I have concluded arrangement to end my series on the monumental misgivings rocking Imo State Polytechnic in last week’s edition with “Imo Polytechnic and Travesty of deceit” until reactions trailed it again. A bossom pal who is fanatical about Agwodinuju column at our usual “fellowship centre” where we dine, wine and unwind after working hours did signal that I should tamper justice with mercy and drop my pen on the issue. I agreed with him and promised to cease fire for “national peace”.
However, reactions trailing my commentary both in phone inbox, Twitter and Face Book are forcing me to make a volte face. Besides, an unrepentant pen mercantilist who I am very much aware of the history of his relationship with Imo Poly is attempting to sustain his tantrums and flacks to those exposing the can of worms plaguing the institution.
In my earlier views, I only managed to reveal the theatre of absurdities wrecking havoc in the institution at a peripheral level, but the paid hatchet writer who is reeling out uniformed verbiage about Imo Poly affairs wants me to go into the core of the matter.
It is pertinent to note that the fellow who has been attempting to pool the wool over the eyes of unsuspecting readers about the state of affairs in Imo Poly, with his skewed imagination, borne out of blurred vision is a rabble rouser and die hard purveyour of falsehood.
It is important I give a little background about the fellow’s romance with the Rector, Rev Fr Wance Madu which warrants his new disposition. As a matter of fact, and without sounding immodest, I am instrumental to his designation as a staff of Imo Poly where he has taken brief to act as “damage controller” on the pages of newspapers. Alarmed by the rot in the institutions two years ago, I involved him to go for verifications and confirm exercises from management of the institution. To the greatest chagrin of Trumpeta editorial crew, the fellow bungled the exercise and reported back with a compromised posture. He told us kindergarten tales of how he moved around the complex in Hilux Jeep with the head of the school and the rest bla, bla, bla, which was more of concocted lies. It was several months later that it was discovered that he traded off our inquiry with a job from the Rector and became a staff. I wished him goodluck not even when he cared less to officially notify those who sent him to Imo poly that he bargained our investigation with pecuniary benefits. It was six months later one of my partners infuriated by his incriminating silence on the Imo poly job confronted him in my office about his new disposition but he feigned ignorance.
In trying to justify the Rector’s favour he betrayed the medium that entrusted him with degree of confidence. The fellow who also happens to be my bossom pal too, is now speaking in unknown and confused tongues. To justify the pecuniary benefits he bargained for, the fellow has become a merchant of lies and tirades.
While congratulating him on his new found job of image laundering for Imo poly, it is worthy to inform him that he is a mere traducer obsessed with grandeur of delusion about what he sees in the school at the moment. Unfortunately, he has failed to apply common sense and that is why he mercilessly joined the bandwagon of the “Fr Madu’s praise singers”
However, let me give him lectures that are factual which I challenge him to dispute accordingly. Talking about the national disgrace meted to fresh graduates of Imo Poly by NYSC late last year and the allegation of the national body banning the school from participating in the mandatory one year services scheme, Fr Madu, would entirely be held responsible than the ghost of enemies they heaped the blame on. I recalled an interview the Fr Rector granted Leader, a catholic newspaper based in Owerri, where he not only apologized to the affected graduates but also admitted guilt when he said “it was administrative lapses” Who is responsible for the claimed administrative lapses?, perhaps Kelechi Mejuobi or Trumpeta, when an unqualified and inexperienced person was appointed Dean of Students Affairs. All is well indeed in Imo Poly when the fresh gradates are sacked and stopped from NYSC camp. First of its kind in Nigeria history.
