Sacked randy lecturers employed at federal varsity Dutsin-Ma

Daily Trust investigations revealed that the institution, which is located in Dutsin-Ma Local Government Area, has now become a safe haven for many such university teachers who were fired by their former employers on disciplinary grounds.The university, which was established in 2011, along with eight others by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, has been […]

Daily Trust investigations revealed that the institution, which is located in Dutsin-Ma Local Government Area, has now become a safe haven for many such university teachers who were fired by their former employers on disciplinary grounds.
The university, which was established in 2011, along with eight others by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, has been embroiled in a series of controversies since its inception, with most of the complaints centring around alleged nepotism and negation of federal character and catchment area in its employment drive.
Last year, a sister publication (Sunday Trust), exposed the institution’s recruitment policy, which favoured mostly people from the home state of the vice chancellor in the North Central part of the country, to the detriment of indigenes of the university’s host state and its catchment areas.
At FUDMA, these sacked lecturers were employed even when the institution had been notified officially by their former places of work about their disengagement on purely disciplinary grounds, mostly on account of gross misconduct, documents seen by Daily Trust, have shown.
Some of the documents, which are correspondences between their former places of work and the Dutsin-Ma University, also show that the information were made available to the hiring institution officially.
It was discovered, for instance, that a professor with the Faculty of Education at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Festus David Kolo, who was sacked by ABU after he was found guilty of enticing a married woman by a Jigawa State Chief Magistrate’s Court, has since February secured employment as lecturer with the young varsity.
Professor Kolo’s case became the subject of media reports for many days after he was arrested by the police during a sting operation, in a hotel room in Jigawa State with the said married woman, who was his student. The court was told that the professor had been making advances at the woman despite several warnings by her husband.
He was later convicted of the offence and sentenced to two months in jail without option of fine.
Documents obtained by Daily Trust from ABU revealed that the institution had queried the lecturer over what it described as “Act of gross misconduct you committed recently in the discharge of your duties.” The official documents also showed that the institution was not satisfied with Professor Kolo’s response to the query, hence his being invited to appear before its senior staff disciplinary committee on Monday, June 24, 2013, to defend himself of “allegations of gross misconduct.”
However, when the lecturer failed to appear before the committee, the university’s governing council met from June 23 to 27 and deliberated on the committee’s report and resolved to dismiss him.
“You caused serious embarrassment to the university as a result of your act of gross misconduct which was widely publicised in both electronic and print media throughout the nation,” the document conveying his dismissal said.
“You were called upon to appear before the senior staff disciplinary committee, but you failed to appear. This is a clear act of insubordination and disrespect to constituted authority of the university,” it added, saying: “You are therefore, hereby dismissed from the services of the university with effect from 27th June, 2013.”
Checks at the university indicated that Professor Kolo was engaged by FUDMA as visiting lecturer with staff number 557 to teach in the Faculty of Science and Education of the University and that his letter of engagement was dated 25th February, 2014.
However, sources within the university confirmed that after reporting to the university in February, Professor Kolo has not been seen again since then.
Further investigation at the university also indicated that apart from Professor Kolo, another professor and a PhD holder who lost their previous jobs over misconduct have been taken in by the Federal University Dutsin-Ma. They are Dr. Olushola O. Omokore and one Professor Amfani Ayam both from ABU, Zaria.
Dr Omokore was sacked by ABU from the Department of English and Literary Studies in 2011 “on allegation of misconduct arising from acts that are inconsistent with the proper performance of [her] duties.”
However, investigations have shown that about two years after the termination of her appointment, Dr Omokore applied to the Federal University Dutsin-Ma for lecturing appointment without informing the University of her Status as a sacked lecturer. While considering her application, the institution wrote her former employers, seeking information on her.
Part of the letter from the registrar of the university, Muhammad Yusuf Abubakar, to his ABU counterpart, Dr Isah Mohammed Abbas, dated February 4, 2013, read: “I write to inform you that Dr (Mrs) Olushola O. Omokore, an associate professor in the Department of English and Literary Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria has applied for sabbatical appointment with the Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State.”
The letter added: “Please kindly confirm whether the applicant is still in the services of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and her current status for necessary action.”
In its reply, conveyed via a letter signed by and acting Registrar, A A Kundila, ABU stated that the lecturer’s appointment had been terminated, thus: “Please be informed that the appointment of Dr. (Mrs) Olushola Omosade Omokore with Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria was terminated by the University in 2011.”
But despite the fact that ABU’s reply had cleared the air on her status and contradicted the assertion that she was an associate professor in the university as at 2013, the Federal University in Dutsin-Ma went ahead to offer Omokore employment.
Findings at the FUDMA indicated that the engagement letter of the sacked PhD holder dated 15th August, 2013 was signed by the Registrar of the university and she is currently heading the English Department of the institution.
Professor Amfani Ayam on the other hand was employed by the FUDMA on the 24th July, 2014 and that his letter of appointment was signed by Dr. Sule Hyladi, who was said to have been in the university on sabbatical.
When contacted, however, the university’s vice chancellor, Professor James O. I. Ayatse, denied that Professor Kolo had been hired by the institution. “I’m not aware about that,” he told our correspondent by telephone.
On employment of lecturers who were sacked on disciplinary grounds by other institutions, the VC said there was no law stopping other universities from hiring such academics.
“Nothing stops any university from employing people whose jobs were terminated. If somebody is dismissed, nobody is allowed to employ them, but when it is termination, other universities can employ them. We are human beings and in many places we know people are victimised,” he said.
The don accused people he termed as being “idle” of attempts to discredit the management of the university, by propagating falsehoods and attributing them to the institution.