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Tag: Afe Babalola

  • Let’s have a people’s constitution -Afe Babalola

    Let’s have a people’s constitution -Afe Babalola

    Prominent lawyer, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), is advocating what he calls a people’s constitution as Nigeria marks 57 years of independence.

    This, he said in a write up to mark the day, can be achieved through “a Sovereign National Conference and a referendum and the restoration of the 1963 Constitution.”

    Citing the current agitations for secession in parts of the country, Chief Babalola said the grievances are not dissimilar to those that sparked the civil war.

    “If these grievances are not resolved and are swept under the carpet, those who are yet unborn now will in 40 years time raise the same issue,” he warned.

    “We must pray and ensure, by our words and deeds, that things do not degenerate to that level in our country. We must deliberately elect to jaw-jaw instead of war-war.

    “It is my considered view that before we attain 60 years as a country, the government should invite papers from stakeholders and constitute a Sovereign National Conference the decision of which shall not be subject to amendment by anybody or group of people who would not allow a people constitution to become a reality as it would affect their pecuniary interest.

    “As we celebrate our independence from the colonial masters 57 years ago, we should pray that those in power would seriously consider the problems afflicting the country since 1966 when the military abrogated the 1963 constitution, and embark on restructuring exercise.”

    He expressed opposition to the call for the breakup of the country, saying: “we have a lot to gain by becoming a strong nation.”

    But he emphasized that “we urgently need a constitution that would allow each region to develop at its own pace, leaving such matters as defence, currency and foreign affairs to the centre. Certainly agriculture and education are matters for the regions.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • Afe Babalola hails ‘Spartan discipline’ in NDA

    Afe Babalola hails ‘Spartan discipline’ in NDA

    EMINENT lawyer and Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, SAN has hailed the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna for its Spartan discipline.

    According to Babalola, the discipline has become the hallmark of the military university as was the case in Ancient Greece.

    The ABUAD founder spoke at the academy’s 28th Convocation Ceremonies, where he was honoured with Doctor of Letters (D. Litt), over the weekend.

    He said he was eminently proud of the achievements of the NDA, which has produced over 4,000 graduates since it became a degree awarding institution in 1985.

    ABUAD Head, Corporate Affairs Tunde Olofintila quoted Babalola as saying: “The issue of discipline, which is the hallmark of NDA, makes this university unique. As a stakeholder in education, I was the Pro-Chancellor of University of Lagos from 2001 to 2007. I can say that the decay and decadence of strike actions, cultism, drug, dilapidated infrastructure, sale of handouts among other vices prevalent in public institutions is in large measure responsible for poor quality of graduates from our public universities.”

    He added: “These are vices which are not only unknown but alien to your university. During my tenure as the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, I tried to fight these vices and succeeded to great extent so much so that I was awarded the Best Pro-Chancellor in Nigeria twice by NUC. That was the main reason why I decided to establish a university, which would be a benchmark and reference point to others and a leader in quality and functional education.

    “The moment I stepped into your Academy this morning, I saw timeliness and cleanliness. I saw punctuality. I was told that there are no strike actions in the Academy. I saw that your students, Cadets, greet people. I saw that campus is clean and tidy. I saw warmth and above all, during for the four hours duration of the convocation ceremony, everybody remained on his/her seat with no one moving round anyhow. I saw that only the speaker is standing at any particular time. This is highly commendable.”

    Impressed about these virtues, the former Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the University of Lagos said he would champion the crusade that these virtues be replicated in all universities in Nigeria with a view to recovering its lost glory in education, stressing that “good enough, the opportunity to sell what I have seen at the Academy today has presented itself as I will be delivering the Keynote Address at the Conference of the Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) taking place in Kwara State University, Malete, Kwara State, on Monday, October 9, 2017”.

    Babalola, who announced a prize of N500,000 to the Best Graduating Student and another N500,000 to the Most well behaved Graduating Student in perpetuity, said there would henceforth be collaboration between NDA and ABUAD to tackle the menace of indiscipline.

    He congratulated the 1,732 graduating students made up of 571 first degree holders and 1,161 postgraduate students and appealed to them to apply what they have been taught and learnt in NDA to whatever they do in private and publicly.

