JUST SO SAD!!! WHY, MAN OF GOD? WHY PROFESSOR?

Professor Richard Akindele

Any student or ex-student of a Nigerian tertiary institution would tell you that sexual relations between lecturers and their students are not uncommon.

These relations are usually started in one of the following ways: one, the lecturer makes advances at the student and she "willingly" accepts his overtures; two, the female student makes advances at the lecturer, and he willingly accepts; the lecturer makes advances at the female student, she declines, and he threatens her with perpetual failure of his module - and the modules taught by his friends and people he has influence over. In the face of this threat, she concedes to his wishes and begins relations with him.

Of all the aforementioned ways in which lecturer/student sexual relations start, the third one is the vilest of all, and rightly so. However, when the errant lecturer is a so-called "Man of God," and "Pillar of the society," he has to be viewed by society as one of the most despicable of beings and lowest of the low; the absolute dreg of the dregs of the society.

Unfortunately for him and all who hold him in high regard, Professor Richard Akindele is allegedly now a member of this class of despicables.

Professor Richard Akindele, a lecturer in the Department of Management and Accounting of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, Osun State, currently finds himself in hot waters after he was allegedly heard in a viral audio recording telling a student she had to sleep with him - not once, twice or thrice, but five times - times  to pass his module. 



The authorities of OAU revealed that they were aware of the viral audio recording allegedly starring the professor and his alleged victim.

Speaking with Sun on the issue, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the university said, “Since it came to our notice, the university has begun the process of identifying the characters in this breach of regulation because OAU has a code of conduct for staff and students.

“We frown at anybody whose conduct or utterances might breach the code of conduct of the anti-sexual harassment policy and to this end, any member of the university who goes beyond the laws of the university will be sanctioned.”

In addition to being a professor at OAU, the embattled professor who has deleted his facebook and seems to have gone into hiding, is also a priest of the Anglican church. However, for some reason, the Anglican church has remained silent on such a grave issue concerning one of its priests. Why is that so? Silence in such a matter could be misconstrued for approval, and in this era of the global "me too" movement, the Anglican would be wise to urgently address this matter and if their priest is found guilty, take the appropriate punitive actions against him.

This sex for grades issue is a huge problem on Nigerian campuses, and it must be addressed with the great degree of severity and urgency that it deserves. It seems that a good number of lecturers view the higher education institutions as brothels, the female students as prostitutes, and they themselves as pimps, and this should definitely not be the case.

Good on the female student - who has elected to remain anonymous - for recording the conversation between the unscrupulous professor and herself. I advise her to pursue a career in private investigation, or something of that sort. Kudos to her.