One thing humans have failed to learn is that there’s no gain in the fast-growing culture of cancellation and condemnation. It is sad that the nature of humans has now become one that gloats at the failings of others. As the saying goes, misery loves company, but the truth is, your misery won’t get better just because you pulled someone down into the depths of despair.
Celebrating the misfortune of others, mocking people in their state of despair, and luxuriating in the failures of fellow human beings is both toxic and worrisome, and in no way what is expected from a class of higher-thinking animals that human beings pride themselves to be. From way back in time, humans have severally been admonished to examine themselves before judging others because it is in their innate nature to jump to crucify others, while they, themselves are worthy of being hung at the gallows.
Last week, popular Nigerian author, Onyeka Nwelue was everywhere on social media for the wrong reasons. According to the story, he was at the center of a controversy that allegedly led to the termination of his position at the prestigious University of Oxford and Cambridge University.
It all began when Cherwell, an Oxford University student newspaper published a news story in which they accused Nwelue of ‘representing himself as a professor at both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge without evidence of an academic Ph.D.
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In the said article, credited surprisingly to a ‘Cherwell News’ as opposed to a proper byline, claims were made about Nwelue organising and holding a ‘fraudulent book lunch,’ where he and some of the attendees openly shared views that were considered sexist and classist. In the said report, he was also accused of being racist and misogynist, with excepts of tweets he’d posted in the past quoted in the piece as evidence.
Many Nigerians couldn’t even wait to digest the story before they jumped on it, not to objectively analyse it or to defend their own but to throw shades, mock and confine him to the dustbin of history. The obvious reality deducible from here is that most people on social media today, prefer bad stories against other people just so they have the perfect opportunity to gloat and sound woke and sanctimonious about them. Even people who have never met or personally come across him on social media were not spared of this ugly behaviour.
The truth remains that Mr. Nwelue might have erred in his submissions, posturings, and unbridled controversy on social media, however, love him or hate him, Nwelue has done something significant with his life much more than his traducers. For someone who dropped out of the University, becoming a lecturer in foreign universities and an Academic Visitor at Oxford and Cambridge is no mean feat and this is a fact. Yes, he holds some controversial opinions. But, that does not make him an evil person. It only makes him controversial. Love or hate him, denying his hard work is tantamount to plain wickedness.
To even think that most of the people who threw Nwelue under the bus are Nigerians is even more befuddling. If Nwelue is meant to be crucified, it certainly should not be carried out by people who bribed their way out of school. It shouldn’t be by those who, despite their paper qualifications, are being ruled by a certain President Muhammadu Buhari who presented an affidavit as his certificate. Not even the President-elect(Bola Tinubu) of Nigeria showed anyone his educational qualifications, yet he is on his way to Aso Rock.
Nwelue, despite his shortcomings, is not the problem or perhaps a contributor to the problems bedevilling Nigeria today. Onyeka Nwelue is simply a product of a damaged society where everything is over-exaggerated just to make a point and that is the truth.
The young man certainly has bragging rights and he earned them. The guy no doubt is noxious in his attitude, however, he has his positives that most of those rejoicing over him can ever lay claim to.
It’s quite sad to see Nigerians labelling him a drop-out. What’s exactly the hullabaloo about certificates if not that Nigerians are afflicted with the craze to acquire paper certificates without genuine competence? The big questions are; there are not very many of such drop-outs and even unlettered fellows all over the world who universities have attracted to their institutions because of the value of the knowledge they possess? Was this young man being crucified ever found wanting in the lecture room? Did he give out value? These are the real questions when the dust finally settles.
A careful review of the article published by Cherwell will reveal that Nwelue will reveal that none of the claims made about him had anything to do with plagiarism or any form of literary offenses, or perhaps any other crime against humanity. Nwelue is a high achiever and his brilliance should fascinate any right-thinking person, sadly, the mob doesn’t often think, or perhaps their thought process is at the mercy of social media clout!
If those thrashing the young man want to be taken seriously, the best way to do so will be to perhaps measure up to half of what he has achieved in life. Despite his travails which in fact could be temporary, his achievements cannot be cancelled and his journey of struggles and achievement stands tall. Without even knowing much about him, one thing that can easily be identified is that he is very intelligent and works hard and these two attributes are not pushovers.
While Nwelue could be chastised for not doing enough to inform people that his ‘Professorship’ was not earned through the routine academic ladder, or for using the logos of the university without authorisation, or maybe for his impressions on social media that were outrightly haughty and condescending, especially to the poor. Any objective mind will surely agree that it is not enough to bury him.
What Nwelue ostensibly failed to understand was that the march of civilisation was still on a painfully slow pace. You don’t come out blazing audaciously that there are no white people but pink, as true as that is. Drizzling rain is more nurturing to flowers than storms. He could have still found a way of passing across his messages and strong opinions on social media subtly and diplomatically.
History is always there to provide those who care to consult it with insight. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were contemporaries in their heydays. They were both powerful communicators and effective leaders of the black movements of the 60’s. Both men were visionaries and were passionate about the black man’s liberation but one is widely acclaimed as a hero, even venerated while the other was and perhaps is still seen as promoting hate speech. All thanks to the methods and approaches they both adopted independently of each other. Nwelue should have considered this in his engagements but his failure to do so does not warrant a death sentence.
Nigerians who are hell-bent on thrashing Nwelue do not know that the young man actually funded most of his activities in both institutions. The panels, the lectures, the programs, and even the access to study materials, and the JC Literary festival that he organised sometime in 2022, were funded by him 100%. How rational will it be to confine such a man to the dustbin?
Nothing could be more amusing than reading the takes of those who have been running commentaries on him defrauding the institutions. These Nigerians should ask themselves how possible it is to organise conferences, literary festivals, and workshops, to get renowned writers like Ben Okri to your program, have the university themselves announce these programs on their site, to have letters of commendation from the school elite, recognising your work, to receive invitations to dinner, meetings and have partnership with Oxford University themselves and escape without being caught.
Anyone who has come across Nwelue on social media will certainly know that the 35 years old has also been vocal about his mental health struggles for a while, For someone ferociously battling these demons, it is remarkable to see how he has chanelled his energies into writing and publishing, doing the best he could for African literature. He is one of the biggest reasons why today, Igbo language is taught at Oxford.
In conclusion, it is our sincere hope that Nwelue learns some lessons from this experience, and learns to be more conventional than controversial going forward and for Nigerians still calling for his head, they should understand that ‘casting the first stone’ is easy these days but ensuring that the baby is not thrown out with the bathwater is the harder, and by far the more productive responsibility.