    He reminded them that their duty under Section 217 of the Constitution is to protect the Constitution of Nigeria in addition to protecting its territorial integrity and secure its border from violation on land, sea or air.

    He added that they may be called upon to suppress insurrection, to aid civil authorities in order to restore order, but stressed that the power to invite them to do so is vested in the President only and not in any other person.

  • Yoruba elders insist on restructuring

    Yoruba elders insist on restructuring

    The Yoruba elders have insisted that Nigeria must return to a proper federation as obtained in the 1960 and 1963 constitutions to ensure peace and meaningful development.

    They made this view known at the Yoruba summit held in Ibadan on Thursday, which attracted Yoruba leaders, governors, parliamentarians, social cultural groups, professional bodies, market leaders and youth groups.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the summit after exhaustive deliberations issued a communiqué signed by Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) and Dr Kunle Olajide, the Aare of Efon Kingdom.

    According to them, the country as a multi-ethnic country could only know real peace and development when it is run along federal lines.

    The summit resolved that the greatest imperatives of restructuring Nigeria was to move from a
rent-seeking and money sharing anti-development economy to productivity.

    It stated that this could be achieved by ensuring that the federating units are free to own and develop their resources, while they pay agreed sums to the federation purse to implement central services.

    The summit agreed that the federating units be it states, zones or regions, which must themselves
be governed by written constitution to curb impunity at all levels.

    It demanded that Nigeria should be a federation comprised of six regions and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, while the regions shall in turn be composed as states.

    “The Federal Government should make laws and only have powers in relations to items
specified on the legislative list contained in the constitution of the Federation.

    “Each region shall have its own constitution containing enumerated exclusive and
concurrent legislative lists regarding matters upon which the regions and the states may
act or legislate.

    “Contiguous territories, ethnic nationalities or settlement shall be at liberty through a
plebiscite, to elect to be part of any contiguous region other than the region in which the
current geo-political zone or state boundaries places them,’’ the communiqué read.

    According to the summit, states as presently comprised in the geo-political zones into which they fall shall become regions and continue to exercise the executive, legislative and judicial functions currently exercised.

    “States with a region shall determine the items on the legislative lists in the regional constitution for the purpose of good government and the administration.

    “Also, provision of common inter-state social, economic and infrastructural requirements. Residual powers shall be vested in the states.’’

    The communiqué noted that the power to create states shall be within the exclusive powers of the region, which shall be obliged to create a state provided a plebiscite is conducted.

    This, it said shall be following a request by an agreed percentage of the residents of the ethnic nationality within a state, while the state holds the power to create local governments and assign functions.

    The summit resolved that states shall be entitled to manage all resources found within their boundaries and the revenue accruing therefrom.

    “The issue of the entitlement of littoral states to shore resources and the extension of such rights from the continental shelf and rights accuring to the Federal Government shall be determined by the national assembly.

    “The sharing ratio of all revenues raised by means of taxation shall be 50 per cent to the states, 35 percent to the regional government and 15 percent to the government of the federation.

    “For a period of 10 years from the commencement of the operation of the new constitution, there shall be a special fund for the development of all minerals in the country,’’ it stated.

    The summit added that government of the federation shall raise the sum by way of additional taxation on resources at a rate to be agreed by the National Assembly.

    It stated that the National Assembly shall set up a body to manage the funds with equal representation of nominees from each of the regional governments.
    The summit also said that the National Assembly shall set out and specify the guidelines for the administration of the funds exclusively for this purpose, while the president of the Federation shall appoint a chairperson for the entity so formed

    The summit had recalled the great strides made by the Yoruba nation in the years of self-government until the abrogation of the federal constitution in 1966.

    It stated that such was evident in mass literacy, novel infrastructural strides and giant leaps in all spheres of human development.

    The summit warned that Nigeria was working dangerously to the edge of the slope except urgent steps are taken to restructure Nigeria, saying there was need to restructure from a unitary to federal constitution.

  • Man remanded for defrauding Afe Babalola of N5m

    Man remanded for defrauding Afe Babalola of N5m

    An Ado-Ekiti Magistrates’ Court has ordered that Femi Fagite, 42, be remanded in prison custody for allegedly defrauding the founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), of N5 million.

