Blog

The Nigerian government will investigate allegations of fraudulent claims levelled against Nigerian United States-based scientist, Philip Emeagwali, the Minister of Information and Communication, Dora Akunyili, has said.

NEXT had in a report on Sunday quoted some leading American scientists as describing Mr. Emeagwali’s claim that he was a father of the Internet as misleading.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Mrs. Akunyili said the allegations against Mr Emeagwali were weighty and disturbing and would have to be thoroughly investigated.

Mr. Emeagwali is among Nigerians that Mrs. Akunyili showcased to the world in the government’s effort to improve the country’s image.

The Nigeria Postal Service, which is directly under the minister’s supervision, has also put the embattled scientist on the Nigerian stamp.

“The allegations are unbelievable, but we cannot jump to conclusion,” the minister said. “Our government is a responsible one and so, we cannot disregard what has been published. We will pierce information together and if necessary, we will invite him to say his own side of the story. He is our son. When they tell you your child is a thief, you can’t just jump up and start celebrating. You will have to find out and establish the truth.”

Mrs. Akunyili said the government cannot afford to make mistakes on such a sensitive issue and would therefore take its time to do a thorough investigation.

She said once the investigation is completed, the government will issue a final statement, and then decide whether to remove him from the Nigerian stamp...

She did not say how long the investigation would last, saying it was not a decision she could unilaterally take.

Erroneous celebration

Meanwhile, a graduate student of journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Adekunle Yusuf, on Sunday apologized for erroneously celebrating Mr. Emeagwali at an event in his university four days ago.

In a telephone interview with NEXT, Mr. Yusuf said at a “Taste of Nigeria” event, organized by the university to celebrate the culture and people of Nigeria, Nigerian students showcased Mr. Emeagwali alongside the likes of Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe as their country’s great human exports dazzling the world.

He said he became sad after reading the report of Mr. Emeagwali’s fraudulent claims in NEXT.

“We didn’t know he was just deceiving the world. I’m really depressed that he was among those we celebrated,” said Mr. Yusuf, a Senior Writer with TELL and Ford Foundation scholar at Wisconsin.

In 1989, Mr. Emeagwali won the $1,000 Gordon Bell Prize, which is awarded each year to recognise outstanding achievement in high-performance computing.

His award was for an application of the CM-2 massively parallel computer for oil reservoir modelling. Following the feat, Mr. Emeagwali proceeded to claim, for several years, that he was a father of the Internet; that he improved upon Isaac Newton’s laws of motion; that he owned the world’s first personal website; that American computer giant, Apple, uses the microprocessor technology he pioneered in its Power Mac G4 model, among many other claims.

But leading American and Nigerian scientists have faulted the claim, saying Mr. Emeagwali made no contribution to the evolution of the Internet as he had over the years made the world to believe.

The Senate has set up an ad hoc committee to investigate a much speculated robbery incident on Lagos-Benin road which allegedly took place last Tuesday.

The Senate set up the eight-member committee following a motion by Ayogu Eze, and supported by almost half of the Senate, of what he said was an awful robbery incident, which happened at about 4 pm at a section of the Lagos-Benin highway.

According to Mr. Eze, the robbers robbed and raped passengers of the luxury bus and thereafter asked those passengers who had no money on them to lie on one section of the road while the robbers commandeered the driver at gunpoint to drive over them, crushing the victims under his tyres.

"Among those affected were women and children," Mr. Eze told the Senate. "If not checked, this dastardly act may mark the early signs of Nigeria's slide into anarchy."

A gory image of the incident was widely circulated over the internet and published by a national daily last week.

But the Nigeria Police Force's Deputy Public Relations Officer, Yemi Ajayi, told NEXT on Wednesday that the whole report about the incident is vague and that the police could not ascertain that the incident actually occurred.

"We are already investigating the report. We have sent distress signal to the police command in Edo and Ondo States for adequate investigation to the story," he said.

"The investigation is to determine the truth about the whole matter, as we are still puzzled about it because there was no outcry until the picture was circulated on the internet."

Shocked senators

Most of the senators who spoke on the issue said they were shocked at the brutality it showed.

"When I first read about the incident, I couldn't look at the images. When I finally did, I lost appetite for two days," Ibrahim Ida (PDP, Katsina State) said.

Victor Ndoma-Egba (PDP Cross River State), said he has been hoping the incident is a myth since he saw the image.

"If it is true, then we are in a very sad situation," he said. "What I saw cannot be imagined, even in a war situation."

Patrick Osakwe (PDP Delta State) also expressed doubt about the validity of the story.

"The crime is unimaginable and doesn't look real but we have been made to believe that it happened and it brings up a lot of questions," Mr. Osakwe said.

Blame the police and driver

According to reports, the weird robbery incident lasted for more than one hour but while it lasted, no police or law enforcement officer showed up at the scene to rescue the passengers. Ironically, highways in the southern part of Nigeria are dotted with police check points. The Lagos-Benin express road is also one of the busiest in the area.

"Given the fact that this incident happened on a very busy highway, what is the use of having police check points on these highways? What have the police done since then?" Mr. Ida asked. "There has been no reaction from the police. We have to get to the root of this matter, we have to do something."

In the opinion of Umar Hambagda (ANPP Borno State), if Nigerians had principle, some people should have resigned for the negligence exposed by the incidence.

The Senate president and a couple of other senators, however, blamed the driver for being so selfish that he could not sacrifice his life for his passengers numbering about 22.

"The driver is as culpable as the armed robbers," Olorumibe Mamora (AC Lagos State) said.

John Obiora (PDP Anambra State) however, absolved the police of any blame, saying they are underfunded, underpaid and ill motivated to fight crime. He advocated for a state police system, saying "only that way can the police be more responsible for the security of their states."

Besides the investigation, the Senate also observed a one minute silence for the victims of the incident and also urged the police to apply all its tactics and fish out the real suspects who perpetrated the bizarre act.

The committee has 14 days to conclude investigations and report back to the Senate.