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Barely six weeks after the trio of Boluwatife Akinoso, Odafe Angela Okparanyote and Moyinoluwa Omoyajowo, all 500 Level MBBS students of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), travelled to the US for Clinical Posting under the Tripartite Partnership among ABUAD, Little-by-Little Foundation and Johns Hopkins Hospital, three other students at the university are on their way to King’s College, University of London on a two-week Students’ Exchange Summer School Programme.
In a statement, Tunde Olofintila, ABUAD director, Corporate Affairs, said the lucky three students are Rasheed Aro, a 400 Level Law student, Lukman Awogbemi, a 300 Level Economics student and Temitope Oladokun, a 400 Level Nursing student, who had earlier earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Dietetics.
The threesome constitutes the first set of beneficiaries of Afe Babalola African Centre for Transnational Education at the King’s College, University of London.
Presenting the students to Aare Afe Babalola, founder and chancellor of the university, the Vice Chancellor, Elisabeta Smaranda Olarinde, said Aro, the Author of “I’m Possible” who scored 100 per cent, Oladokun, who also scored 100 per cent and Awogbemi who scored 87 per cent emerged the best during the rigorous screening exercise under the chairmanship of the vice chancellor to select the first set of ABUAD Ambassadors to King’s College.
Babalola, who congratulated the students, urged them to see their selection for the summer school as the beginning of better and greater things to come their way. He added that if they work harder, the sky would be their limit.
The legal colossus and frontline educationist recently donated 10 million pound sterling to King’s College, University of London for the establishment of the Afe Babalola African Centre for Transnational Education (ABACOTE).
The new centre will enable young Africans to access education and opportunities which they would otherwise not be able to have.
The vision for the centre is based on the power of education to empower and enable Africa’s talented young people to make meaningful contributions to their communities and the world.
The first of its kind in the history of the King’s College which was founded in 1829, ABACOTE is established with a mission “to develop and deliver world-class education that is widely accessible to talented Africans, particularly underserved youth.”
In specific terms, the focus of ABACOTE is education as service to humanity, social entrepreneurship, global/transnational leadership, community development and the development of a new, broad-based on-line education where ABUAD will serve as the hub for the rest of Africa.
This, according to the frontline legal colossus and leading educationist, is his way of reciprocating what he benefitted from the laudable and unique external degree programme of the University of London in the 60’s without which he would have ended up an unsung farmer or, at best, secretary of the local motor union.
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The centre will offer blended and online programmes, ensuring access to students who have had their journey to higher education disrupted by conflict displacement, or other transitions. It will also offer post-graduate level modules which can be brought together to create professionally recognised qualifications from diplomas to Master’s Degrees.
Babalola’s most altruistic donation will also provide scholarships alongside other funding partners to support bright students who would not otherwise be able to access the programmes, generating valuable knowledge about the nature and impact of transnational education on Africa’s development.
Under this partnership with King’s College, a bespoke programme for Africa will be developed in partnership with the University of London and an alliance of leading African universities. Modules will focus on topics that give talented young people society-relevant knowledge and skills that can improve their own lives, their communities, and their futures such as Law, Health, Engineering, Peace and Security and Leadership.
The partnership reflects a shared belief by King’s and Babalola in the power of education and its role in service to society – the principles upon which King’s College was founded nearly 200 years ago.
More than 450 million African youths are between the ages of 15 and 35, with less than 10 per cent of them enrolled in post-secondary education, making the issue of access to quality education even more urgent.
According to President and Principal of King’s College, Shitij Kapur, King’s College is delighted that Babalola’s donation will provide a valuable opportunity to strengthen and grow its work with partners in Africa and deliver transformative education within the region.
The vision is inspired by Babalola’s own experiences of growing up without easy access to high quality education and benefitting from the transformative power of remote learning. This allowed him to study from his homestead in Ado-Ekiti and to graduate with Degrees in Economics in 1959 and Law in i1963 from the University of London.
Babalola said: “Partnering with King’s College London, to me, one of the first universities in the world to appreciate the power of education to provide quality education for the under-privileged in the 1960’s, is a project that is dear to my heart. This is the more so because education is the unquestionable panacea to ignorance, poverty, extremism, religious bigotry, and tribalism among other vices. “My contribution to this programme is a way of reciprocating what I benefitted from the laudable and unique external degree programme of the University of London in the 1960’s without which I certainly would have ended up an unsung farmer or, at best, secretary of the local motor union.”
Commenting on the partnership, ‘Funmi Olonisakin, vice president, International, Engagement and Service and professor of Security, Leadership and Development at the African Leadership Centre, King’s College London, said: “Driven by our shared vision for youth education in Africa, the Afe Babalola African Centre for Transnational Education will deliver an enduring legacy for Africa’s talented young people: access to life-changing, society-relevant, and work-ready educational opportunities.
“The programme has been informed by rich consultation with our longstanding partners in Africa and rigorous research activity to understand the complex underlying challenges and will be delivered at a scale that allows us to target and meaningfully reach underserved communities, wherever they are located.”
On her part, Wendy Thomson, vice chancellor of University of London, said: “The partnership and resource made possible by this generous gift from Babalola offers a timely opportunity for us to develop transnational education programmes for young Africans in collaboration with King’s College London and a network of African institutions, that would not otherwise be possible.
“We are deeply grateful to Babalola for his foresight and appreciation of the value education brings to personal and social development. Through the centre being established in his name, we will develop quality transnational programmes that will leave an enduring legacy.”
