By Tunde Olofintila
A seasoned University Administrator and Member, Board of Trustees of Hallmarks of Labour Foundation, HLF, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, has commended the Founder & Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola, OFR, CON, SAN, LL. D (London), Fellow, King’s College, London, FNAE, for establishing a students’ friendly university.
The pioneer Vice Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Ede, Tomori said what he saw after touring the serene campus, the ABUAD Enterprise Farms, the Independent Power Plant, ABUAD Dam, the bourgeoning 124-unit Small, Medium and Large-scale Industrial Park and the ultra-modern 400-bed Multi- System Hospital which has been endorsed by leading Healthcare Stakeholders as “the most well-equipped Hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa”, was the manifestation of the dream he had for Redeemer’s University.
Tomori who toured the entire university campus together with former Executive Secretary of TETFUND, Prof. Suleiman Elias Bogoro, FAS, said: “What I saw today was a complete University Village distinct from the older ones in many ways. Whereas the older universities have campuses here and there, ABUAD is a complete University Village made up of the ABUAD Enterprise Farms, the Independent Power Plant, ABUAD Dam, the Industrial Park and the ultra-modern 400-bed Multi- System Hospital in one location”.
He added: “The way the university was constructed is amazing. When I saw the circular roads with the classroom areas, libraries and laboratories located in the inner circle and the facilities such as Hostels and Cafeterias located in the outer circle, I immediately concluded that this is a students’ friendly university where students don’t have to labour unnecessarily unlike what obtains in many of the older universities where students have to walk for several kilometers to access their lectures”,
He commended Babalola, a former Pro Chancellor & Chairman of Council of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, for the palpable discipline he has instilled in the students which manifests in their dressing and the way they extend courtesies to people, adding that the major problem confronting the Nation Nigeria is indiscipline.
The former President of the Nigerian Academy of Science was optimistic that with what he saw in ABUAD students, there is hope for the country in the nearest future.
He commended Babalola for what he described as step-by-step development of the university which commenced Academic works on Monday, January 4, 2010 but now has more than 10,000 students from the 36 states of the Federation, including the FCT, as well as some foreign students thereby reinventing the practice in those days where the likes of the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and the University of Lagos were like mini United Nations with students and lecturers from all over Africa, Europe and America.
According to Tomori, Babalola has distinguished himself through his uncommon patriotism and by making excellence his watchword in a country where sufficient attention is not paid to details, adding that what he has on ground in his 16-years-old university transcends his exploits in Law and Jurisprudence bearing in mind that every student that graduates from the university is another Afe Babalola.
“The enormity of what you are doing here is hitting me. This is because there are many people who are richer than you and yet they are not doing anything worthwhile with their wealth. They are not investing in humanity.
“What you have done is out of your love for your people and the advancement of their course because you could have decided to invest your hard-earned wealth in acquisition of state-of-the-art properties around the world. But you chose Ekiti, thereby putting Ekiti in the limelight, particularly as the university is not for profit but for humanity.
“The exceptionality of this university is indisputable in the comity of universities. The moment I entered the university, I knew it was going to be a positively different story. The air on this campus is different. The landscape was well-planned ahead of time. I commend you, sir”.
In a veiled reference to the much touted “Town and Gown” relationship, Tomori urged ABUAD and indeed other Nigerian universities to always communicate what they are doing in the language their immediate communities will understand in addition to Journal Publications.
He emphasized the fact that instead of being an “Ivory Tower”, universities must of essence be and see themselves as part of the communities they are domiciled, adding that “as good as international rankings are, the best ranking for any university is its relevance to the people and what people say about such a university”
He eulogized the university for the experiential training for its students through the ABUAD Farms, the Industrial Park, and the Multi-System Hospital among others where students access practical experience that cannot be taught in the classroom.
Olofintila, ABUAD’s Director of Corporate Affairs, writes from Ado-Ekiti