    Police counsel, Mr Femi Falade, told the court that Fagite allegedly committed the offence on December 17, 2015, in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital.

    Fagite is on trial for alleged conspiracy and fraudulently obtaining money from the eminent lawyer under false pretence.

    The prosecution said the accused committed the offence, adding that it is punishable under Section 1 (3) and 8 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.

    It requested for the remand order of the accused, saying the court lacked the jurisdiction to try the accused under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.

    The prosecution said there was need for further investigation and the arraignment of the accused at a Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti.

    Fagite’s plea was not taken.

    His lawyer, Mr Femi Alonge, applied for bail, saying the only instance where the court may not admit bail is where the offence is punishable with death.

    The Magistrate, Mrs Omolola Akosile, ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody.

    She adjourned the matter till July 27 for mention.

  • Call for restructuring: Afe Babalola gives IBB kudos

    Call for restructuring: Afe Babalola gives IBB kudos

    •Legal giant says ex-military leader deserves award

    If elder statesman Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) had his way, erstwhile military President Ibrahim Babangida will be honoured with the 2017 Nigeria Peace Award for joining the calls for restructuring. The legal icon and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) believes the time to restructure the country is now. In this piece entitled: “IBB’s call for restructuring – he deserves 2017 Nigeria Peace Award”, the eminent lawyer recommends the immediate convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to pave the way for a referendum for Nigeria to have a constitution that is truly the people’s.

    I join multitudes of friends and admirers of the former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) to congratulate him on the celebration of his 75th birthday on planet earth. More importantly, I congratulate him profoundly for joining the call by many compatriots for the restructuring of the country.

    IBB’s position reminds me of what Sophocles, a Greek philosopher, said in his book titled: The Theban Plays

    “Do not let your first thought be your only thought. To think that your will is the only way betrays a shallow mind and an empty heart. It is for this reason that the meadows which move to and fro on a flood river remain unbroken while those that flow against the flood are broken asunder”.

    I salute his courage and brilliance and his ability to position his mind having regard to the situation on ground.

    This is a lesson for Nigerians who remain still and unbending on the issue of restructuring of Nigeria. I challenge them to rise up and embrace what the great Greek philosopher had espoused as far back as 441 B.C.

    To say that the retired general is a different person to different people is like stating the obvious. However, what cannot be denied is that he is a courageous, fearless, highly cerebral elder statesman who could equally be controversial and often misunderstood.

    I congratulate him particularly for embracing restructuring of our dear country thereby joining the ever-growing band of those of us from the North, West and East who have been clamouring for restructuring as the panacea for the myriad of problems afflicting the country today.

    I have been an unrepentant advocate of the need to restructure Nigeria, so much so that I have been speaking, writing papers, delivering lectures across the country on the issue of restructuring since 2002 as the best way to achieve our aim and objectives of building a united and prosperous Nigeria.

     

    1960 Constitution

    Before 1960, our founding fathers met for almost 10 years in Lancaster House, London and took into consideration the fact that Nigeria is a country of nations with about 250 ethnic groups. In their wisdom, they made a constitution which allowed each component part to remain and practice its own culture and grow at its own pace under one umbrella of a united Nigeria and a befitting Federal Constitution.

     

    The military

    Unfortunately, that constitution was set aside by the military who thought they knew better than our forefathers. Again, the same military bequeathed to us the 1999 Constitution under which the centre had become so strong and the component parts so weak that there is virtually no meaningful development in almost all the states prior to the taking over by the military in 1966, our constitution allowed each component part to develop at its own rate. Consequently, there was healthy rivalry between the regions. The West was the most advanced and others followed and the country was developing at fast rate.

    Although, we may not necessarily go back to the regions of 1960, we can substitute for the regions, something similar to it. Certainly, we need to restructure the country. We urgently need a forum where our problems would be discussed and arrive at a suitable federal constitution for the country. In order to solve the problem of unemployment, falling standard in education, recession, crimes including armed robbery and kidnapping, the country needs to be restructured.

     

    Persuading others

    I want to specially commend IBB for his new position and frank talk about the need for restructuring the country. I urge him to go a step further and persuade those still on the fringe particularly some former military rulers to join those of us in the forefront of the campaign of restructuring of the country for a true federalism.

