UEW Dismisses Visiting Lecturer for Disparaging Comments

By David Yarboi-Tetteh

Winneba — The University of Education Winneba (UEW) has with immediate effect, dismissed Professor Augustine Uzoma Nwagbara, a visiting lecturer at the institution, for disparaging comments in a video, which had gone viral.

An internal disciplinary process was triggered by the university and a committee found him culpable of gross misconduct.

He was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly inciting the Nigerian community in Ghana on strategies aimed at tarnishing Ghana's image, following recent arrests of some Nigerians engaged in criminal activities in the country, but later granted bail.

Prof. Nwagbara, who was a Professor of English Language, until his sack, was on sabbatical at the Department of Applied Linguistics, UEW, since October, 2018.

A statement signed and issued by the Registrar of UEW, Mr Paul Osei Barimah, explained that the institution had taken a very serious view of the video circulating on social media, involving the visiting lecturer.

It said, "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 statement said, "The university totally dissociates itself from the grossly irresponsible comments and condemns it in no uncertain terms."

It indicated that the university was highly disturbed by the huge embarrassment Prof. Nwagbara's unguarded statement had brought to the institution, the Ministry of Education, and Ghana as a whole.

"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" the statement explained.

It said: "the university wishes to indicate that it has in the past hosted several scholars on sabbatical leave from various countries, including Nigeria, and they have conducted themselves with high degree of decorum and professionalism during their stay."

The statement indicated that, Prof. Nwagbara's behaviour was totally deviant and an aberration that runs contrary to those of his predecessors or the others currently at post.

"The university after subjecting Prof. Nwagbara to internal disciplinary process, finds him culpable of gross misconduct and has accordingly dismissed him," it stressed.

The statement said, "The University apologises to Ghanaians for Prof. Nwagbara's disparaging remarks about this country's educational system," adding that the comments were full of factual inaccuracies.

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