Because Fr Madu thought Imo Poly is an extension of the seminary, a regimented formation where orders are taking from superiors hook, lime and sinker (because I have passed through the system), he brought in a fellow priest named Fr Eze Nwankwo, a fellow Claretian Missionary from Anambra state to man the position, thereby encouraging mediocrity. The position of Dean of Students Affairs of Imo Poly is strictly reserved for ranking lecturers not less than a Senior Lecturer. But the incumbent who is more of Fr Madu’s errand boy has not spent more than three years in the school even as he has not handled any class or department to be qualified to handle student affair’s matters. Fr Ezenwankwo was employed in 2010 as Lecturer 111 with a degree in Divinity considered irrelevant in Polytechnic where the students have no business with Theology and associated catholic dogma. His Lecturer 111 is a far cry to the required Senior Lecturer status for Students Affairs Department It was this mismanagement that encumbered the chances of Imo Poly. As a man of God, let Fr Madu publicly deny that he never disclosed to ASUP and NASU members while pleading to them to return back to work from strike, that NYSC has stopped the school from mobilizing graduates for NYSC programs till 2015. And he also went ahead to say that all hope is not lost yet as the names of fresh graduates will be sent back to the NYSC since efforts are on to rectify issue during his first meeting with staffers early this year. If today, the matter has been settled, it behooves on the management to officially say otherwise than pouring invectives on those saying the truth. The media has the social responsibility to inform, whereas the affected persons are entitled to right of response and privilege of fair hearing.
Since my friend’s brief to investigate alleged fraudulent and illegal acts perpetuated by the present leadership in Imo Poly turned out to be another sad reminder of the biblical Judas Iscariot story; who betrayed his master, Jesus Christ for pittance. For a pot of porridge my “bone man” has suddenly become a shameless image maker undertaking the inglorious burden of “carrying shit” for mediocre and “never do wells” masquerading as reformers and achievers in Imo Poly. At the end of this exposure, I expect “my man” to also add his stake in order to debunk my assumptions.
Had it been those in charge of the state Polytechnic upheld morality and are responsible, they would have tendered their resignation letters over the NYSC national disgrace since the name of the school has entered Nigeria’s record books as liars and harbingers of cheats. Their perfidious acts of issuing their NYSC graduates statement of results that do no reflect what the studied in school are strong enough for any well meaning state government to institute a panel of inquiry on the shameful ouster of Imo Poly graduates from orientation camps. The fact that those at the helm of affairs are collaborators-in-crime, the concerned perpetrators went home unpunished whereas the graduating students have been condemned to abysmal state of nightmare.
My fellow who is either ignorant or has turned a blind eye to Imo Poly mess easily forgot about the controversy surrounding how N160m approved by the state government for NBTE accreditation was handled. On getting the mantle to take charge of the school, Fr Madu among other requests stipulated an amount running into millions in 2011 to get the school into great pedestals through NBTE accreditation. No sooner than the amount requested from government was released and at the end of the NBTE exercise, the local chapter of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP headed by one Nnodimele, then president of the union, requested the Rector to explain how the N160m was spent. It was not highlighted in Trumpeta but other local media houses like Newspoint and Red Parrot carried the story. Till date, there is no response from the Rector debunking the story rather, Nnodimele was unceremoniously retired and removed as a teaching staff. The resultant effect was that Imo Poly lost most of its accreditation for Business and Engineering courses. The loss of accreditation also gave rise to the NYSC disgrace where it was difficult for the deceitful management to issue prospective NYSC bound graduates, statements of results bearing the courses read in the school at HND level. Instead of their courses, they were allegedly issued results of accredited courses in Agriculture department; a fraudulent act that forced NYSC hammer on the innocent graduates. Unfortunately, the state government till date has not considered it necessary to probe this anomaly despite protests and complaints from the languishing Imo Poly graduates. Rather, their interest is the monster and self-serving programme, called multi-campus system.
To show the ineptitude of the Imo Poly management who can be said to be on vengeance mission against those opposed to quantum of illegalities imposed by the person in charge, the public relations department of the school made public names of 18 Heads of Departments, alleged to be involved in some form of academic malpractice. The punitive measures were nothing but mere smokescreen used as victimization tool to witch-hunt the Rector’s contemporaries; believed to be tackling his administration. Fr Madu was employed with these crop of sanctioned lecturers between 2007 and 2008. Incidentally, these core scholars also worked tirelessly for the Resource Inspection and Accreditation Requirements. To ensure that the affected courses passed NBTE Accreditation, there was an internal arrangement to “adjust” students results, lecturers status, offices and class rooms. The Departments have to stand accredited and the quality and standard of the students learning process scale accordingly. A tinge of drama however ensued after the NBTE exercise when phantom charges were raised against the HODS for abnormal exercises with students’ results. Instead of using the official and accepted committees, for any of the alleged offences, another “arrangee committee” branded “Moderation Committee”, made up of the Rector’s cronies handed down degree of penalties to the affected HODS.
