SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE VICE CHANCELLOR DURING PRESENTATION OF AWARD BY WORLD BUSINESS ASSEMBLY (SOCRATES)

PROTOCOL

The Founder, Afe Babalola University, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN who together with being a participant here myself, I am also representing

The Turkish Airlines’ Rome Director, Yurdagul Altinoz

Prof. Stefan Kostianev, Medical University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Vice Chancellors and CEOs of other Universities present here

Distinguished award recipients

Members of the award planning committee

Revered Royal Fathers present here

The Clergy

Gentlemen of the Press

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

I welcome you to this notable event, the WBA Conference of Leaders and Socrates Award Ceremony. I thank the Organizers for the confidence reposed in me and in my institution, Afe Babalola University.

Afe Babalola University (ABUAD) is located in Ekiti State, South West of Nigeria. It is a Federal Government licensed private university which commenced academic activities on Monday, 4th January, 2010.

ABUAD, as it is popularly called, is the brain child of Aare Emmanuel Afe Babalola, Legal luminary and a self-made man whose formal education ended at the elementary school level. However, this did not deter him from acquiring two University degrees through private study. Today, Aare Afe Babalola stands tall with an enviable resume – He is the Founder and Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti; a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Officer of the Order of Niger(OON); Commander of the Order of Nigeria(CON); former Pro Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Lagos, Nigeria, the 3rd African and the First Nigerian to be honored with a Honorary Degree of Laws (Honoris Causa) from the prestigious University of London, just to mention a very few.

Aare Afe Babalola’s stay at the University of Lagos, as Pro-Chancellor, enabled him to gain an insight into the myriad of problems confronting tertiary education in Nigeria. This experience informed his decision of the urgent need to establish a first-class University to serve as a benchmark for other universities in Nigeria.

With faith in God and with determination at an advanced age of over 80 years, Aare Afe Babalola began to actualize his vision of a model university. ABUAD, in five years, has been able to inculcate and foster certain core values in her students like industry, service, integrity, discipline and good character. The University has five Colleges: College of Engineering, College of Sciences, College of Social and Management Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences and the College of Law. All courses have been fully accredited by Nigeria’s Tertiary Institutions regulatory body, the National Universities Commission (NUC).

At inception in 2010, the student population was 240. However, by the end of 2014/2015 academic session, the student population had risen to over 5,000.

ABUAD, in 5 years, has graduated two sets of students and will graduate the third set in October this year, a feat that is uncommon in the Nigeria tertiary education system.

ABUAD is one of the very Universities in Nigeria that can boast of state of the art facilities, adequate infrastructure, modern laboratories, well equipped libraries and a most conducive environment for learning.

Out students have received several awards in their areas of specialization:

  • An ABUAD student came third in the West African ICAN examination in 2013
  • Several of our law students won prizes in national competitions.
  • One of our students was selected as the best brain in tertiary education in Nigeria.
  • ABUAD was the second overall best team in the 2014 All Nigeria Private University Games (NPUGA).
  • Four of our Information Technology (I.T) students just came back from the United States of America where they participated in the Microsoft Sponsored Imagine Cup Competition.

Our curriculum has been designed such that it will bring out the skills of our students. We have institutional requirements where every student has to pass through the Language Centre and has to offer French and Chinese Languages and further enhance the main traditional languages of Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo. They also have to pass through the Leadership and the Entrepreneurial Centre to acquire skills.

ABUAD in addition to its exploits in the field of education is also set to change the face of agriculture in Nigeria. The University’s’ farm is the largest in Ekiti State. It consists of cash crops, food crops and animal husbandry.

ABUAD has a large Venture Unit that consist of a bakery, Printing press Laundry and a Water Processing Plant. Physical exercise and outdoor and indoor games are provided for through the University’s large fields for football, handball, volleyball, tennis etc.

ABUAD has a Talent Discovery Centre. This magnificent complex has capacity for 29 sports, indoor games including a large swimming pool.

The vision to establish a world class educational centre of excellence in academics, character, sports skill acquisition and vocational development is becoming clearer due to the unrelenting efforts of the Founder and the unwavering support of the Staff.

Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti is set to be citadel for the promotion of an authentic learning process of international standard.

PROFESSOR MICHAEL. O. AJISAFE’S PROFILE

Prof. M. Oluwafemi Ajisafe is a Professor of Sports Science at the College of Sciences at Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti. He is a curriculum expert in Sports Science and a member of several accredited bodies and Professional Associations in Sports Sciences all over the world.

His Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Sports Science are from the United States of America.

His credentials and experience placed Nigeria in the Hall of fame in Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games when he was Chef – De – Mission to the Nigerian contingent.

He has to his credit 13 published books, 78 published articles in learned journals and 33 published conference papers also in internationally acclaimed journals.

He is a member of the Donald D Anthony Achievement Hall of fame, an honor given him by his Alma Mata, Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio U.S.A. in 1993.

He is first in many things including:

  • First Nigerian Professor of Physical Education (Sports Science0.
  • First Director of the National Institute for Sports, Lagos, Nigeria.
  • Founder and First Head of the Physical & Health Education Department in the University of Benin, Nigeria
  • First African/Nigerian to get a Doctorate Degree in Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa USA
  • First African Consultant (for 12 years) to the Youth General Authority of the State of Qatar.
  • First Nigerian Chef De Mission to succeed in bringing home four medals at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
  • First UNIBEN Chairman Sports Committee to host NUGA Games in 1980.
  • First Nigerian/African to be inducted into the Achievement Hall of fame of the Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio, USA, 1993.
  • First Nigerian to be mandated to prepare the Curriculum for the West African School Certificate Physical Education Programme.
  • First African Director for the International Council of Sports Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE).
  • First African Adviser to the International Council on National Youth Policy (ICNYP).
  • First Nigerian Expert in Physical Education Curriculum Studies.
  • First Provost, College of Sciences, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
  • First Deputy Vice Chancellor, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
  • First Consultant General on Sports Development to the 104 Universities in Nigeria. Appointed by the NUC’S University Sports League.
  • Presently the Vice Chancellor, Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti

He has travelled far and wide to all the Continents in the World.

ABUAD Email: vc@abuad.edu.ng

Alternative Email Address: mike_agii@botmail.com

Mobile Number: +234 – 8050508152, +234 – 8024213030

Research and Consultancy Interest: Curriculum Development in Sports Science, Fitness for Life.

Teaching Focus: Fitness for Life.