Chinazor Onianwah
I was full of pride back in 2012 when Prof. Adesida was appointed provost of University of Illinois, it wasn’t just because of his academic achievement, but because I attended high school in the town he hails from, Effon Alaaye Ekiti in Ondo state, Nigeria.
Back in late eighties, I was the only Igbo student in a sea of Yoruba students in a remote Nigerian town. Finding a girlfriend was quite challenging even though I played soccer, was the top in Literature and English language and won awards on the debating team. There was Kikelomo who topped the class overall and she was a math genius. She became the focus of my attention but she wouldn’t budge especially to an unfamiliar specie of Igbo stock. So I did what any smart kid would do, I tried to do well in math to impress her, but couldn’t, and then I took the Yoruba language class and threw myself at her mercy. My first lesson about girls – do not try to impress a girl who is smarter than you. She can see you coming and anticipates your moves. Succumb and be vulnerable; girls never expect a guy to be so vulnerable. You sneak in and go for the kill.
So Kikelomo was so enamored with the fact that an Igbo like me desired to learn Yoruba. She became so helpful and loving and affectionate that I wrote her poems in Yoruba. And then my crowning glory came when Kikelomo invited two of her college sisters into our relationship. Oh you should have seen the long faces on the jealous Yoruba guys. How can omo Igbo have three girlfriends and I don’t have any? I was nicknamed “okunrin meta” – 3 in one. My high school memory was blissful. There was only one thing I didn’t accomplish. I never had sex with any of my three girlfriends. Smooches here and there but nothing more. And the other guys were raving mad thinking I was hitting it. I wish I could go back in time to change my situation with those three. Lesson number about girls: do not have three girlfriends that are smarter than you at one time.
Provost Adesida’s resignation was linked to the Phyllis Wise scandal surrounding Chancellor Wise’s misuse of emails and her dismissal of Steven Salaita, apparently because of complaints form the donor community about Salaita’s role in the anti-Israel BDS movement.
Previously, as Provost at the University of Washington, Phyliss Wise had been involved in scandals, including firing a faculty member against the recommendation of a high level faculty panel and taking fees from Nike in violation of rules regulating other faculty members.