Monica Osagie‘s recorded conversation with her lecturer in which he insists on sleeping with her 5 times for better grades, is an occurence that is unfortunately not too peculiar with many who attended federal schools in Nigeria.
This incident occurred at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), where Monica is an MBA student. The lecturer has been identifed as Professor Richard Akindele.
Not only is this a situation that needs to be discussed more often, especially on the heels of the #MeToo movement, it is necessary for the sensitisation of a public who have become all too familiar with this story line – almost as though this were the norm, when, it isn’t. It shouldn’t be.
Monica expressed that she had recorded this conversation, as she was convinced that no one would believe her unless she had proof, CNN reports.
She mentions that she never leaked the conversation online but had released the clip to the university authorities before it got leaked to the public.
Monica also gives some background to the story. According to her account, she had a mentor-type relationship with the professor, with whom she had worked with helping to edit his book for days on end, until he started making advances towards her – advances she wouldn’t agree to because he was elderly and was also her lecturer.
In the recording, as can be heard below, Richard days that if Monica agreed to have sex with him five times, he would improve her grades.
The university authorities have since suspended the lecturer after affirming that it was indeed his voice in the leaked tape.
In a statement released by the tertiary institution, it was revealed that, “Professor Richard I. Akindele, of the department of management and accounting, is now established to be the lecturer in the controversial “marks for sex” audio recording. The female voice has also been identified as that of Miss Monica Osetobe Osagie, a postgraduate student on the Master of Business Administration Regular programme.”
The statement went further to state that:
Having regard to the gravity of the offence for which Professor Richard I. Akindele is found to be prima facie liable, the Vice-Chancellor, in line with the Code of Conduct for the University Community and acting under all the laws and regulations of the University enabling him in that regard, has directed that Professor Richard I. Akindele be suspended forthwith from the University, pending the final determination of the disciplinary case against him.
Monica mentions that she has no regrets despite facing backlash from some people who shamed her for recording her lecturer. She mentions that, there was need to shed light on the incident, which is common not just in Nigeria, but overseas.
We applaud her for speaking out. It is time that acts like these were dealt with publicly and with a firm hand, as it calls into question the quality of higher education in Nigeria. How many women who never spoke out about this horrible “sex for grades” trend have graduated with flying colors as a result of succumbing to such advances? Not only that, we also think it’s about time that these bullies continue to be exposed. The more we talk about it, the less tempted they would feel to harrass young women in these institutions.
This leak was maybe an answer to the prayer of the many victims whose voices just weren’t as loud and we hope to see more of this – young women taking a stand against this heinous trend.
