Afe Babalola Urges Embrace Of Hard Work, Honesty

Legal luminary, Aare Afe Babalolla (SAN), has urged Nigerians to embrace hard work, honesty and faith for the country to achieve greatness.

The elder statesman and founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD) described education as one of the major antidotes to the country’s challenges.

He stated this in Ado Ekiti over the weekend while briefing newsmen on the university’s latest achievements, published in an article by Ellie Bothwell titled, “Impact Rankings 2024.”

The  former  pro-chancellor of University of Lagos said ABUAD was ranked the best Nigerian University for the third consecutive time, 4th in Africa and 142th in the world, as recently published in the 2024 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, it also ranked first globally,  for SDG 7 on Affordable and Clean Energy, Outreach Programmes, with 98 percent and Stewardship Programmes, with 98.2 percent.

He expressed confidence that the country would be great if Nigerians emulated the three principles exhibited by the university.

The senior lawyer who listed some of the problems confronting the nation to include; economic hardship, poverty, banditry, extremism, religious bigotry, among others said such could be addressed with sound and quality education.

“Everything in life depends on hope. Hope is faith and faith is success of what to do. Our performance gives us hope that Nigeria can achieve what we have achieved in this country. Nigeria can be greater. With hard work, the way we are doing things here, honesty, and faith, Nigeria can be better and get out of the doldrums.I believe that hardship breeds determination, determination breeds faith, and faith never fails,” he said.

Balalola, who urged the nation’s universities to embrace and copy the standards being set in ABUAD, added, “I don’t know why we don’t like good things or learn from others. You can never make it in life unless you copy good things and learn from others. But what we copy here is bad, such as drug abuse, internet fraud, etc.

“My expectation is that we make quality and functional education delivery our model. This country may only change once we make sure that our goal is to copy and do what is good .

“The NUC in the first year described our university as a model, benchmark and pride of university. This university is one thing I want to nurture to a stage that it will be on par with Harvard University and other great universities across the world. My hope and mission is that those working with me will replicate what I am doing and what we are doing at ABUAD,” he stated.

Balalola, who noted that the 15-year-old institution, had achieved what they never expected in the next 50 years attributed the rise in ranking of ABUAD to its quality curriculum, stable and predictable academic calendar.

“We are here today to share some good news for the third consecutive year. Part of it is that our 15-year-old university has again been ranked as the No. 1 University in Nigeria and Number 142 in education generally in the world.

“The above notwithstanding, our ranking position has changed significantly. The reason is that this year, our ranking has gone beyond the shores of Nigeria and, now, global,” he said.

Also , the vice-chancellor of ABUAD, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, commended him for deploying his hard-earned resources in championing the needed revolution in the education sector with the establishment of the university.