Author Onyeka Nwelue has said that contrary to public opinion the termination of his relationship with the universities of Oxford and Cambridge did not mean he lost his job.
Nwelue made the headlines over the weekend following allegations that he claimed he was a professor at the prestigious varsities who have since severed ties with him.
The filmmaker insists he did not claim to be a professor at the institutions but was instead misunderstood.
In a statement on Saturday, he said he was not an employee of both universities.
Part of his statement read: “Cherwell News and The Telegrah refused to insert my responses, where I explained to them that I have been a professor before I came here. They didn’t want to publish it. They already made up their mind.
“The world-class writer, Chinua Achebe, was the founding editor of African Writers Series, under which Things Fall Apart appeared later. Would you describe that as self-publishing? Should I wait for a publisher my entire life because I don’t want to be seen as self-published author?
“The South African publisher, who was supposed to publish The Strangers of Braamfontein since 2021, will no longer publish it. They have not communicated to me, but they have informed those who pre-ordered the book. This is why it is important to take charge of your destiny.
“What brought me to the University of Oxford, was an idea I shared with James Currey and he put me in touch with Professor Wale Adebanwi, who in turn, introduced me to Professor David Pratten and after weeks of forth and back, Professor Pratten informed me, that the proposal was approved. That on Monday, I would get an official letter for it. I received a letter, that I had now been approved as an Academic Visitor.
“I received an Honorary Doctorate certificate from Queensland University in Haiti. Cherwell News decided to contact the University but never mentioned in their article, the response they got. They had gone on to tell the Rector of the University, that I am a bad person. If you were running an investigation, there is a way to do that. Dismayed, the Rector became livid and sent a message that, I should ‘tear my certificate.’
“In 2015, I was invited to the University of Manipur in India, as a Visiting Fellow, to teach. Here is the invitation. Cherwell News wrote an article about a Nigerian, so it is sensational to sprinkle in words like, “fake” and “fraudulent” as captions, to elicit the responses they want from the world about Nigerians.
“When my father died, I focused on getting responses from people, about funeral parties in Igbo land, which led to the publication of my play, “A Banquet for Pigs and Vultures.”
“The termination of my Academic Visitorship at the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge, appears to people like I lost a job. No. I was not being paid. It was a platform to be seen as powerful, a platform to leverage on. That was why, many people came around me, to associate with power and prestige and when it was announced by Cherwell, I saw those people distancing themselves from me. What money and power can not do, does not exist!
“Young people who hoped it happened to them, would be jubilating. Read again: I did not lose a job. I was not an employee of Oxford or Cambridge. I paid them. They didn’t pay me.
“The only problem here is the accusation of misogyny and that students paid money to come for the event. The venue I used for this event, was paid for. It was not advertised as an event for students. Fans of the author came from cities like Liverpool. They had no issue coming for it. Another problem is the use of logo, which I apologized for and removed after I was asked to remove it.
“David Hundeyin is not a character many people love and not many people love me, also, but I have received a lot of messages these few days, from the ones who love me, asking me to calm down and that everything will be okay.
“The James Currey Literary Festival, which was organized last year, was so perfect that the University took pride in it and looked forward to the second edition.
“In fact, when I applied for a Global Talent Visa, I approached Professor Miles Larmer, my academic advisor and he was gracious enough to write this beautiful recommendation for me:
“Here is the true voice of the man I know. Not the one in the letter of termination. I have apologized to the University and taken full responsibility for what happened, because I will never blame anyone for my failure.
“When I told the Lord Mayor of Oxford, James Fry about my termination, he asked: “ What is your current situation?” I told him I will continue from where I stopped, which is, to focus on my writing. I have a new book, The Nigerian Mafia: Mumbai, which comes out in a few weeks. I also want people to share this piece of mine, as wide as they shared the reportage from Cherwell News, but I doubt they would, because bad news travels so fast.
“What is the bad news, the arrogant and cocky Onyeka Nwelue has been found to be a ‘fake Professor’ and has been sacked by Oxford and Cambridge.
“The Spanish word for teacher, is ‘profesor’ and the French word for teacher, is ‘professeur,’ but I never claimed I was a ‘Professor’ at the University of Oxford or Cambridge. What will remain in my CV, eternally, is Academic Visitor, University of Oxford from 2021 – 2023 and Visiting Scholar, University of Cambridge from 2022 – 2023. Nothing more than that but I can see the university has begun to remove links that have my name from their websites. But I can see the university has begun to remove links that have my name from their websites.”
