Between Financial Distress and Institutional Shame: Lecturers’ Extortion and the Grammar Crisis in University Memos

B By Akeem Alao

When Professorship Meets Public Disgrace

A physics professor at Ebonyi State University was recently reported dismissed over the alleged extortion of ?500 from students. It is deeply saddening that a university lecturer who has attained the rank of professor could be caught in such an embarrassing situation. This development reinforces a troubling reality: lecturers, irrespective of their academic status, are largely not financially independent.

Poor Pay, Poor Choices

Poor remuneration remains a major factor behind this shameful act. Nothing short of salaries that are commensurate with the country’s harsh economic realities can curb this menace. Only an income that can genuinely pay bills can stop or drastically reduce the rampant extortion in Nigerian universities.

This is not an isolated case.

According to The Nation newspaper, three lecturers were indefinitely suspended over allegations of extortion, grade manipulation, and the sale of grades at Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT). Similarly, Independent Newspaper Nigeria reported the dismissal and suspension of UNIZIK lecturers following the recommendations of disciplinary panels that found them guilty of extortion and unlawful collection of money from students.

In 2023, Lagos State University (LASU) dismissed a senior academic staff member after findings of misconduct, including the unauthorised collection of funds from students. These incidents point to a wider, systemic problem of extortion and misbehaviour among lecturers.

A Call for Government Responsibility

The state governments must take reasonable and deliberate steps to upgrade the salaries of all teachers. Encouragingly, the 2025 new agreement unveiled on January 14, 2026 offers a chance to redefine this ugly narrative surrounding university lecturers. For now, we remain hopeful.

The Overlooked Scandal: A Memo That Failed Basic English

Beyond the extortion allegation, there is something terribly unique—and disturbing—about the viral suspension memo issued against the Ebonyi State University lecturer, Prof. Umahi. While the public focused on the allegation, little attention was paid to the memo itself. Yet, its content is riddled with grammatical errors, a glaring embarrassment for a higher institution of learning.

The memo contains several basic grammatical and usage errors that fall far below acceptable academic and professional standards.
Notably, the phrase “received formal complain” is incorrect. Complain is a verb; the correct noun is complaint, and it also requires an article—“a formal complaint.” There is also a clear subject–verb disagreement in “The Class Rep were directed,” where a singular subject is wrongly paired with a plural verb.

Similarly, “to reduced it” is grammatically wrong and should read “to reduce it.”

Poor Drafting, Poor Impression

There are persistent problems with capitalization, articles, and sentence structure throughout the memo. Common nouns such as science, physics quiz, and even monetary amounts are unnecessarily capitalised mid-sentence, contrary to formal writing conventions. Awkward constructions like “for quiz Physics Code” reflect poor word order, while the phrase “in Faculties of Sciences, Agriculture and Natural Resources Management and Medical College” lacks clarity, proper articles, and coherence, making the sentence difficult to follow.

The memo also suffers from inconsistency and careless drafting. The subject is referred to as “Prof. A. E. Umahi” in the heading but later as “Prof. Edmund Umahi” in the body, without clarification. Such inconsistency is unacceptable in an official disciplinary document.

Additionally, the sentence “Management, today, Friday, 16th January, 2026,” is clumsily punctuated and stylistically weak, while expressions such as “This is a pure case of extortion” are informal, subjective, and unfit for an internal memorandum expected to be objective and professional.

More Than Extortion, a Crisis of Standards

This incident exposes two crises running side by side in Nigeria’s university system: the financial vulnerability of lecturers and the declining institutional standards reflected even in official communication. Until both issues are addressed—through better pay and a renewed commitment to professionalism—the shameful cycle is likely to continue.