By: Tunde Olofintila
Shortly after breakfast today, Saturday, December 27, 2025, the legal colossus and Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola, OFR, CON, SAN, LL. D (London), Fellow, King’s College, London, FNAE, will round off the on-going year with a most deserving Award for daring all odds, including grinding poverty, to rise from zero to the international hero that he has become today.
The well merited Award is coming 355 days after Babalola flagged off the out-going year with a most befitting and dignifying celebration of the 15th Anniversary of the commencement of unbroken Academic works in his university on Monday, January 6, earlier in the year, thus giving verve to the wise saying that “All is well that ends well”.
Babalola’s odyssey is the story of a man who fought and conquered grinding and debasing poverty right from his root in Ado-Ekiti where he grew without a pair of shoes, living in a house without doors and parenthood that could afford money for his education beyond Primary School.
The latest and well-thought-out Award tagged “Award for Daring” by People of the Fountain Television, POF-TV, has become an additional fluffy feather to the legal mogul’s already well-adorned hat of numerous Awards, Fellowships from institutions of higher learning and Professional Associations/Bodies and Chieftaincy titles across the country and even beyond.
This Award among a retinue of others is in appreciation of Babalola’s name which reverberates from Ewi’s palace in Ado-Ekiti through the Alaafin’s Palace in the ancient city of Oyo where he was decorated with the frontline chieftaincy title of Aare Baamofin of Yorubaland to Aso Rock where his name echoes as an Officer of the Federal Republic, OFR, and Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON.
On the international arena, 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 students of African descent from the pangs of ignorance, lack, want and poverty through quality education.
The cheering news was contained in a letter dated December 12, 2025, signed by the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of POF-TV, Mr. Deji Olayinka, a seasoned Broadcaster of note.
According to Olayinka, Babalola’s nomination for the Award is premised on his name, Afe Babalola, a name which he proclaimed, “has no doubt grown into a formidable and distinguished brand in Nigeria, across Africa and now on the global stage”.
He added: “Your attribute of daring which reflects in a myriad of ways, including but not limited to your most uncommon courageous journey out of Ekiti to Ibadan at a young age, armed with nothing more than a Standard Six Certificate and the resolve not to return home until you had succeeded in life, remains one of the most inspiring chapters of your story.
“The spartan discipline that shaped your early life in Ibadan, your dedication to continuous home study and your emergence as one of the best in the University of London GCE O’ and A’ Level Examinations through Correspondence.
“Your legal career, which began in humble circumstances, evolved into one distinguished by a remarkable chain of successes – nationally, continentally and internationally.
“Through sheer hard work, you rose to the pinnacle of the legal profession, becoming a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, a Fellow and former President of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators, a Legal Consultant to Federal and State Governments as well as major institutions, and the Chairman of a key National Conference Committee, among other distinguished roles.
“It takes the heart of a lion to decline high profile government appointments, as you did when you turned down offers to serve as a Judge exactly when you turned 10 years at the Bar and later as the Attorney General of the Federation.
“As the Pro-Chancellor & Chairman of Council of the University of Lagos, from 2001 to 2008, you were acknowledged and celebrated for serving pro bono. In appreciation of your sterling contributions to the University, you were twice named the Best Pro-Chancellor in Nigeria and later elected the Chairman of all Pro Chancellors of Nigerian universities.
“At about 80 years of age, you established Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) – an institution which in just 15 years has won many national and international laurels and accolades and has become the toast of its peers, including those that are several decades older than it.
“Through your unwavering commitment to goal setting, ceaseless pursuit of dreams and visionary leadership in shaping innovative educational policies, ABUAD was on June 18, 2025, in faraway Turkey, rated among the Best 100 Universities in the world and No. 1 in Nigeria for four consecutive years: 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
“Your profile is incomplete without acknowledging your philanthropy which continues to inspire and transform lives and institutions around the world.
“Your life radiates integrity, honour, industry, foresight and dogged resilience, anchored on an unyielding belief in yourself – aptly captured in the title of your enthralling Autobiography, Impossibility Made Possible.
“In view of the foregoing – and indeed much more – you have been specially selected for the distinguished maiden edition of the POF TV’s Award for Daring”.
Reacting to the cheering news in Ado-Ekiti, an elated Babalola thank God, his late parents and particularly POF-TV for x-raying his life history to justify the latest Award.
Babalola, a former Pro Chancellor & Chairman of Council of the University of Lagos appreciated the news of the latest Award, adding that the development will surely boost his resolve to do more for society with a view to leaving it better than he met it over nine decades ago.
He thanked his parents who he acknowledged as the Architects of his success story for sowing the seed of his going to school against his wish sometimes in January 1937, some 78 years ago.
According to him, the seed his parents sowed then has produced good fruits, more fruits, much fruits and varieties of great fruits for which he is eternally grateful.
His words: “They taught me the essence of industry, service and determination to succeed and to be self-reliant and self-sufficient. With those three concepts, I have been able to change things for good, my humble beginning notwithstanding. I am eternally grateful to them”.
He added: “The modest achievements I have made today are being emulated by others and so they too are doing so much to change the society we live in.
“There s this time-tested saying that if a child does not resemble his parents morphologically, he/she must resemble them behaviourally: in my own case, I am lucky, I resemble them both morphologically and behaviourally for I learnt the art of giving, kindness, generosity and industry from them.
“Even though my father had large expanse of cash and arable farms far away in the hills where we all worked, my mother still had her own farm not too far away from home. Then we used to work on the farms for 12 hours/day. But with the advent of electricity and other agents of modernity, I have since improved on that by working for a minimum of 18 hours each day with the firm belief that hard work doesn’t kill, rather, it pays off both in the short and long runs”.
For this nonagenarian who started the year with a celebration and ends it with yet another, certainly, all is well that ends well.
Olofintila, ABUAD’s Director of Corporate Affairs, wrote from Ado-Ekiti