Kendall Ananyi, CEO Tizeti Network popularly called Wifi.com.ng has denied the sexual harassment allegations levelled against him by female Tech consultant, Kelechi Udoagwu.
Following the gruesome rape and murder of Uwaila Omozuwa and several young girls in the last two weeks, many ladies have begun to publicly call out men who have sexually harassed them in the past.
It came as a shock when Kendall Ananyi, one of Nigeria’s most respected techpreneurs was accused of sexual harassment by Kelechi Udoagwu.
According to her, Kendall and I were having a business discussion when the former suddenly brought out his penis and laid it in her hands begging for her help.
Hiding her disgust, she calmly diffused the tense atmosphere in a subtle manner. The female tech expert disclosed she lost all respect for CEO, Wifi.com.ng whom she called Mentor after the horrible experience.
In a thread of tweets, Kelechi admonished men to understand that “No means no” and it is wrong to cajole a woman into having sex when she clearly does not share the same emotional needs at that time.
Kelechi tweeted;
“No means no. It’s really that clear.
“If a lady wants you, you will not have to guess. Her eyes, her words, her demeanor will tell you. If you don’t see any signs and are wondering if she wants you, she doesn’t. Just apply this rule to your future sexual pursuits.
“It’s not even just rape. I can’t imagine how many times women have sex with someone they don’t want to because they don’t want to cause a scene/fight, or they think, well, I got myself in this damn situation.
I just laughed sadly cos I remember one Naija #tech mentor who was supposed to be mentoring me when I was in MEST & this dude (married) pulled out and put his dick in my hands in the bright afternoon, begging me for anything I could do *sigh.
“He wasn’t a staff of MEST. He visited as a Guest Speaker. Our friendship had been purely platonic and professional till that afternoon. I could barely assimilate and react that this was really happening cos I had put the guy on a pedestal and know about his wife.
“Defused the situation calmly. Nothing happened. Was mad irritated. We have never spoken since then. That evening, I went and told @Sir_Kobb and Jerry (what’s Jerry’s handle), my friends & protectors then. They told me “everything go de alright” and we moved on from the topic.
“His name is Kendall Ananyi. Founder of http://wifi.com.ng or Tizeti.
“Not tweeting on this anymore #IamTired. If Kendall comes and says I lied, someone who knows me, pls call my phone to come defend myself.
“I am not even seeking revenge on Kendall. I dont want an apology. I want (African) men to do better. This is for Uwa. And the men who killed her weren’t Kendall. They are you, men like you in my mentions. Educate yourselves. Change your ways. Don’t be wicked #JusticeForUwa
However, wifi.com.ng Boss Ananyi who denied the allegations stated he had no mentor-mentee relationship with Kelechi. Although, he admitted they both attended a tech event, MEST business meeting in Ghana, Ananyi denied having a mentorship session with her.
Reacting to the situation, wifi.com.ng has asked Kendall Ananyi to step down from CEO position pending the time investigations into the allegations are concluded.
This was contained in a statement released by Tizeti network.
“The Tizeti Network Board has asked Kendall Ananyi to step down from his role as CEO, effective immediately, while an independent investigation into the sexual harassment allegation is conducted. Kendall Ananyi has agreed to remain fully compliant until the independent investigation concludes.
“We want to affirm that we take allegation of harassment, discrimination or misconduct of any kind, very seriously.
“Patricia Aiyedun, current Tizeti CFO and Ifeanyi Okonkwo, current Tizeti COO will assume the position of interim co-CEOs effective immediately.
“Before joining Tizeti, Patricia was a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers with over 13 years of professional accounting and financial management experience.
“Ifeanyi Okonkwo has over 14 years experience in the telecommunications industry and is co-founder and current COO of Tizeti. Before co-founding Tizeti, Ifeanyi worked with various telecom companies including Blackberryand Eircom.
“We are thrilled to support Patricia and Ifeanyi as they assume their new role within the company.
“Tizeti continues to be fully committed to high ethical standards, gender equality and making sure our diverse team feels safe, valued and comfortable at all times.”
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