly-enforce anti-sexual harassment codes. In sum, there is now in place a new cultural milieu on an average US university campus which makes a sexual relationship between a student and her/his instructor a forbidden act, a forbidden apple. Simply-put, it's a no-go area.  It's almost safe to assert that any instructional employee of a university within the United States who wants a future for his/her career knows that sexual relations with his/her student is a no-go area. A strategy utilized by universities in the US is an on-boarding orientation for new employees that usually incorporates and requires completion of a work-shop (now mostly online) that's designed to familiarize the new hires with the institution's policy on sexual harassment matters.

As I have been told, all too often, out of shame and fear of potential social stigma, there is a tendency for a female student who has been sexually taken advantage of by her teacher to  reframe from even owning up that she was a victim of that social ill.

Finally, I have heard so many anecdotal accounts of how female students are routinely sexually exploited with impunity across Nigerian institutions of higher learning by their instructors of record that I have silently promised myself that, as long as life permits, I will not allow any daughter of mine to study at a Nigerian university.


On Wed, Oct 9, 2019 at 8:00 AM Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin....@gmail.com> wrote:
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Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju

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Oct 10, 2019, 5:36:09 PM10/10/19
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OA,

It would seem the experience of your niece is not representative.

Secondly, students have been victims regardless of their upbringing.

A good no of these institutions might have sexual harassment policies but there seems to have been  an unwritten agreement to make them toothless.

On a Facebook group of students of my alma mater, Dept of English and Lit University of Benin, I am being exposed to stories demonstrating a growing culture of sexual harassment of female students running across generations of teachers and decades of academic life.

Absolutely horrible.

toyin





To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/VI1PR04MB449331A134DB59B5F0C940F0A6950%40VI1PR04MB4493.eurprd04.prod.outlook.com.

OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 10, 2019, 7:29:16 PM10/10/19
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Will be addressing that in my next write up on the NUC guiidelines in the next few days. It was due last week but was unable to push work load aside.

Thanks

OAA



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.


-------- Original message --------
From: Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin....@gmail.com>
Date: 10/10/2019 23:21 (GMT+00:00)
To: usaafricadialogue <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Cc: Edo-nationality <edo-nat...@yahoogroups.com>, Politics Naija <naijap...@yahoogroups.com>, Bring Your Baseball Bat <naijao...@yahoogroups.com>, nigerianworldforum <NIgerianW...@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - On Efforts of Prof.OkwechimeEmmanuel  to Ameliorate or Negate the Guilt of Nigerian Lecturers inSexualHarassment Scandal

OA,

It would seem the experience of your niece is not representative.

Secondly, students have been victims regardless of their upbringing.

A good no of these institutions might have sexual harassment policies but there seems to have been  an unwritten agreement to make them toothless.

On a Facebook group of students of my alma mater, Dept of English and Lit University of Benin, I am being exposed to stories demonstrating a growing culture of sexual harassment of female students running across generations of teachers and decades of academic life.

Absolutely horrible.

toyin





On Wed, 9 Oct 2019 at 22:21, OLAYINKA AGBETUYI <yagb...@hotmail.com> wrote:

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Gloria Emeagwali

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Oct 11, 2019, 10:12:58 AM10/11/19
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What is more important is for solutions to be found and duly implemented. 

Blaming the BBC is not the right approach. In fact the BBC should be applauded in this case.  I take it that they were also active in exposing the sexual abuse of young boys by Catholic priests.

 Sexual harassment in churches and  educational institutions should also be dealt with by law enforcement agencies in addition to the local institutions.

Last semester two professors at my institution were dismissed for sexual harassment. Apparently they were doing this for years before it became public,  despite numerous pamphlets, posters, guidelines etc. 

  US institutions are not immune from this scourge although they have a better, swifter  and more robust response to 
complaints. They may also be more articulate in defining the issue, and encouraging student whistle blowers and victims to come forward to report to the Deans and others. 
The “Me too” movement helped as well.

