By Adekola Malomo
I read the article of the above title written by a certain Ray Echebiri and it made very sad reading.
This hired gun ended up not telling us how an economics degree could replace a science, technology and engineering qualification as demanded by Section 9 of the RMRDC Act of 2022.
This soldier of fortune, and others like him, is the reason Nigeria is in this sorry state. He cannot possibly claim ignorance of the RMRDC Act which disqualifies his paymaster. He jumped the gun by discussing development plans for Martin Ike-Muonso as DG RMRDC while the said DG is labouring under the burden of illegitimacy. A good starting point for the writer would have been to explain to Nigerians how an economist became entrusted with a position reserved for engineers by law. Failure to address the issue raised above makes any proposed action plan an exercise in futility. The write-up is replete with false claims as Martin Ike-Muonso was variously addressed as a technologist and data scientist. This provides ample proof to the discerning that the writer knows exactly what his principal lacks.
Martin Ike-Muonso has been busy doctoring his profile daily and nightly all in a bid to make his profile fit the job but it is difficult to cover up a fraud done in the full glare of the public such as this one. My warning to him and his cohorts is that a day of reckoning will soon come when he will be required to substantiate his false claims. From available information, Martin Ike-Muonso’s being called a scientist or technologist is the stuff of fiction.
In saner climes, Martin Ike-Muonso should have long since resigned the moment his little scheme with Mr Uche Nnaji , the science minister, was exposed. He ought to have quietly left with his tail between his legs as one caught with his hand in the cookie jar. But we are in Nigeria where he will wait until he is dragged out of office feet kicking and arms flailing.
I give kudos to the science and technology committee of the house of representatives for initiating a probe of the appointments of DGs in both NASRDA and RMRDC. It gives hope to Nigerians that there remains an institution that is willing to probe executive rascality.
Among the aims of this write up is to help point the reps committee in the right direction as it carries out its probe.
The false claims made by this Martin Ike-Muonso are legion and border on academic fraud.
For instance, he claims to be a professor and faculty member of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT). Nothing could be further from the truth. Enquiry reveals that he is not and was never a professor in the said institution.
He is also not in the list of professors recognised by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and has not fulfilled the requirements in NUC guidelines for the attainment of the rank of professor in Nigeria. This requires, among other things, teaching in a university or other tertiary institutions for 12 years at the earliest and with such notable milestones as requisite publications in scholarly journals. Martin Ike-Muonso is nowhere near achieving these but calls himself professor of practice. Whatever that means.
Martin Ike-Muonso claims to have obtained a PhD in Economics from ESEADE University Institute, Buenos Aires, Argentina. What a study destination! It will interest Nigerians to know that the said ESEADE University Institute only offers a 2-year Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) program. The school/institute does NOT offer any PhD program, not to talk of a PhD in Economics.
The minimum duration for any full-time PhD program anywhere in the world is 3 – 4 years. So, where exactly did Prof Martin Ike-Muonso obtain his claimed PhD degree from?
The ESEADE University Institute is a lowly rated institution in Argentina which, by its own admission, has an average intake of 250 students per session. The school does not conduct any academic programme in any language other than Spanish. So even if the school has a PhD programme in Economics, which it does not, one wonders how Martin Ike-Muonso might have attained such Spanish language proficiency to run a PhD programme in Economics. This man has a lot of questions to answer.
The Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology appears not to have done any form of due diligence on this man called Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso. These appointments done in NASRDA and RMRDC have earned the minister the dubious distinction of being the only minister in the Tinubu administration whose appointments have become the subject matter of a House of Representatives probe.
MARTIN IKE-MUONSO MUST GO!
Adekola Malomo writes from Abuja, Nigeria.
