The ancient town of Ado-Ekiti last week Tuesday stood still for the Founder and Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, SAN when he made a triumphant entry into the Ekiti State capital after receiving the honorary Doctor of Laws from the famous University of London where he obtained two Bachelor’s Degrees by correspondence in 1959 and 1963.
Babalola, a man bitten by the bug of hunger and thirst for learning, accompanied by his ever youthful wife, Yeye Aare Modupe Babalola, drove in a motorcade to a tumultuous and rousing welcome at the Fajuyi Park, Ado-Ekiti, put together by the management of the his university but attended by people from the different rungs of the societal ladder, including some thespians, musicians and all manners of well- wishers.
After shaking hands with the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Michael Ajisafe-led guard of honour mounted in his honour, Babalola and his team made straight to the university to inspect another guard of honour mounted in his honour by members of the elite ABUAD Guard after which he left for the 70,000-seater Alfa Belgore Multi-Purpose Hall where the entire university community was anxiously waiting to receive their leader and Founder who went to the University of London to make history as the first African to be conferred with the honorary Doctor of Laws.
The colourful reception was flagged off with musical entertainment by the Jimoh Aliu Theatre Group, Aluluogo and his Ekiti Rising Stars and immediately followed by the welcome address by Ajisafe who eulogized Babalola to the highest heavens having been part of the conferment ceremonies in the United Kingdom.
He painted a graphic situation of how Babalola was sandwiched between the University of London’s Chancellor, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Ann and the university’s Vice Chancellor, Adrian Smith with Princess Ann entirely enraptured with the intimidating profile of Babalola, a man whose classroom education terminated in Primary School because of paucity of funds when he was growing up, but through sheer determination and uncommon industry, fought and conquered debasing and grinding poverty to become a leading light in education and model in Law and Jurisprudence.
A member of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of ABUAD, Prof. Israel Olatunji Orubuloye, took the podium to speak about Babalola’s Doctoral Award, which incidentally was the 12th and how it is an award for the whole university which has toiled and worked unusually to be become a clear leader, her tender age of five notwithstanding.
Orubuloye was followed by two students: Miss Money Oghonekowho, a 400 Level Accounting student and Gideon Kelechi, another 400 Level Law student as well as Dr. Adeola Durotoye of the Department of International Relations.
Responding, Babalola who has now become a triple alumnus of the University of London, thanked the university community, particularly the Vice Chancellor whom he described as an apostle of decency, humility, decency, discipline and integrity, for the honour done him and his family.
Remembering the big role his parents played in his life which culminated in the achievements he has garnered over the years, he urged the students to always be grateful and thankful to their parents for sending them to Afe Babalola University, a university with a predictable academic calendar which has been described as the fastest growing private university in Africa.
His words: “Your parents are very important in your lives and so, you must always be grateful to them. You are luckier than I am in that you have a better environment to study than I had when I was growing up. I am therefore asking you to thank your parents for sending you to this university, which to all intent and purposes, is not an ordinary university which has been acknowledged by UNESCO as a shining beacon of excellence in tertiary education”.
He added: “When I was in the United Kingdom for the Award, my mind was always here. The University of London even said we are one of the best in the world and so that got me thinking of how to elevate our own university to the status of the University of London.
“But I can’t do it all alone. With the world class teachers and Administrators I am lucky to have around me and who have been doing so well anyway, I know we will get there and very soon too. I appreciate you all and I thank you all.
“We have been to the University of London, we have seen what they are doing there and we can say that we have been able to match what that famous university has been doing in 179 years in five years. And we have just started. People don’t know the value of what they have until they loose it or see something else. We have seen what they are doing there and they compared with what we are doing here, we are not doing badly at all”.