GE

Sent from my iPhone

OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 11, 2019, 10:53:50 AM10/11/19
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I am not blaming the BBC for coverage at all.  I am only pointing out how they have undercut their own goals in the strategy deployed.

If done right the crew could even win awards for this.  The institutions have right to protest not being involved in the process which would have portrayed the institution in better light than abetters of harassment.  But that would not be as salacious and soap-operatic as the BBC presented it would it?

I have always commended BBC coverages wherever deserving as in the Chibok girls enslavement.

OAA



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
-------- Original message --------
From: Gloria Emeagwali <gloria.e...@gmail.com>
Date: 11/10/2019 15:17 (GMT+00:00)
Cc: Edo-nationality <edo-nat...@yahoogroups.com>, Politics Naija <naijap...@yahoogroups.com>, Bring Your Baseball Bat <naijao...@yahoogroups.com>, nigerianworldforum <NIgerianW...@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - On Efforts of Prof.OkwechimeEmmanuelto  Ameliorate or Negate the Guilt of Nigerian Lecturers inSexualHarassment Scandal

Boxbe This message is eligible for Automatic Cleanup! (gloria.e...@gmail.com) Add cleanup rule | More info
What is more important is for solutions to be found and duly implemented. 

Blaming the BBC is not the right approach. In fact the BBC should be applauded in this case.  I take it that they were also active in exposing the sexual abuse of young boys by Catholic priests.

 Sexual harassment in churches and  educational institutions should also be dealt with by law enforcement agencies in addition to the local institutions.

Last semester two professors at my institution were dismissed for sexual harassment. Apparently they were doing this for years before it became public,  despite numerous pamphlets, posters, guidelines etc. 

  US institutions are not immune from this scourge although they have a better, swifter  and more robust response to 
complaints. They may also be more articulate in defining the issue, and encouraging student whistle blowers and victims to come forward to report to the Deans and others. 
The “Me too” movement helped as well.

GE

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 10, 2019, at 7:02 PM, OLAYINKA AGBETUYI <yagb...@hotmail.com> wrote:

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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 11, 2019, 11:41:54 AM10/11/19
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And if I might add BBC is such a great institution that they create a programme in the UK specifically for viewers to criticize their programme for future growth.

They do not respond by saying ' patriotism' or 'Afrocentricism' is the last resort of the scoundrel.  They recognise that BBC is a human institution that can err as well as excel.

As a newsman on the reportorial corp every morning the first thing we do is ' the postmortem'.  Dissect our previous days production as well as allied media houses critiquing each others work as well as giving praises where due.

This is how journalism grows.

OAA



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.


-------- Original message --------
From: Gloria Emeagwali <gloria.e...@gmail.com>
Date: 11/10/2019 15:17 (GMT+00:00)
Cc: Edo-nationality <edo-nat...@yahoogroups.com>, Politics Naija <naijap...@yahoogroups.com>, Bring Your Baseball Bat <naijao...@yahoogroups.com>, nigerianworldforum <NIgerianW...@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - On Efforts of Prof.OkwechimeEmmanuelto  Ameliorate or Negate the Guilt of Nigerian Lecturers inSexualHarassment Scandal

Boxbe This message is eligible for Automatic Cleanup! (gloria.e...@gmail.com) Add cleanup rule | More info
What is more important is for solutions to be found and duly implemented. 

Blaming the BBC is not the right approach. In fact the BBC should be applauded in this case.  I take it that they were also active in exposing the sexual abuse of young boys by Catholic priests.

 Sexual harassment in churches and  educational institutions should also be dealt with by law enforcement agencies in addition to the local institutions.

Last semester two professors at my institution were dismissed for sexual harassment. Apparently they were doing this for years before it became public,  despite numerous pamphlets, posters, guidelines etc. 

  US institutions are not immune from this scourge although they have a better, swifter  and more robust response to 
complaints. They may also be more articulate in defining the issue, and encouraging student whistle blowers and victims to come forward to report to the Deans and others. 
The “Me too” movement helped as well.

GE

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 10, 2019, at 7:02 PM, OLAYINKA AGBETUYI <yagb...@hotmail.com> wrote:

--
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