Vera Chinonso Aliyu, YeyeNews.com, September 26, 2021
The controversy that was generated by the appointment of Nigeria’s Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Mujahedeen Isa Pantami as a professor of cybersecurity by the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) seems to be conflagrating as the day goes by with overwhelming majority of Nigerians pouring scorn and condemnation on FUTO and its management.
Nevertheless, the registrar of FUTO is justifying the appointment arguing that the minister met all the requirement for the position. He insisted to YeyeNews.com reporter by phone that FUTO considered Mujahedeen Pantami’s headship of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), a parastatal under the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, as equivalent to a research and academic position as the Ministry is equivalent to a university of digital studies.
Despite opposition by many scholars inside and outside the country, Prof. Akanga Ali Benson, an emeritus professor at the United Nigeria University College, Okija, told YeyeNews.com that those who are against the appointment of Mujahedeen Pantami as a professor are just ignorant of the minister’s numerous academic accomplishments. He reminded critics of Mujahedeen Pantami’s genius in graduating in Computer Science from Faculty of Science, employed as a Graduate Assistant in Information Technology in Faculty of Management where he got his masters and doctorate degrees and ending up with an appointment as a professor of cybersecurity without any experience or research output in cybersecurity.
The emeritus professor said the only person he knows who came close to matching Mujahedeen Pantami’s genius is himself who got a first degree in Christian History, masters and doctorate in Arabic Literature and then became an emeritus professor in Traditional and Unorthodox Medicine.
When our reporter drew the attention of Prof Akanga to Mujahedeen Pantami’s lean journal publications, the emeritus professor dismissed it as “insignificant in the pecking order of criteria” considered for professorship in top rated universities like the United Nigeria University College, Okija whose standards FUTO is emulating. He said with the appointment of Prof. Mujahedeen Pantami, FUTO is sure to be among the first 200 universities in the world by the time the next world university ranking is released.
Another internationally renowned scholar, Dr. Rachael Giwa of the International University, Missouri (Kano campus) advised critics who are accusing Prof. Mujahedeen Pantami of lacking presence in online scholarly database to look beyond those discredited western-sanctioned database and turn their attention towards high impact journals like the “The Journal of Islamic Warfare” where Mujahedeen Pantami’s groundbreaking scientific works in cybersecurity were published. Dr. Giwa said the minister’s critics are “mischievous” and enjoined them not to blame Mujahedeen Pantami for their inability to conduct basic search online. Prof. Mujahedeen Pantami’s scholarly works are open for everyone to access but they must look for them at the right places, the good Doc. added.
An anonymous source who is a highly revered professor at FUTO told YeyeNews.com that neither the university governing council nor the vice chancellor can be bothered by what he referred to as the “rants of ignorant cyberbullies masquerading as experts in university administration”. FUTO, he claims, has its standards and maintaining them has kept the university as the best in Nigeria for many years now. He further added that despite FUTO having to raise the standard even higher, the minister was still able to exceed it to emerge on top in the screening exercise.
The chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Calabar chapter, lamented to YeyeNews.com reporter that “while FUTO is dashing out professorship to an individual who has not set foot into their campus all his life, the University of Calabar chose to compel those who have dedicated the best part of their lives to teaching, research and community service within the university to pay 250,000 naira to be assessed for professorship”.
What an irony, he exclaimed in bitterness.
However, when YeyeNews.com reporter went to ASUU office at FUTO, the chapter chairman was not available to make any comment but a top official who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that the Union has decided not to escalate the matter so as not to dig up skeletons that might haunt people in high places. When asked by our reporter to clarify his statement, the official simply said: “It is better we let sleeping dogs lie.”
