The University of Education (UEW) has, with immediate effect, sacked its visiting Nigerian lecturer, Prof. Augustine Uzoma Nwagbara over comments he made in a video that has since gone viral.
Prof. Nwagbara was arrested on Tuesday but later granted bail for allegedly inciting the Nigerian community in Ghana to devise strategies that will destroy Ghana’s image internationally.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the University said the comments by the lecturer were inimical to the country’s educational sector, hence his dismissal.
“The University is highly disturbed by the huge embarrassment his unguarded statement has brought to the institution, the Ministry of Education, and indeed, Ghana as a whole. The University after subjecting Prof. Augustine Uzoma Nwagbara to the internal disciplinary process finds him culpable of gross misconduct and has, accordingly dismissed him.”
The University said, although Prof. Nwagbara has been on sabbatical leave from its Department of Applied Linguistics since October 2018, his comments after it set up an internal disciplinary process observed that the utterances were ‘ unsavoury, unethical and damning about the country, its history as well as its educational system. The University totally dissociates itself from the grossly irresponsible comments and condemns it in no uncertain terms.”
“The University apologises to Ghanaians for Prof. Nwagbara disparaging remarks about this country’s educational system and further indicates that the comment was full of factual inaccuracies”, portions of the statement added.
Read the full statement below:
PRESS RELEASE
PROFESSOR AUGUSTINE UZOMA NWAGBARA DISMISSED FROM UEW
1. The University of Education Winneba wishes to inform the general public that it has taken a very serious view of the video circulating on social media, involving Prof. Augustine Uzoma Nwagbara.
2. Augustine Uzoma Nwagbara, a Professor of English Language, has been on sabbatical at the Department of Applied Linguistics since October, 2018.
3. In the said video, Prof. Nwagbara makes several unsavoury, unethical and damning comments about our country, its history as well as its educational system. The University totally dissociates itself from the grossly irresponsible comments and condemns it in no uncertain terms.
4. The University is highly disturbed by the huge embarrassment his unguarded statement has brought to the institution, the Ministry of Education, and, indeed, Ghana as a whole.
5. The University, upon receipt of the video, immediately invoked its internal disciplinary process to fully examine his conduct relative to the content of the video.
7. The University wishes to indicate that it has in the past hosted several scholars on sabbatical leave from various countries, including Nigeria, and same have conducted themselves with high degree of decorum and professionalism during their stay. Prof. Augustine Uzoma Nwagbara’s behaviour is totally deviant and an aberration that runs contrary to those of his predecessors or the others currently at post.
8. The University after subjecting Prof. Augustine Uzoma Nwagbara to internal disciplinary process finds him culpable of gross misconduct and has, accordingly, dismissed him.
9. The University apologises to Ghanaians for Prof. Nwagbara’s disparaging remarks about this country’s educational system and further indicates that the comments were full of factual inaccuracies.
Thank you
Signed
Registrar