     

    Sovereign National Conference & referendum

    I strongly advise the government to convey a sovereign national conference, the outcome of which will be ratified by referendum which will give birth to the people’s constitution.

    For avoidance of doubt, the outcome of the referendum shall not be subject to the confirmation or approval of the National Assembly which as we all know will not take kindly to such recommendations such as legislators earning only sitting allowances.

  • Afe Babalola urges NUC to convene education summit

    Afe Babalola urges NUC to convene education summit

    Legal icon and Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) has called on universities’ regulatory body, National Universities Commission (NUC), to convene an education summit to address ills plaguing the nation’s university system.

    Babalola spoke at a reception dinner in honour of the immediate past Executive Secretary of NUC Prof. Julius Okojie, and his successor, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, on the university premises yesterday.

    The elder statesman said the summit was necessary to enable Nigeria take its rightful place in the comity of nations by delivering quality and functional education worldwide.

    As the former Pro Chancellor and chairman of council of the University of Lagos for seven years and as the founder of ABUAD since 2009, Babalola noted that his experience enabled him to identify major gaps affecting tertiary education.

    The gaps, according to Babalola, include: inadequate funding, poor attitude of Nigerians to giving, weak university autonomy, quality of students to being offered admission to universities vis-à-vis shortfall in quality of teachers and curriculum development.

    Others are: the need for more private participation in universities establishment and dismantling of illegal ones, non-extension of tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) to private universities, incessant strikes in public institutions and according the right of place to Science and Technology, among others.

    Babalola decried a situation whereby the budget of a particular university in Europe or America for instance, is in excess of the N392,263,784,684, which Nigeria budgeted for all tertiary education institutions, including the Universal Basic Education Commission.

    Given this scenario, it will be impossible for universities in Nigeria to compete favourably with any of their counterparts elsewhere, Babalola added.

    On TETFUND, the legal luminary said the time had come for NUC to on behalf of private universities, advocate access to TETFund.

  • Bamaiyi: Ajudua challenges EFCC’s right to prosecute him over $4.8m fraud

    A one-time Lagos socialite, Fred Ajudua, on Monday in Lagos challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a 4.8 million dollars fraud charge it slammed against him.

    Ajudua, who challenged the right of the commission to prosecute him for defrauding a former Chief of Army Staff, retired Lt.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi, is also challenging the jurisdiction of an Ikeja High Court to try the case.

    The EFCC had accused Ajudua of defrauding Bamaiyi while both were in prison custody in 2004 for different offences.

    EFCC said Ajudua had approached Bamaiyi, who was facing trial for the attempted murder of Mr. Alex Ibru, the late publisher of the Guardian Newspaper, and convinced him that he could help to secure his freedom.

    According to the commission, Ajudua received 4.8 million dollars from Bamaiyi under the guise that the money was the legal fees for the law firm of Chief Afe Babalola and Co.

    Ronke Rosulu, a court registrar and Ajudua’s alleged accomplice, who helped him funneled the funds from the prison, was sentenced in a separate trial on Dec. 21, 2005 to 10 years in prison by Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo.

    During Monday’s proceeding, counsel to Ajudua, Mr. Norrison Quakers, in an application dated Jan. 6 challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case.

    He also urged the court to quash the charge brought against Ajudua by the EFCC.

    “We have filed an affidavit and a reply in points of law challenging the jurisdiction of this court to hear this case.

    “The law provides also provides that an information in this charge can only be filed by the Attorney-General of the state and not the EFCC,” he said.

    Responding, counsel to the EFCC, Mr. S.A. Atteh, said there was a judgment of the Court of Appeal upholding the right of the EFCC to prosecute the case.

    “We have filed a counter-affidavit dated Feb. 9 urging the court to allow the judgment of the Court of Appeal on whether the EFCC has a fiat to prosecute this case.

    “I urge the court to dismiss the application of the defence and call the defendant to take his plea,” he said.

    Justice Oyefeso adjourned the case to March 30 for ruling.

