Afe Babalola Blames Nigeria’s Challenges On Indiscipline

Legal icon, Aare Afe Babalola, has identified indiscipline as one of the significant problems precipitating challenges confronting the country.

The founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), who expressed the view that the nation’s challenges could be solved through functional education, stated that Nigeria would be better off if discipline were instilled in all citizens.

He spoke in Ado-Ekiti after being decorated with the award of Distinguished Honorary Fellowship conferred on him by the Nigerian Academy of Education (NAE).

The formal induction of the elder statesman and others into the NAE’s Honorary Fellowship was held in Abuja on November 6, 2025, coinciding with the academy’s 40th anniversary, where he was represented by Prof. Christopher Aina, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) of ABUAD.

In a letter signed by its Secretary General, Prof. Elizabeth Okeke, the NAE stated that the honorary fellowship award was conferred in recognition of Babalola’s notable contributions and significant strides in reforming the educational sector.

The legal luminary, who noted that people always appreciate the level of discipline being displayed by staff and students of the university, said, “Our problem in Nigeria is indiscipline.  When a person is not disciplined, they are a useless person.  When a man is not punished, he will steal.

“He won’t be able to carry out the love of God,  the doctrine of God.  Love your neighbour as yourself.  If you love your neighbour, you won’t steal their property; if you love a neighbour, you won’t harm them.  Here, we carry out the injunction of Christ.  We love ourselves.

“I have always believed, and I still believe, that education is the panacea to all our problems, domestic or otherwise. We will continue to ensure that at ABUAD, we deliver quality and functional education”.

The ABUAD founder stated that the university is achieving its objectives and noted that his vision, after leaving the University of Lagos some years ago, was to establish his own university.

He said,  “A private university, a non-profit university,  where every profit made will go back to this school.  I have no shares there.  You have no share there. The money will be saved and kept as endowment funds, which we can use at any time”.

While maintaining that the university has hope and is planning to achieve more, he noted that the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, who visited the university recently, described “ABUAD is a beacon of hope and a model for private university education in Nigeria and Africa at large”.

He further revealed that the university is oversubscribed with students from all 36 states of the country and from outside Nigeria.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, described Aare Afe Babalola as an empire, a leader, and a conqueror who had made significant contributions in food production, security, farming, the legal profession, economic spheres, and, most importantly, in the sphere of education.