By Ghazali Ibrahim
An investigation by PREMIUM TIMES has raised questions over the professorial title used by Anthony Kila, the Pro-Chancellor of Michael and Cecilia Ibru University (MCIU).
Kila is widely addressed as “Professor Anthony Kila” and is described as a professor on the websites of MCIU and the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS), an institution associated with him.
However, PREMIUM TIMES reported on Friday that its investigation found no evidence that a recognised university awarded Kila the rank of professor.
The newspaper said Kila told its reporters that he obtained his professorship in 2016 from the European Centre for Advanced and Professional Studies (ECAPS), which he said was based in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
According to the investigation, searches of the UK Companies House, Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission and the internet produced no evidence of the existence of the institution.
The investigation also examined Kila’s description of himself as a “Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy and Development.”
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), which administers the European Union’s Jean Monnet programme, said Kila was not listed as a Jean Monnet project coordinator in its publicly available records.
“In other words, within the period for which coordinator data are publicly available, Mr Kila has not been listed as holding the role of Jean Monnet project coordinator since 2015,” the agency was quoted as saying.
The report further questioned Kila’s academic publications and qualifications.
According to PREMIUM TIMES, his Google Scholar profile lists 22 works, but nine of those works were found not to have been authored by him.
The newspaper also reported that it could not independently establish some of the academic publications attributed to him as peer-reviewed works in reputable academic journals.
Kila’s public profiles list several academic qualifications, including degrees from institutions in Italy and the United Kingdom. However, PREMIUM TIMES said the qualifications listed on his various profiles were not entirely consistent.
The newspaper said it contacted MCIU about its findings.
A university spokesperson, according to the report, said the institution had no evidence that Kila was not a professor.
“We don’t debate issues. You can go up with whatever you are going up with. If there’s a need to respond, we will respond when we see the article,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
PREMIUM TIMES said its investigation into some of Kila’s other claimed academic qualifications is ongoing, as it awaits responses from some of the institutions he reportedly attended.
The report, however, concluded that it found no evidence of a recognised academic institution awarding Kila a professorial title.
