By Promise Eze
Onyeka Nwelue, the Nigerian filmmaker and author, has reportedly lost his academic visitor status at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.
Nwelue had been an academic visitor at the varsity’s African Studies Centre since 2021.
Cherwell, Oxford University’s oldest independent student newspaper, reports that Nwelue lost his visitor status last month following the unauthorized use of the varsity’s logos and premises for commercial purposes.
Posts from a Twitter account, which has since been deleted, show that Mr Nwelue claimed to be a professor at both Oxford and Cambridge. However, neither university could acknowledge this academic status.
It is understood that a probe into his conduct was launched after Oxford students complained about his behaviour at a book launch in January, where he hosted a book launch for David Hundeyin, a Nigerian journalist.
It was held at Oxford’s faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages (MML) in Wellington Square.
Students were asked to pay £20 to attend, which surprised students who said that usually Events run by the African Studies Centre are free.
According to the report, Nwelue used the logos of Oxford, the African Studies Centre, and the MML without permission.
The institution was said to have asked the filmmaker to take down its logo from the event’s flyer.
Attendees also accused the author and the organisers of extortion and the use of “misogynistic” remarks which they claimed made them feel “incredibly uncomfortable”.
A University of Oxford spokesman said: “The African Studies Centre has terminated Dr Nwelue’s Visitorship after persistent unacceptable breaches of its terms.
A Cambridge University spokesperson said that Mr Nwelue’s connection to the university as an academic visitor for the 2022-23 was “terminated” following an investigation into his conduct.
In a related development, Seun Kuti, a Nigerian musician, has alleged that he was responsible for exposing the fraud. He made this known on his Instagram handle where he wrote :”Dem say dem pursue one journalist with him book comot for Oxford like rat. Yea. I made the call!!
“Me Seun. With my full chest. Wetin we take pass small pikin Wey dey do anyhow, we dey show am ni. Now you are done in the British intelligentsia space. Fake journalists.”
