Founder of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola, has revealed that managing educational institution across the world is capital intensive, saying competent and selfless administrators are crucial to the success of any university.
Afe Babalola who spoke while receiving a delegation from the Azman University, Kano established in 2018 in ABUAD on Thursday said the proprietor of the Kano-based institution, Abdulmanaf Sarina, must be involved in the day to day running of the university to make it a world-class institution of learning.
The head, Corporate Affairs of ABUAD, Mr Tunde Olofintila quoted the frontline lawyer in a statement to have said that modern teaching techniques and competent lecturers are the only way to produce globally competitive graduates that would provide solutions to societal problems.
He added that with Sarina’s antecedent and experience in business, it would not be difficult for the university to emulate ABUAD in offering quality and functional education to the people.
Babalola said the decision to adopt his university as a Mentor by Azman University was not a surprise, ” because other universities from within Nigeria and outside Nigeria have been approaching my 10-year old university for the same purpose.”
Leading a 12-man team to the university, the Chairman of the Implementation Committee, Professor Kabiru Dandago commended Babalola for selflessness and commitment in establishing ABUAD, ” that has been the toast of many others in a short period of ten years.”
He hailed the astonishing infrastructural facilities and academic excellence of ABUAD in less than ten years of existence, saying his team was not disappointed with the level of what they met.
Dandago who said the National University Commission (NUC) directed Azmar to make ABUAD its mentor, noted that the facilities in the university confirmed the advice from the NUC.
According to him, ” It is interesting to know that every university we have been to said we should go to Afe Babalola University if we want to establish a world-class university
“I am happy that I am leading my colleagues here. Since we arrived yesterday, we have seen that this is a university with a difference. We have gone round the Colleges, we have gone round the Multi-system Hospital and the farm and have seen why the NUC said we should come here for mentorship.
” I thank the Founder for his selflessness in establishing a university like this. It has gone to confirm his vision, his dream and his selflessness. Now that we have seen what stands ABUAD, we will go back home and report back to our Proprietor, Alhaji Abdulmanaf Sarina, and we will take it from there.”