     

  • Afe Babalola: Humanity at its finest

    “Human life has meaning only to that degree, and as long as it is lived in the service of humanity… For me, humanity is infinite.”
    —Adolfe Joffe

    I am sobbing because of how bad the lives of the people Baba has helped would have been if God has not sent him to Ekiti. My sobbing is also about what will become of other people that still needs mercy from Baba Afe but won’t get it when Baba may have left us.” – A loose interpretation of the Ekiti dialect from Mrs. Aderemi Ajileye, one of the recipients who received N10,000 given out by the AB Foundation who was in a sober mood while others were jubilant.

    The two epigraphs above may be contradistinctive, yet they both point in the same direction in capturing the true essence of Aare Afe Babalola. The first provides a sort of definitive paradigm by which Joffe believed (before his death by suicide) must be the fulcrum around which human life must necessarily revolve for it to be said to be truly meaningful, while the other is a graphic attestation to a particular life and how it’s already being adjudged with no less philosophical undertone by Mrs. Ajileye, a barely literate trader. The kernels of these two epigraphs have not only metastasized in forming his total being, but Aare Afe Babalola has fulfilled, if not surpassed Adolfe Joffe’s demand from earthly beings. Perhaps more importantly is how hundreds of thousands of people around the world whose paths have crossed that of Aare (including yours truly) may have cringed, recoiled or cried inside at one time or another when it suddenly would have hit them that this great philanthropist (who’s probably in his 90s but as fit as a fiddle) will not be around forever as Mrs. Ajileye did.

    As a foremost personality who has transmuted into a colossus in Nigeria’s socio-economic and judicio-political landscapes, it’s expected that Aare Afe Babalola will mean different things to different people. But the one unassailable fact that remains unequivocally constant like a Northern Star that defines Aare is a very essence that encapsulates humanity at its finest. His unquenchable thirst to leave the Nigerian society, most particularly his beloved Ekiti State and its people better than he met them came once again in vivid colour on Tuesday, January 3, at the AB Foundation, Ado-Ekiti.

    Dubbed “AB Foundation Poverty Alleviation Package,” it was at the event hall of this foundation that some of Nigeria’s prominent dignitaries that included the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe and his entourage of all his Council Chiefs; the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim; Chief Deji Fasuan, the prolific octogenarian writer and public analyst; Prof. Tunde Adeniran, a former Nigerian ambassador – to name just a handful – were gathered as living witnesses to the joy and excitement of one thousand needy indigenes of the state. On this day, all the 1000 people in the hall received envelopes stuffed with the minimum N5,000 prize to the grand largesse of N100,000. Although the recipients knew intrinsically that they were lucky to have made it into the foundation hall as they were sure to go home with probably their first financial gift of the year, but what they did not know was where they would fall under between the N5,000, N10,000, N50,000, or the N100,000.00 categories of recipients. As a result, the apprehension on the faces of some of them was palpable. To others, these categories didn’t matter as they were already rocking excitedly on their seats because they knew that their financial stations would most definitely be enhanced by the time they left.

    As if Baba himself knew that people would be curious as to how the foundation arrived at the one thousand threshold and the yardstick that was utilized in determining the eligibility of the would-be recipients of his financial package, he explained in his opening remarks that the foundation’s initial decision was to extend the financial gesture to no more than 200 people. “But when reports came to me that the people that filled the forms had swollen despite being told that the foundation had reached its limit of 200 people, tears ran down my face. I told them to increase the number of recipients to 1000 people”. That announcement did not only touch some raw nerves of some of the audience as some shook their heads in sympathy and appreciation, it also underscored the heart-wrenching poverty that the Nigerian masses continue to face constantly in which Aare has played, and continues to play his role without let or hindrance in alleviating.

    The Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim who was the special guest of honour delivered his speech by attesting to the fact that he had never met a Nigerian personality so unique and has such outstanding spirit of giving like Aare Afe Babalola. His Royal Majesty enjoined the lucky congregants to judiciously use whatever amount they’re lucky to be given from the great philanthropist so that “a year from now you would give testimony as to how you’ve been able to multiply this money which would be to the greatest delight of the giver.” The Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Adejugbe also extended his profound gratitude to Aare Afe Babalola for his many socio-economic exploits which had radically transformed his domain in particular. His Royal Highness thanked Aare very profusely for siting the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), a world class higher institution of learning that states like Lagos, Ibadan or any part of the federation would have felt greatly privileged to have. Oba Adejugbe advised the would-be recipients to look seriously into agriculture with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of being given the cash they did not work for. Chief Fasuan and Prof. Adeniran were not left out in intimating the audience with the rare human qualities that are integral to Aare’s genetic make-up in their own speeches.

