Lecturer wants UNN rid of unmerited promotion, others

Lecturers at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), want authorities of the school to respond appropriately to the alleged case of academic fraud perpetrated by a staff of the Department of Chemistry.

A source within the University confided in The Guardian that most lecturers, particularly those denied promotions on grounds of some academic deficiencies, are not happy that the institution wants to cover up a case of self-plagiarism allegedly committed by Dr. Lawrence Nnamdi Obasi.

Prof. James Ogbonna, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, (Academics) had exonerated the university of complicity while responding to an electronic mail from The Guardian to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. B. C. Ozumba, over the regarding Obasi’s promotion to a reader, using double journal publication.

The DVC stated: “Neither Dr. Obasi, nor any of the co-authors ever listed the paper published by Elcetica Quimica in their CV. I checked the papers submitted by Dr. Obasi for his appraisal and it was not listed. If the same paper were listed as published in two journals, the internal assessors and/or the external assessors would have detected it.”

But one of the aggrieved lecturers, Dr. Venatius Chukwueke told The Guardian that “even the DVC, who is a thorough-bred professional, knows that Obasi committed a serious academic malpractice,” stressing that re-publication or simultaneous submission of a research paper without permission, or acknowledgement is a serious breach of academic publishing ethics.

He said a cursory look at the websites of Asian Journal of Chemistry and Ecletica Quimica, reveals that the same paper was published by both journals, pointing out that it was a grievous and ethical breach to publish one paper on two journals the same year.

“It is therefore very painful that this demeaning academic crime was not discovered by UNN internal assessors and external professorial assessors, after all, both articles are accessible by a search of titles,” he lamented.

He disclosed that lecturers are presently gathering evidences of cronyism and collusion of high- ranking academic officers in the commission of academic frauds and double standards in the promotion of academic staff, pointing out the case of one Kevin Arua of the Department of Philosophy, whom he said was disciplined for a similar offense.