Leave Anthony Kila alone! – Top reporters

Leave Anthony Kila alone!

By Frank Tietie

The esteemed Prof. Anthony Kila is accused of flaunting fake qualifications and qualifications. And while many in Nigeria indeed claim to hold original certificates and heavy qualifications, in most cases they are unable to defend the knowledge attributed to their paper qualifications. But with sheer erudition and a resounding command of knowledge in a professed area, Kila, on the other hand, has demonstrated such excellence in learning and teaching commanding the admiration of many in this world, who would never doubt his educational claims. All he asked of his accusers and detractors is time. It’s time to prove his claims, as he has yet to recover from the shock of not realizing that one day some people would come after him, and in the way he least expected. So our law condemns a man before we hear from him? The man just asked for time, and we will surely hear from him sooner or later.

The Urhobo people of Nigeria are very proud of one of their comrades known as Johnson Adjan. From the 1970s to the 1990s, he was the greatest exponent of contemporary Urhobo folklore, using poignant proverbs and a strong command of the Urhobo language, accompanied by mastery of the gong. In his later years, Adjan called himself “Professor Johnson Adjan” and toured throughout the world, giving concerts in the United Kingdom and the United States. Yet, no one ever questioned him for flaunting a title he had given himself due to his rating as the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) with his Opiri Revival.

So why is Professor Anthony Kila’s case different? While this does not reduce Kila to the status of ignorant individuals like Johnson Adjan, the principle is the same. At the University of Benin Faculty of Law in the 1980s and 1990s, a lecturer flaunted a degree called “Ptychion”. Although almost 100% of the students and probably the teachers did not know if such a degree existed, no one dared to question the validity or originality of this “Ptychion” degree, because every time that teacher gave lectures on the “deontic characteristics of law” or on concepts such as “transcendental nonsense”, everyone not only applauded him but secretly wondered whether the said “Ptychion” was even far superior to the LLB. That lecturer became the Faculty’s Head of Department (HOD) of Law before retiring, and it took me more than 30 years to realize that the “Ptychion” degree was only awarded by universities in Greece and Cyprus. Imagine if that teacher was persecuted without being given time to prove his claims. So please give Prof. Anthony Kila time to prove his claims.

Professor Anthony Kila should not be surprised that while he wonders that he is not seeking public office nor does he enjoy any government privileges, yet some people are chasing his reputation, he forgets Charlie Peacock’s famous lines that: “the multitudes are waiting, waiting for pins and needles for that most famous of the Beatles….” We should not be a society that itches as if pricked by pins and needles waiting for the fall of famous people.

To Professor Anthony Kila, make him understand that there is a silver lining in every cloud. And that even through the darkest clouds there will always be dawn. Let him know that the excellence of knowledge he brings with him with such finesse and gentlemanly personality cannot be so easily discarded in the absence of paper trail of his qualifications.

So Prof, take your time. Stay strong and always be ready to expand the frontiers of learning as you always have, and even now, let your courage be under fire.

Frank Tietie, lawyer, media personality and admirer of Prof. Anthony Kila, writes from Abuja