    Perhaps what Prof. Adeniran may have inadvertently left out in his speech on this ‘August occasion’ was the life-changing role Aare played in the life of this great intellectual Ekiti son and former ambassador. His education probably would have been permanently truncated. This is because at some point he could not pay his tuition and the young Adeniran was shown the door. But he ran to Aare for help and he quickly obliged without any strings attached. Now a professor, one can only imagine how Adeniran’s life would have turned out if his path had not crossed that of Aare Afe Babalola. Aside his own rough and unconventional road through which he attained his education, the lack of which would have most certainly made him a subsistence farmer to this day, Aare’s only commandment, which is etched permanently in his consciousness, is that quality education must be the single most important endeavour for any living being to possess. He has thrown his all into this time-honoured value as he had demonstrated in the life of Prof. Adeniran and so many others. Baba continues to throw everything he has as exemplified by ABUAD. Making a difference in the education sector is his driving force. It is what gives him the greatest joy.

    I have been privileged to be at many of Baba’s landmark occasions such as ABUAD’s anniversaries, matriculations and convocations, among others. In all these occasions, torrents of encomiums were always showered on Aare and the way he affects his society by the cream of society and foreign dignitaries alike in terms of his impact on individual lives, his unquantifiable contributions to various professional and educational organizations in Nigeria that by extension impacts humanity at large. I have seen letters of appreciation and acknowledgement that affirmed the aforementioned by multilateral organizations and world bodies. In not a few occasions at some of these events have I witnessed my own tears gently, steadily and uncontrollably oozing out from where I sat for no reason other than the realization that this exceedingly good man is also a mere mortal who would one day leave us – just like Mrs. Ajileye who sat pensively quiet when others were dancing and singing. Perhaps it was this shared spiritual connection with Mrs. Ajileye that may have telepathically led me to her in the midst of that joyous multitude.

    Both of us may have had some mental conversations with God as to why the “I am that I am” and the “unquestionable changer” couldn’t give exceptions to certain people like Aare Afe Babalola to live forever. While I have made my peace with the fact that Aare can never be eternal, his contributions to humanity on a grander scale will remain indelible and thus eternal, which is just as good for me to hold on to.

     

    • Odere is a media practitioner. He can be reached at femiodere@gmail.com
  • Afe Babalola bankrolls free health services

    Afe Babalola bankrolls free health services

    Residents of Ido-Ekiti and other communities in Ido/Osi and Ijero Local Governments of Ekiti State yesterday participated in the free health services bankrolled by founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola.
    The free medical mission held in the premises of Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti is to last for two weeks and targeted at expectant mothers, children and the aged.
    Doctors and ABUAD medical students were mobilised for the exercise in which beneficiaries received treatment and free drugs.
    Many of them prayed for Babalola, saying his gesture had saved them from hypertension, diabetes, eye problems, malaria, among others.
    Provost, ABUAD College of Medicine and Health Services, Prof. Olurotimi Sanya, said the exercise was to make the people feel the university’s impact.
    Sanya said the exercise was also borne out of Babalola’s philanthropy to make life easier for ordinary people.
    He said the free treatment and drugs was the first stage of the programme, adding that critical cases would be referred to specialists to be treated at highly subsidised rates.
    ABUAD Vice-Chancellor Prof. Michael Ajisafe urged the people to come out and benefit from the scheme.
    He said ABUAD is breaking new grounds in the field of medicine with the construction of a world class teaching hospital to train medical personnel and provide qualitative healthcare delivery.

