Hello Everyone,

I have been forced to bring this issue to the public because of its implications. Before making this post, I gave the National Open University of Nigeria two whole months to remedy their wrong but they completely ignored my emails. I was very patient with them and even gave ample extra time after the deadline I gave to them elapsed. I am bringing this post here for two reasons: the first is to set the record straight and document it in public and the second is to get advice and possible volunteers who can help me take up the issue beyond this point.

In March, someone drew my attention to one of NOUN's courseware with the course title Studies in Written African Poetry (ENG 871). I noticed that significant segments of my essay (which was published in 2017) were plagiarised without any citation, reference, permission, or acknowledgement. Note that NOUN's courseware was uploaded in February 2021. I was very angry because as an academic, anyone could, in the future, assume that I plagiarized NOUN's work and not the other way around. I decided to write them about it (see screenshots 1-6 for my initial mail). I identified all the segments that were plagiarized in their essay. I even helped them do a plagiarism test on Turnitin and the score was over 60%. I wonder how a university that focuses on distance education would allow something as controversial as this to happen. Note that this is a postgraduate course!!! They are using plagiarized materials to teach Masters and Ph.D. students and cannot even accept that they have done wrong. What exactly do they expect their students to do if their courseware is riddled with plagiarized materials? I should also point that apart from my work, the said courseware also plagiarized Romanus Egudu's seminal book, Modern African Poetry and the African Predicament. I am sure that if a comprehensive plagiarism test is done on their course materials, at least 60% of them will show high percentages of plagiarism. In 2019, Prof. Peter Okebukola, the Chairman of the Governing Council of NOUN, lamented the rise of plagiarism in Nigerian universities and even went further to say 60% of undergraduate projects were plagiarized (https://guardian.ng/features/nigerian-universities-and-the-plague-of-plagiarism/). To think that a university under his chairmanship would be caught in this web at an institutional level is simply too sad.

The unfortunate thing is that the university never had the courtesy of replying to my friendly email. They deleted the course from their website (which shows that the email was received), but they did not delete the PDF file from their server. It is still accessible on https://www.nou.edu.ng/sites/default/files/2021-02/ENG871.pdf . My essay is self-archived on ResearchGate and accessible on https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321776494_Trends_in_Modern_African_Poetic_Composition_Identifying_the_Canons.

Note that I archived the original page of their website where the course was listed (http://web.archive.org/web/20210318211118/https://nou.edu.ng/index.php/courses?field_faculty_name_value=All&field_level__value=All&field_semester_value=All&page=6). Compare with the current page https://nou.edu.ng/index.php/courses?field_faculty_name_value=Arts&field_level__value=800&field_semester_value=All.


See the attached screenshots for the instances of plagiarism in both essays. Rather than reply to me like a normal institution that takes matters of plagiarism and intellectual copyright seriously, they deleted the course from their page and simply pretended it never happened. I sent a follow-up email and gave a deadline for their response but it was not acknowledged (see screenshots for follow-up email). I also waited for almost a month after the deadline and no one even bothered to send a simple apology email from the institution.

I am using this medium to call out the National Open University of Nigeria for plagiarizing my work and FAILING to DELETE the plagiarized courseware from their server. The file is still accessible on Google's search system, and the university has proven irresponsible in handling this matter. I did not want to escalate this because I am an academic and this should be an easy issue, but the inefficiency of the university in handling this has necessitated my decision to go public. I have spoken with some lawyers already and still talking with others. I am only making this post public for record purposes. Plagiarism is a serious offence in academia and dishonesty is not to be taken lightly. I am disappointed at NOUN for pushing me to this point.

Please help me share this post as far as you can.

Cc: Lalasticlala, Seun, Mynd44, Dominique

Well What you can do, is to take your complain to a higher authority, because even if you send mails or call them in Abuja, they won't listen to your complain, so you need to take it to a more public notice so that it can be publish and get to the proper authority or else the angry birth won't fly, you know Nigeria, Law here is like turning Water into wine.. am not joking, am very serious...

Reading

Please, this should not be handled like a stroll under cool evening breeze.

We take too many things for granted in Nigeria.

Fratermathy, could you also try to reach the founder of human rights radio and television through Berekete radio program.

In fact if you can do this and the ordinary president handles your case, you'll get more than a public apology immediately.

.

Please, this should not be handled like a stroll under cool evening breeze.

We take too many things for granted in Nigeria.

This questions the quality of education Noun offers.

Fratermathy, could you also try to reach the founder of human rights radio and television through Berekete radio program.

In fact if you can do this and the ordinary president handles your case, you'll get more than a public apology immediately.

So they teach plagiarism?

Noted

HRSweetness:
Please, this should not be handled like a stroll under cool evening breeze.

We take too many things for granted in Nigeria.

This questions the quality of education Noun offers.

Fratermathy, could you also try to reach the founder of human rights radio and television through Berekete radio program.

In fact if you can do this and the ordinary president handles your case, you'll get more than a public apology immediately.

Thank you for your suggestion. I do not intend to take this issue lightly. If not for anything but for NOUN to wake up to their duty as an institution of higher education. There is a type of standard we expect of a university and it's unfortunate that they are not even bothered about that. No forward-looking university will ignore something as serious as plagiarism.

i wonder why this is not yet on fb abi seun is promoting plagiarism ni?
frater don't take it lightly with them cos intellectual theft is a serious crime and also i will advice you open a thread on twitter for this.

peace profound.

Moderator, kindly move to front page. we need to properly drag NOUN over this issue.

The way people plagiarize these days ehn...

zealousayo:
The way people plagiarize these days ehn...

It's quite unfortunate that an institution can condone and get away with it.

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