Augustine Nwagbara, a professor
from the University of Lagos, said he suffered a harrowing experience with
Ghanaian authorities while on sabbatical leave.
Nwagbara narrated the ordeal on
Thursday when he paid a courtesy visit to Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairman of the
Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), in Abuja.
He said the video of him that
went viral on the social media where he was said to be inciting Nigerians
against Ghana was painted in such a way to blackmail him
“They said I was sacked, then
dismissed, which was another wrong word to use, as you cannot dismiss somebody
on sabbatical in your country,” he said, adding that he was subjected to a
series of interrogations by the University of Education, Winniba in Ghana
“As I speak with you, I have not
received any letter of sack or dismissal whereas various factions of the
letters are already in circulation in Ghana and on social media.
He, however, commended Olufemi
Abikoye, the Nigerian High Commissioner in Ghana, for his prompt intervention
in the whole saga.
“But for him, I probably would
have been a dead man,” he added.
Nwagbara, a professor of English,
was in Ghana on a one-year sabbatical in December 2018 and a purported video of
him addressing an informal meeting of Nigerians living in Ghana where he was
quoted to have insulted Ghanaians, went viral.
Nwagbara said the doctored video
was allegedly said to have been released by a journalist working with a
Ghanaian private TV station.
Receiving the professor in her
office, Abike Dabiri-Erewa said 1036 Nigerians were deported by Ghanaian
authorities for controversial reasons in 2017 and 2018.
“We are proud of you as one of
our best brains. You are an asset to your country. Not surprising, you’ve
received offers from other Universities to complete your sabbatical before
returning to the University of Lagos,” a statement released by Abdur-Rahman
Balogun, NIDCOM’s head of media, quoted her to have said.
“Between January and June 2019,
509 Nigerians were forcefully deported while 527 Nigerians got deported in
2018”
“We are not going to tolerate any
country treating Nigerians shabbily.
She called for caution and warned
that such treatment should not be allowed to degenerate to the level of
retaliation.
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