  • Afe Babalola University: Wonder in Ekiti land

    Afe Babalola University: Wonder in Ekiti land

    AfeBabalola is wearing two caps viz, as a highly successful legal luminary for which he is famous and well known for decades as a celebrated Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and as a great educationist which was perfectly demonstrated first as thefirst and pioneerChairman of Counciland builder of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti,during the Shagari administration in the early 80’s.This had happened decades before his well-rememberedachievement as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) from 2001 to 2008, during which time he raised the University to an enviable position by a dint of hard work, transparency, discipline and integrity. So good was he on this job that he was ably rewarded with the award of “The best Pro-Chancellor of all the Nigerian Universities” back to backin 2005 and 2006. During his stewardship, UNILAG was also adjudged as the “best university in Nigeria”. As the White Paper issued by the Federal Government on the Visitation Panel rightly observed, “The leadership style of Aare AfeBabalola was exemplary. He acted commendably by paying his bills anytime he chose to stay in an hotel as well as by donating his sitting allowances to the University endowment fund”. This report did not include a lecture theatre he built for the University in a conspicuous location on UNILAG campus and named after him.
    AfeBabalola knew that the best Universities in the world were not established by governments but by individuals, giving examples like the University of Bologna in Northern Italy, established by a missionary in 1088 AD. There is also the University of Paris and other great Universities like the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England, Harvard, Stanford and Yale in the United States of America, for example, which are not government Universities but remain the best in the world. For him, it is one thing for government to fund a University, but it is another thing to know how the money given is spent. According to AfeBabalola, “until we adopt the philosophy behind private business and success, I don’t think anything government does can ever succeed”. He supervises all projects in his University at reduced costs without the rituals of inflated contracts where the government says “it spends x amount of money, but the value of what is on ground is less than half of xgiven. So, even when government pours in a lot of money into the system, there is no guarantee that the money is well spent or will not be diverted into private pockets”.
    All along,AfeBabalola loved a man called John Harvard, the founder of Harvard University and, for him, that is the kind of man he wants to copy in his own University. Thus, the founder of ABUAD said categorically that the standard of Harvard University is what he emulates in his University. And you can see this in the judicious utilization of space from the kind of imposing structures of tall buildings which constitute a citadel of architectural masterpieces, beautiful to behold, all over the place. All of this is designed to make ABUAD a home of academic excellence. In this respect, I think AfeBabalola should forge a strong linkage with Harvard for him to accomplish his life time and future objectives for ABUAD.
    The background to the story of ABUAD, located in his home town, Ado-Ekiti, can be traced to AareAfeBabalola’stenure and experience as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of UNILAG. According to him, “the decision to establish the university (ABUAD) arose because of the rot I saw in UNILAG”. For him, his University is “designed to right the wrongs in tertiary education in Nigeria and set a pace for a model University”. What is more, AfeBabalola’s University is “a result oriented institution for producing highly skilled and socially relevant graduates, capable of applying scientific knowledge for the resolution of social and technological problems”. Thus, after months of the conception and registration process, ABUAD threw open its doors to students on January 4, 2010, with five Colleges – Science, Engineering, Law, Medicine and Health Sciences, Social and Management Sciences.
    The infrastructural development of ABUAD as a private University is second to none, from the administrative buildings to the five colleges, hostels for male and female students and staff quarters. There exist expansive buildings for International School consisting of Kindergarten, Nursery, Basic Junior Secondary School and Senior Secondary School, as well as remedial classes for WAEC and JAMB. The International School, according to its coordinator, Mrs. OlubukolaAjisafe, “is to produce future leaders”. Apart from well-equipped laboratories, there isan imposing library, printing press and many other business venturesand amenities that bring comfort to the University community. ABUAD is self-sufficient in food production for its staff and students while, in addition, it exports its agricultural products including fish, swine, chickens, turkeys, beef and fruits of various kinds, from pawpaw to mangoes, pineapples, etc.while it also has bread (bakery) and pure water factories.Of special interest is the newly constructed Teaching Hospital complex. The massive structure of The Teaching hospital complex consists of several buildings of architectural beauty whichinclude hostels for medical students, interns, house officers and special staff quarters for nurses and consultants. According to the Provost, Prof OlurotimiSanya, “The Teaching Hospital will close door against medical tourism”.
