AFE BABALOLA: A SEASON OF AWARDS AND REWARD
By: Tunde Olofintila
The elder statesman and Founder of the increasingly famous Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti, ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola, OFR, CON, SAN, is a man who means different things to different people, be it in Law, Education, Agriculture, Arbitration, Entrepreneurship, philanthropy, hard work, determination, writing and publication of law books as well as turning hopeless impossibilities into enviable possibilities among many of his other pastimes.
His primary constituency is humanity. His manifesto is service to mankind. He is not political but nationalistic. He is not of royal blood, but noble in deeds and character. He is not arrogant, but dignifiedly proud of his nation and profession. He is not violent, but fearsome because of his towering, intimidating and impeccable professional profile which he has painstakingly built for over six decades.
It is therefore not surprising that his ovation reverberates from Ewi’s palace in his root in Ado-Ekiti to the Alaafin’s palace in the ancient city of Oyo where he was awarded the frontline chieftaincy title of Aare Baamofin of Yoruba Empire.
His personality equally rings bells in Aso Rock where his name echoes as Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR), Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) and “Mr. Legal Fix It”.
On the international scene, the name Afe Babalola resonates far away in England on the Roll of Honour of the European Business Assembly in Oxford as the 2007 Winner of the prestigious Queen Victoria’s Commemorative Award and in King’s College, London, where he is a Fellow and where in partnership with the College, he established Afe Babalola African Centre for Transnational Education and donated the sum of £10million in 2023 to lift indigent African students from the pangs of ignorance, lack, want and poverty through quality education.
Through this partnership, Babalola is replicating what the University of London did in the past through its External Degree Programme which enabled the underprivileged in the Commonwealth to study at home.
It was this External Degree Programme that enabled this former Pro Chancellor & Chairman of Council of the University of Lagos to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics in 1959, LL. B (Hons.) in 1963 from the University of London and an Honourary LL. D of the same university in March 2015, his bucolic beginnings notwithstanding.
According to him, his financial contribution to this Programme is a 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 certainly would have ended up an unsung farmer or at best the Secretary of the Local Motor Union (courtesy of Bishop Mathew Kukkah).
The undeniable and enviable happenings in the life of this enigma whose formal education ended in Standard VI at Emmanuel Primary School, Ado-Ekiti, but rose from zero to hero, reminds one of the ever-green words of the Preacher in the Book of Ecclesiastes 3, to wit: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven”.
Deriving from that scripture, one could say with an air of finality and credibility that this is a season of Awards for Babalola, the Founder of ABUAD, recently ranked by the highly respected US-based 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.
Apart from the warren of Awards that has been Babalola’s lot over the years in appreciation of his sundry contributions to humanity, the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, on behalf of all the sons and daughters of Ado-Ekiti, last year set aside October 18 of every year as a day to honour this legal colossus for what was described as his “unalloyed commitment to public service with regard to Law,Education, Health, Community Development, Agriculture and display of generosity to those that might be fortunate to come across him in life”.
At the most successful maiden edition on October 18, last year during which Ado-Ekiti was shut down in celebration and jubilation, the altruistic Babalola, whose happiest moment is when people around him are happy, established two Cooperative Societies with ₦200 million to provide loans for 2,000 people at a minimum of ₦100,000 each. He insisted that members will pay only 5% interest to the cooperatives, compared to over 20% charged by banks.
In the last one year, the Cooperative Societies have become a beacon of hope for many low-income earners across Ekiti State with several beneficiaries now having their own small businesses, improving their farms and expanding existing trades thereby corroborating Babalola’s age-long belief that empowerment, not charity or distribution of palliatives, remains the most sustainable route to economic freedom.
The second edition of Aare Afe Babalola Day, held at the Ewi’s Palace, Ado-Ekiti, on Saturday, October 18, 2025, built upon that foundation established the previous year. The epoch-making event attracted the crème-de-la-crème of the society made up of members of the Bar and Bench, Royalty, the Clergy, Captains of Industry, members of the Diplomatic Corps and Academia as well Community Leaders to celebrate the man widely acclaimed as one of the founding fathers of Ekiti State.
At the event, Babalola frowned at the rising bank interest rates in Nigeria, describing it as one of the obstacles to economic independence, national development and citizen empowerment. He lamented that the prevailing 20% interest rate charged by Commercial Banks has inhibited access to credit facilities for small business owners and farmers, thereby fanning the embers of spiral unemployment and griding poverty.
Babalola, the giver, also announced an additional N100million donation to the Cooperative Societies, raising their total capital base to N300 million. The extra funds, he explained, would expand the reach of the scheme, allowing more beneficiaries to access affordable loans and grow sustainable businesses.
He urged members to adhere strictly to the Co-operative’s repayment structure and guidelines, stressing that with discipline and accountability, the success and continuity of the scheme are guaranteed.
Babalola also donated another N100million towards completion of the Ewi’s Palace Pavilion, a gesture which apart from underscoring his enduring dedication to community development also drew applause and spontaneous dancing from the audience.
A man of uncommon humility, he demonstrates philanthropy beyond borders, engraving his footprints with multi-billion Naira worth projects across the landscape of Nigeria and beyond.
Happily, Babalola’s efforts at making society better than he met more than nine decades ago are not in vain. Society, locally and internationally, has not failed to acknowledge his unusual and immense contributions to make the world a better place to live in.
With over 50 titles and Awards across the globe, including Honourary Doctor of Laws and Doctor of Letters from 10 universities, including University of London, University of Lagos, University of Ibadan and the elite Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, 12 Fellowships from institutions of Higher Education and Professional Bodies as well as many traditional titles, humanity has unequivocally and loudly demonstrated that Babalola, a man of commendable candour who has consistently redefined patriotism and reworked nationalism, is a rare gem with all-time and all-round relevance to the world around him.
Babalola’s good natured-ness and generosity of spirit is incomparable and unparalleled while his love and contributions to humanity are immeasurable and indescribable. He remains the man who relishes in lighting other people’s candles. No wonder, his own candle keeps glowing brighter and brighter.
While congratulating this citizen of the world of African descent, a man with insatiable appetite for hard work and excellence, one is compelled to assure this most altruistic man who is writing his name in indelible ink while others are writing theirs invisible ink that better days are ahead.
Olofintila, ABUAD’s Director of Corporate Affairs, writes in from Ado-Ekiti