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OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA: A CALL FOR URGENT INVESTIGATION INTO THE CONTROVERSIAL VICE-CHANCELLORSHIP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

Your Excellency,
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Your Excellency,

SUBJECT: THE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA AND THE VICE-CHANCELLORSHIP IMBROGLIO — A HUMBLE CALL FOR YOUR PRESIDENTIAL INTERVENTION

 

Permit me, Sir, the liberty of an open address by the Concerned Nigerians, Education Stakeholders, and Defender of Academic Integrity — one compelled by duty, burdened with concern, and inspired by the highest regard for truth, merit, and the sanctity of Nigeria’s intellectual heritage.

The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), as Your Excellency is aware, is more than just another ivory tower. It is the flagship citadel of higher learning in Nigeria — a hallowed sanctuary where scholarly excellence has long served as both tradition and torchlight. It was here that Nigeria’s post-independence visionaries forged their academic armour. And it is from this institution that generations of Nigerian scholars, leaders, and global contributors have taken flight.

It is in view of this revered legacy that we — Concerned Nigerians, Education Stakeholders, and Defender of Academic Integrity — must respectfully draw Your Excellency’s urgent attention to troubling developments surrounding the appointment of the next Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria. In particular, we raise the red flag over the alleged candidacy of Professor Simon Ortuanya, whose academic and professional history, if allegations are to be believed, is incompatible with the high standards expected of a Vice-Chancellor of such a premier institution.

With utmost respect to his person and the office he currently holds and the rights due to any citizen, the following key issues demand sober attention and immediate, transparent investigation:

1. A Curious Academic Ascent: From Lecturer I to Professor Overnight?

The rise of Mr. Ortuanya from Lecturer I at the University of Nigeria to Professor at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), without the customary academic rigours and peer-reviewed assessments, defies logic and tramples the sacrosanct conventions of academic promotion. If the allegations hold, this would constitute what can only be described as academic sleight of rank — a leapfrog that belies years of scholarship, research, and service required for elevation in the academy.

It is alleged that he resigned from UNN not in pursuit of greener pastures, but as an escape from academic evaluation that would not have favoured him. Had he remained at UNN, sources suggest, the highest achievable rank today would, at best, have been Senior Lecturer. The alleged backdoor professorship awarded by ESUT — where he reportedly had influence through political corridors — is troubling and calls for thorough vetting.

2. Lack of Core Academic Experience and Institutional Disconnect

By every reasonable academic standard, the head of an institution like UNN must not only wear the academic gown but must also have earned its weight. Unfortunately, Prof. Ortuanya appears to have spent a fraction of his professional life in the classroom and research hall. Instead, he has largely occupied political positions — including Commissioner for Education and Secretary to the State Government in Enugu State — commendable roles in governance, no doubt, but wholly insufficient as academic credentials for leading one of Nigeria’s most venerable universities.

How can one who has spent the better part of the last two decades outside the academic system now be entrusted with the academic future of thousands?

3. Scant Academic Output: A Professor Without Google Scholar Footprint?

The corpus of a scholar’s contribution to knowledge is often found in the pages of reputable journals and indexed platforms. Yet, the claim within the academic quarters that Prof. Ortuanya has only about 10 journal publications, with none appearing on Google Scholar or other popularly recognised indexing services, raises the very real question of invisibility in the academic world.

Even more puzzling, his name is conspicuously absent in the Directory of full Nigerian Professors compiled by the National Universities Commission (NUC) as at 2021, which remains the standard official listing of Nigeria’s academic elite. Is he, then, a professor only in title but not in fact?

 

4. Allegations of Misconduct and Abuse of Office

Of equal great concern are allegations that while serving as Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ortuanya was dismissed ignominiously over issues bordering on fraud — serious enough for then-Governor Sullivan Chime to bar him from government premises.

If these allegations are true, then we may be staring not only at an academic scandal, but an ethical catastrophe — the potential imposition of a Vice-Chancellor with a record of compromised public service, now angling to lead a foremost academic institution.

Moreover, suggestions that he used his political position to facilitate his professorial appointment at ESUT amount to an abuse of power, and possibly a conflict of interest, demanding full investigation.

A Call for Presidential Integrity and Action

Your Excellency, the health of a nation is often measured not just by the strength of its economy, but by the integrity of its institutions. If Nigeria must reclaim her place as the giant of Africa, we must defend our universities against academic imposture and political capture.

This is why we are appealing to you, as the father of the nation and Grand Patron of Education, to:

1. Direct the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission to immediately investigate the academic credentials, professional history, and processes surrounding Prof. Ortuanya’s alleged professorial appointment.

2. Ensure that the process of appointing the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka is transparent, merit-based, and free from political interference.

3. Defend the sanctity of our higher education system by ensuring that only those who embody academic excellence, integrity, and demonstrable service to the university system can aspire to lead institutions like UNN.

 

In closing, Your Excellency, the nation is watching. The academic community, including the students are watching. And posterity, as always, will ask what you did — when the temples of knowledge stood vulnerable to politicisation and silent compromise.

Let us, together, restore the dignity of Nigeria’s academia.

Yours sincerely,
Comrade James Ezema
For: Concerned Nigerians, Education Stakeholders, and Defender of Academic Integrity

Cc:

Hon. Minister of Education

Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC)

Chairman, Senate Committee on Education

Vice-Chancellor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

National Universities Commission (NUC)

Nigerian Senate

Civil Society Organisations in Education Sector

Media Houses

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