MARCEL MBAMALUOn Tuesday, April 23, news broke that a lecturer in the School of General Studies (SGS), University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Mr Mfonobong Udoudom, was apprehended by the Security Department of the institution for alleged s3xual molestation of a yet-to-be-identified married woman. As the news broke, the initial feeling was that s3xual abuses were still alive and active in the tertiary institutions, and that little may be in the offing to stamp them out.
The ever-present s3xual tendencies of human beings as well as impunity appear to make people feel that the issue of s3xual abuses will continue as long as tertiary institutions exist. In fact, the responses from many quarters tended to suggest that people were increasingly used to such stories, and may be feeling helpless or even tolerant. However, the UNN case elicited strong reactions because the woman in question is said to be married, and had begged the randy lecturer not to demand s3x.
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As it is, the erring UNN lecturer has been indefinitely suspended by the authorities in the institution, pending the outcome of a disciplinary panel, which may further worsen his fate. The Nsukka Area Command of the Nigerian Police Force also picked him for further investigations.
But, while the investigations are ongoing, a mini opinion poll by this medium surprisingly suggests that many people are in sympathy with Mr Udoudom. Far too many people think that the public embarrassment is already enough suffering, and that the insults he will face may last forever unless the man knows how to clean up a personal mess.
The Main Agenda and Matters Arising
The first thing about the matter is how much the world celebrates negative news, helped by the media, which trade on the bizarre. Secondly, the image of the University of Nigeria took a thorough beating, with the viral video circulating around the world. The man, as seen in the video, only wore a pair of boxers and betrayed a sore mood, because his integrity was in the mud. Close associates of the family told tales of the sorry state of his wife and entire family.
Arising from the sentiments betrayed by a goodly number of people, some questions have arisen: Should the man have been so disgraced? Was he really disgraced or duly rewarded for ignoring many willing unmarried girls to force a married woman illicitly? How can such issues of sexual molestation be arrested? Are there other issues other than s3xual foolishness and the morality question?
S3xual Abuse is Rampant in Universities
The ugly trend of s3xual harassments is age-long and pervasive, and there appears to be no end in sight. A World Bank Report in 2018 said that about 70% of female students in Nigerian universities have faced s3xual harassment. Some estimates about tertiary institutions in Africa have noted at least 350 rape cases annually, about 1 in every 28 students for universities with about 10,000 students. In many cases, the public disgrace faced by s3xual abusers is almost the only meaningful punishment. Beyond the public disgrace and initial suspension, not much is heard afterwards.
Yet, when members of university staff, especially lecturers, are caught in such incidents, it often begins from the moral questions posed by sexual harassments, proven or unproven. If proven, and the appropriate punishment meted, it seriously helps the moral fabric of society.
But After Morality?
Immediately after the moral crisis introduced by s3xual indiscipline, some other factors arise in the case of corporate organizations and universities. The UNN story has it that the unknown woman first complained to her husband about the lecturer’s unholy demands. At this point, it was a moral, cultural and sexual taboo that was reported. Public disgrace may work, especially in the context of a village or community.
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We may not bother about who contacted the other parties, that is, the Security Department and the Dean of the School of General Studies, UNN, as well as the hoard of people at the scene. The important thing is that they knew before hand and laid siege while the woman went in to get the man in the right frame for public disgrace. And then the waiters pounced.
How the Dean of SGS and the Security Misfired
Over the past one year, the UNN has put in a lot of effort to showcase its gallant academic and administrative strides. At times, this happens as a result of negative reports by some perceived detractors. In one of the latest (2019) Webometric rankings of global and Nigerian universities, UNN placed number one in Nigeria, 17th in Africa, and 1,108 in the world (out of 23,626). Similarly, the 2024 Times Higher Education Rankings places UNN the 7th best university in Nigeria, and within the 1201-1500 range globally. In some courses such as mass communication, a UNN lecturer is the best scholar in Nigeria based on the number of publications in high impact factor journals in the world. With its own academic and administrative problems, UNN has tried to keep well afloat in the muddled academic and economic waters in Nigeria.
To this extent, the Security Department should have been more professional, not by concealing crime, but by showing investigative excellence, and portraying it as the agenda, instead of the sordid image bandied around the world. In January 2024, news broke about how the then president of Harvard University, Claudine Gay, had allegedly committed plagiarism in her dissertation and about six other articles. She promptly resigned. Upon her resignation, the world talked more about the professional investigations on the plagiarism, and the discipline that pervades the university for which the president immediately resigned. Good reputation and other issues such as anti-Semitism in Harvard became the agenda amidst a grievous academic offence. The same line of thinking should have guided the Security Department and the dean of SGS, UNN.
As for the unnamed husband of the unnamed woman, both took a cultural and moral taboo to the altars of professionalism and public relations, and thereby mixed apples and oranges. They themselves may now be recognizing how much peace they may be losing in terms of the calls, visits and ogles. The woman also carries a serious moral burden, which can threaten her marriage.
So what ought to have been done? There is no attempt to gloss over the gravity of the sexual abuse or the need for adequate punishment. In many cases, however, accosting the lecturer by the dean, upon a formal or informal report, may help. The case can get to the highest authorities in UNN, if the man remains adamant, but, he is likely not to. It is never good to remove a decaying body, without dealing with all the smell. It is not wisdom. A moral question has just been compounded by a public relations and professional miscalculation by those who should have defined the issues in questions. Is it not public knowledge that much more abuse is going on as we gloat over the exposed one? What are we doing, or is the public disgrace of our institutions the way out?
Dr Mbamalu, a Jefferson Fellow and Member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), is a Publisher and Communications/Media Consultant. His extensive research works on Renewable Energy and Health Communication are published in several international journals, including the prestigious SAGE Journals.
Dr. Marcel Mbamalu is a communication scholar, journalist and entrepreneur. He holds a Ph.D in Mass Communication from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and is the Chief Executive Officer Newstide Publications, the publishers of Prime Business Africa.
A seasoned journalist, he horned his journalism skills at The Guardian Newspaper, rising to the position of News Editor at the flagship of the Nigerian press. He has garnered multidisciplinary experience in marketing communication, public relations and media research, helping clients to deliver bespoke campaigns within Nigeria and across Africa.
He has built an expansive network in the media and has served as a media trainer for World Health Organisation (WHO) at various times in Northeast Nigeria. He has attended numerous media trainings, including the Bloomberg Financial Journalism Training and Reuters/AfDB training on Effective Coverage of Infrastructural Development of Africa.
A versatile media expert, he won the Jefferson Fellowship in 2023 as the sole Africa representative on the program. Dr Mbamalu was part of a global media team that covered the 2020 United State’s Presidential election. As Africa's sole representative in the 2023 Jefferson Fellowships, Dr Mbamalu was selected to tour the United States and Asia (Japan and Hong Kong) as part of a 12-man global team of journalists on a travel grant to report on inclusion, income gaps and migration issues between the US and Asia.
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