…Decorated King’s College Fellowship
National University Commission(NUC) and security agencies have been tasked to arrest and prosecute owners and members of staff of all illegal universities in Nigeria.
Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, has called on the National Universities Commission (NUC) to move a step further by arresting and prosecuting both owners and staffers of the identified Universities and other private institutions in Nigeria .
The legal icon made the call immediately after his investiture as Fellow of the King’s College, London,” United Kingdom (UK).
Decorated by the International Engagement and Service of King’s College, London, for his transformative contributions to the society, Aare Babalola condemned NUC for its failure exact its authority and punish the culprits.
He said: “NUC published their names, why don’t they arrest owners of such illegal universities, why don’t you close them down?
“Why can’t they make the staffers of such universities face punishment and put them before the court of law and yet, they are building new ones everyday.
“The biggest menace facing quality education today, especially in Nigeria and across Africa, is the proliferation of mushroom satellite campuses and study centres that have long deviated from their original conceptualization and intent.
“What we expect is for the National University Commission (NUC) to close down mushroom universities. There are many universities which are illegal, which commenced operations without the permission of NUC.”
Aare Babalola declared that if societal ills such as religious bigotry, corruption, ineptitude, bribery are to be wiped out in the country, education remains the surest panacea to quality and productive living to ameliorating such ills in Nigeria.
“Poor leadership and fellowship, wanton acquisition of illegal wealth, disobedience to legitimate court orders are among such ills bedeviling the nation,” the legal icon said.
Congratulating the elder statesman, Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, commended the giant strides of the founder of ABUAD in academic fields of medicine, law, invention and sciences.
He said the footprints in virtually all sectors makes him father of the state, adding that his uncommon humanity and impact ranks him higher against all odds.
Governor Oyebanji was represented by the state’s Head of Service(HoS), Folakemi Olomojobi.
Meanwhile, the Vice President, International Engagement and Service of King’s College, London, Professor Funmi Olonisakin, who led the team to ABUAD, said the fellowship award was in recognition of the transformative contributions of the legal luminary to the society.
She said: “We are here to award the fellowship of King’s College, London to Aare Afe Babalola, whose fellowship is typically given to people who have made transformative contributions to the society at large or King’s College, London.”
In her remark, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Smaranda Olarinde stated that the investiture was in recognition of Afe Babalola’s efforts in all ramifications, which according to her, makes the legal icon the exemplar of the power of transformative education.