After a long wait, the management of Obafemi Awolowo University has brought to an end the ignoble reign of a randy Professor Richard Akindele, accused a few months ago of coercing a student into offering sex for marks.
Akindele like some of his colleagues should be preparing for retirement at the moment but his inability to control his sinful lust has led him to where he found himself today.
Akindele came to the limelight on April 29, 2018, when the phone call between him and Erica Osagie a female final year graduate of the University leaked to the public.
In the leaked phone call, the sacked Professor was heard requesting for a five sex sessions from the hapless Osagie to pass a course where she scored 38.
It was later discovered that Professor Akindele had falsified her scores in a bide to entrap her into having sex with him, Osagie had actually passed the course in question.
Akindele like every other previous culprit of this act accused Osagie of trying to blackmail the school authority and that the audio was concocted to destroy the professor’s reputation.
But the pressure from local and international human right organizations forced the management of OAU’s hand. They finally set up an investigative panel which initially placed the randy Akindele on a suspension before he was summarily dismissed yesterday.
By this action, the management of OAU Ife has shown to the world that it not only preaches academic excellence alone but coupled with moral excellence.
The university has shown to its peers especially ASUU that was against the initial criminalization of this act by the national assembly that it has zero tolerance for acts of indiscipline and molestation.
Other universities in the country are advised to take a cue from OAU by encouraging students to report staffs found of committing acts of molestation and sexual harassment as we have them in their thousands across our University campus. For Erica Osagie, she took a brave decision that might have earned her a rustication from the University but she is the winner here. For Professor Akindele, it’s the end of an ignoble era.
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