The questions I expect my fellow to have explained while defending his pay master are reasons why the statutory Disciplinary Committee headed by the Chairman of Council was by-passed for a “Moderation Committee” headed by his kinsman and Deputy Rector, Mr Aju P.C? If the lecturers had discrepancies in the results why not send them to a properly constituted disciplinary committee? Why was the management not also punished when it adjusted the positions of the HODS from Lecturer III to Lecturer I, lecturer respectively, during NBTE visits, to meet the accreditation and resources inspection requirements, which were reversed after the exercise? If it was not travesty of deceit why adjust ranks of HODS and teachers and introduction of a fake professor during NBTE, whereas these new positions, are reverted to status quo, at the end of the exercise? If the management is not attempting to demean the character of their teaching staff why did it rush to the media to make public names of the affected HODS, whereas it hid the fake appointments granted to them during NBTE exercises? Now who is deceiving who that there is no shaking? Why was three HODs incharge of a department in school of business, SLT and another department (names withheld) omitted from the exercise if it was not a premeditated act to hunt some forces? I have tried to resist the temptations of highlighting some indecent acts and would ask the overnight Imo poly “damage controller” what has happened to Tetfund money made available to the institution for teachers scholarship? Is he aware that about N6m million was made available for overseas scholarship to an unemployed and non teaching staff of ImoPoly as PR strategy and that raised uproar? To cover up the alleged deceitful act, letters of appointments were raised for the person (names withheld) who may have completed his studies overseas but no where near the school premises to be useful to the schools academic system. Is he aware that millions are mapped out yearly for post graduate studies for academic staff of Imopoly by Tetfund to yet to be identified persons? While N1.6m goes for local studies, N4.5m is for abroard. Who and who has benefited?. One Chidi Madu who is not qualified since he is not a teaching staff and newly employed is reportedly on the line to benefit from the grant to study in India even when his employment has not been confirmed. Who is deceiving who?.
I am not surprised that the fellow beating war drums for the Rector and management is a tribal jingoist that proudly tells anybody Who cares to listen that his first line charge in Imo Poly is to protect the interest of his kinsmen since they are from same federal constituency in Imo State. No wonder the Polytechnic has suddenly turned into a fiefdom of some inglorious cabals and sartorial pontiffs who operate like demi gods. The position of Deputy Rector by Imo Poly law is through election by the members of the Academic Board. In line with the illegalities that ushered in the Rector, he unilaterally appointed his kinsman Aju, Deputy Rector, and all other sensitive positions went to his unqualified favourites and allies against laid down procedures. It is only now he realized that Due process should be involved in administering the school when he advertised for the job of Bursar, Librarian and Director of works, whereas his Rectorship position, and that of Deputy Rector did not follow expected rules. The incumbent Bursar and Librarian must go because they are not deposed to the tale of illegalities rocking the school.
The nepotism hovering the school is part of the Rector’s alleged partisan and ethnic cleasing agenda in the Polytechnic where his perceived opponents and the host communities staffers are his targets. Those who dare question or cry out over quantum of misdemeanors are crushed with punitive measures. While IMSU rejected earlier proposal by the state government to down size workers, the Rector jumped into the exercise and quickly mowed down perceived antagonists and the workers from the host community. It is on record that the first and only place the staff verification exercise visited in the course of their duties was the Immaculate Heart Parish, Umuagwo-Ohaji, the catholic parish of the landlords where only the baptismal certificate of age of workers from Umuagwo extraction were confirmed from the church “big book”. After the clean sweep of the workers dominated by host community, Fr Madu’s verification team never went to any other church again for similar exercise. Ironically, for a priest who has put in 25 years in the lords vineyard, had worked as a private person after attending university before passing the crucibles number of years for priesthood formation, his official retirement date from Imopoly is ridiculously put at 2033. He should not worry, the host community will provide old peoples home for him to continue his sojourn in Umuagwo at old age. By next week, I will be continue.
