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From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
The proprietor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), has said that he has achieved the goal of establishing a word-class university despite founding the institution at old age
Babalola said he founded ABUAD which commenced academic session with 240 students on January 4, 2010 when he was about 80 years old.
The nonagenarian who said he didn’t see his age as an obstacle, said no time should be seen as too late for anyone to start any meaningful venture and record success in it
Babalola likened the young university to a young person carrying an old head on young shoulders, noting that the recent ranking of ABUAD by the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings among the best 100 universities in the world and No. 1 in Nigeria for four consecutive years: 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, was a dream come true.
The legal icon made the remarks at the 16th anniversary of the commencement of the university held at the institution’s campus in Ado-Ekiti.
He said the 16 years old university has carved a niche for itself in the global space, and has continued to grow in leaps and bounds, outshining the nation’s older generation universities.
“All of you have done well. As a matter of fact, I can beat my chest that our hope. our prayers and our wishes for establishing and running a world-class university have come true.
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“And that goes to confirm one very important thing: that it is not too late for anybody to venture into anything and make a success out of it. I started this university when I was about 80 years old.
“But look at where we are today. It is no longer news that we are a world-class university. It is no longer news that we are the clear leaders in Law, Medicine and Engineering and several other disciplines. It is no longer news that we have surpassed those far older than us.”
The senior advocate urged the management and staff of the university not to rest on their oars but to continue to work harder to sustain the successes it has attained and also record more achievements.
“We must be conscious of the fact that getting to the top is easy, but remaining there calls for more work. We must not be blown away by the waves of our successes.
“I am, therefore, using this opportunity to call on our staff, both academic and non-academic, to do everything morally and legally possible to ensure that the university maintains the stream of successes it has attained in the last 16 years.”
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, hailed Babalola for his huge investment in teaching, infrastructure, research among others.
She extolled the virtues and leadership style of the founder, attributing the enormous achievements to his commitment to hard work and excellence.
