Reflections on A Fallen Professor.

By Prof Steve Egbo,

The glory of the academia is slain upon the the high places. How are the mighty fallen.(2 Samuel 1.19). But right now I am not talking about the first king of Israel, Saul, and his son, Jonathan. I am talking about my esteemed colleague in the Ivory Tower, Prof Richard Iyiola Akindele, who was sentenced to 6 years in jail for falling prey to the “hot laps”of one of his students named – Monica.
Here was a man who has so much going for him – a robust career, a good family life, the company of friends and colleagues, the plaudits of society and of course, a secure financial environment. The destruction of such solid and ordered life style must be an awesome catastrophe.

Sex and the human libido is a very extraordinary physiological emotional complement. It is a powerful aphrodisiac. Psychology, medical science and religion have failed to find a workable solution to this instinctively innate physical craving. Nor has anyone been able to satisfactorily explain why God decided to deposit combustible electrode at the middle belt region of the female anatomy.

Through the ages, sex has played a vital role in shaping and reshaping the destinies of men and women, nations and kingdoms, and in redefining societies with the capacity to wrought drastic and often devastating changes.
When the Holy Book first mentioned sex, it did so with extraordinary delicateness and disarming innocence. Look at this: “and Adam knew Eve his wife….” (Gen : 4.1). That was it. From then on, sex has become a weapon of warfare, and is often deployed to its deadliest severity.

Honestly, since Adam “knew” Eve, the world has not been the same. That knowledge has brought a lot of calamity in its wake. Let us look at a few cases… I’m sure you remember King David, God’s favorite, the great king of ancient Israel? While taking a nap at the balcony of his palace, his eyes wandered around the neighborhood and rested on the naked flesh of his neighbor’s wife. David’s attempt to know Bathsheba set off a chain of events which ensured that both David and Israel never knew peace again till the end of his life.

Fast forward a bit to the product of that conjugal indiscretion, Solomon. Reputed to be the wisest man to ever walk the face of the earth, with wealth, power, and fame to go with it, he was brought down by lust for women. The story of Samson and Delilah, are we ever likely to forget? Without firing a shot, many great men, many great empires have been brought down by the awesome electrical currents that flow between the legs of a woman. The queen of Sheba (today’s Yemen), Cleopatra of Egypt, Helen of Troy (of the Trojan War), Alexandria of Russia, were among the women of history who relied on matters of concupiscence to change the course of history.

In our more recent world, we have seen several glittering careers asphyxiated and vaporized on the hot laps of women. Remember how Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the United States and then the most powerful man in the world, wept like a child on national and international television after receiving series of “blow jobs” from a woman named – Monica. The event was the greatest soap opera of the time – accusations, denials, impeachment and all the drama. That episode brought about a new addition in the English dictionary – inappropriate relationship. Paul Wolfowitz, World Bank President and one of the most powerful men in America met a fatal end when he was caught. He not only resigned a very lucrative job but forfeited a severance pay of $120 million.

We remember Myke Tyson. A human dynamo, who dishes out knock out punches with a dexterity such as the world of boxing never saw. A man whose raw physical power was so intense that he once boasted that he could tear a lion apart with his bare hands. Then stepped in Desiree Washington, a former beauty queen, who accused him of rape. Tyson commenced a rapid descent that ended in jail. Within a twinkling, he lost everything – career, fame, fortune and all. Tiger Woods, the greatest golfer of all time was defeated, defamed and crushed by the hot laps of what we commonly call “the daughters of Eve”. The list is endless.

Coming down home, we remember Fidelis Oyakhilome, former military Governor and the pioneer NDLEA boss during the Babangida era. This gentleman was brought down by a Lagos socialite, Jennifer Madike. The scandal was so salacious that at the end of it, Oyakhilome had gone into permanent oblivion. The case of General Abacha remain unresolved. There are millions of Nigerians who still believe that the most powerful ruler Nigeria ever had expired on the laps of imported pleasure dolls.

Prof Akindele of the OAU is not the first university lecturer to sleep with his student. He will not be the last. Definitely not. The lecturer-student relationship in the other room did not start today. It is part of our story and it will continue to be. Let’s make no pretenses. The uncomfortable truth is that some lecturers want to sleep with their students and some students want to sleep with their lecturers. As long as gun powder needs fire to ignite and as long as both are willing to cohabit, the conflagration is bound to occur. After 30 years in the university system, I believe I know what I’m talking about.

They are randy lecturers and they are amorous students. Both will continue to exist in our universities and institutions of learning. In a society where morality does not count, where hardwork does not determine the height you attain, where impunity and lawlessness are acceptable ways of life, in a society that has no plans for the upbringing of the young, such things are bound to happen. As I have always maintained, I am neither a Reformist nor a Crusader. Perhaps I do not have what it takes to do either, but that’s beside the point. I chose to be practical and realistic and open minded. So, on that premise my advice is simple. Both students and teachers must be careful how they relate with one another. The obligations of one person confers responsibilities on the other. We can do this responsibly and decorously. We can attend to each other’s needs without degenerating to animals, without swimming in the gutter of ignominy and animalism.

The men and women who are reviled today are the same people who yesterday received the plaudits of society. The only difference is thath they have been found out.
I drop a tear for this unfortunate professor who has been brought down from his Olympian height by a combination of greed, stupidity, libido, impunity, and above all carelessness.

As we reflect on our lives and the state of our nation this beautiful time.
LET THIS BE A LESSON TO ALL OF US. Sent as received.