    Aare AfeBabalola has a large plantation of teak trees for which he has a factory where woods are produced for his building structures as well as for export. He even has a farm for moringa which he refines for sale in his supermarket near his big gym and multipurposecentre. Interestingly, most of his agricultural products, including poultry, fish (fresh and dried) and many others are exported beyond the State. Perhaps the greatest beneficiaries of his agricultural products are the staff and students of the University who do not go outside the campus to look for food items,as both staff and students live in staff quarters and hostels (male and female) respectively.I believe the same is true for people of Ado-Ekiti and its environs. To staff and students of ABUAD, feeding is not their problem. It is pertinent to point out what the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Michael Ajisafe, said about ABUAD’s special interest in agriculture. Hear him: “Everybody is thinking of petroleum, but we want to go into agriculture. We feel very strongly that it is time we asked so many students to come back and specialize in agriculture. We graduated a few this last convocation ceremonies and Aare AfeBabalola gave each of them half a million naira to set up their agricultural practice. Anybody who specializes in agriculture here or wants to study agriculture is given 50% tuition free to encourage agriculture”.
    From all the above, there is little wonder that, recently, the University carried the news on 19 October, 2016,of the special approvalby the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB Group)of US 40-million dollars corporate loan for AfeBabalola University (ABUAD) “to finance part of the University’s expansion plan”. The project “will make ABUAD a Centre of excellence for tertiary education in Africa, expand access to high quality education to over 10,000 students per year”. The expansion plan consists of construction of new facilities – including a 400- bed Teaching hospital, an industrial research park and a small hydro power (SHP) installation (1.1mw). The project, approved by AfDB Board of Directors on October 19, 2016, is the Bank’s first private-sector transaction in the education sector and a pioneering project on the African continent. To single out ABUAD for this whooping corporate loan even amongst the first generation Universities in Nigeria owned by the Federal Governmentshould make ABUAD an envy of other Nigerian Universities.
    As it would be expected, Aare AfeBabalola has been showered with encomiums all the way. Notable among them are those from two former Presidents and Former Military Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Hear them: “AfeBabalola’s University is a model to emulate” (former President Olusegun Obasanjo). “Notably one of the most outstanding individual contributors towards government educational project”(former president Goodluck Jonathan) and “The setting (of the university) is superlative and impressive with nothing of its kind that I have seen so far in this country or anywhere” (General Gowon, former Military Head of State). AndProf M.F. Useh, Dept of Medical Lab Science, UNICAL, Calabar wrote: “Chief AfeBabalola has established a landmark through ABUAD on how public and private universities should be planned, built, and run”.For Hon JusticeYinkaAyoola, “This is an institution which can stand side by side with any educational institution in the world. It raises the benchmark for quality education in Nigeria… There is no doubt that the shaping of the direction of education in Nigeria has started”, and for the late Hon. Justice KayodeEsho, Jsc retired,”It compares with great Universities such as Harvard, Yale and Oxford. AfeBabalola deserves the highest honour of the country”. And from far away Europe, “It is an outstanding University without comparison” (Prof WilGoodhear, President, European Business Assembly and President, Rectors of Europe).
    Lastly, a most dedicated honour was done to Aare AfeBabalola as the pioneering Chairman of Council and builder of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti whose massive infrastructures he singularly put up and supervised during the administration of former President ShehuShagariin the early 80’s. A special honour was also donetoAfeBabalola by Mr. Sunday Akinwamideon the ground of his immense contributions to education in Nigeria”. Incidentally, Mr. Akinwamide is currentlya lecturer in the Department of Computer Scienceat the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti. While commending AfeBabalola for his unquantifiable interest in, and contribution, to the Nigerian education, Mr. Akinwamide has released a DVD titled “E-LearningMathematics” where a brief mathematical lecture and past questions for Common Entrance Examination in Mathematics were solved. The DVD is adorned with Aare’s ceremonial photograph as ABUAD President conspicuously displayed,dedicated to, and in recognition of his “unquantifiable interest in,and contributions to, education in Nigeria”.
    To this great Nigerian, a most celebrated icon of the law profession (SAN), a great achiever in the Nigerian educational sector, and an outstanding philanthropist we say,”more grease to your elbow”, as your place in Nigerian history of educationis eternally secured. In the future, we wouldsurely talk of AfeBabalola University as we now talk of Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
    •Professor Makinde is DG/CEO, Awolowo Centre for Philosophy, Ideology and Good Governance, Osogbo, The State of Osun.