By Adegbaju Temitope

Political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, has defended Anthony Kila amid the controversy surrounding his academic credentials, describing him as a good man and condemning claims that he never attended school as unfair to his personality.

Utomi stated this on his verified Facebook page on Saturday, saying he could not guarantee that Kila had never made mistakes but maintained that the allegations against him should not justify unsubstantiated personal attacks.

Kila, popularly known as Prof Kila, is currently at the centre of a controversy over his academic qualifications following an investigative report published by Premium Times in October.

The report alleged that Kila falsified his higher education qualifications, including his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate (PhD) degrees, as well as his professorial rank.

Reacting to the controversy, Utomi said he had known Kila for years but had never had reason to examine his certificates or letters of appointment.

“I know Anthony Kila. I became aware of all the trending discussions about his career rather late.

“I have never had any reason to ask about his certificates or letters of appointment, so I cannot claim to have those details,” he said.

He added that suggesting Kila had never attended school was an extreme claim that required evidence.

“However, if he has never gone to school, then those, who have must ask for a refund,” Utomi said.

The political economist recalled the online attacks against Jason Arday, a British sociologist who became the youngest Black professor appointed at the University of Cambridge, expressing concern about the consequences of online hostility against academics.

“We watched the cyber mob bully Jason Arday, the youngest Black professor ever appointed at Cambridge, to his early death,” he said.

Utomi disclosed that he first met Kila in Cambridge, England, in 2006, when he was beginning a campaign for the Nigerian presidency.

He also alleged that some of those who attacked Arday included white professors who had been pardoned for mistakes he described as far more serious.

The economist said he did not know who might be targeting Kila, but expressed concern about a society in which people sometimes confer academic and non-academic titles on themselves, while the media elevates them to celebrity status.

He, however, maintained that the controversy should not become an excuse for personal attacks or claims unsupported by evidence.

Drawing from his own experience, Utomi recalled an incident in which a journalist allegedly suggested that his tenure at Volkswagen Nigeria contributed to the company’s eventual demise.

He said he offered a reward of ₦12 million to anyone who could produce evidence supporting the allegation.

“Years ago, when a journalist tried to suggest that my stay at Volkswagen Nigeria had something to do with its demise, I offered ₦12 million to anyone who could produce a shred of evidence to support that claim. Fifteen years on, no one has come forward to claim the bounty,” he said.

Utomi also recounted the doubts he said were raised about his academic standing when he became the first professor of Pan-African (Pan-Atlantic) at the Lagos Business School.

He said his academic credentials received greater acceptance after people learnt that the evaluation team was led by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan.

According to him, the support and professional relationships he had built during his postgraduate studies abroad also helped counter attempts to demean his educational background.

He specifically mentioned professors Adele Jinadu and Joe Umo, whom he said had encountered him during his graduate studies abroad and interacted with his head of department, Elinor Lin Ostrom, who later became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics.