- No fewer than 99 out of 1,074 graduating students of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, who were awarded Bachelor degrees during the Seventh convocation of the institution held on Monday, have bagged first class.
No fewer than 99 out of 1,074 graduating students of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, who were awarded Bachelor degrees during the Seventh convocation of the institution held on Monday, have bagged first class.
At the event, the university conferred honorary doctoral degrees on the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Bola Tinubu; the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar; the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe; and an entrepreneur and Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer, Green Energy International Limited, Prof. Anthony Adegbulugbe.
Speaking, Tinubu described sound and qualitative education as a good weapon that could deliver any country from poverty, disease and ignorance.
He added that it was the reason for huge investments in the education sector by governments at all levels and individuals like the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Chief Afe Babalola.
Tinubu said, “Education is the light of a nation and ignorance its darkness. Only with that light can we hope to discover the right path to follow in order to realise our greatness as a nation.
“There is no nation building, if the people are not built. Afe Babalola is a builder and this has reflected in the qualities of ABUAD graduates. We are very proud to be associated with you.
“We know that lack of economic facilities in many of our public institutions is affecting our nation. There will be rehabilitation of facilities in the areas of roads and more infrastructure will be provided in other sectors.
“We will not give you Nigerian excuses. We are practical and pragmatic economists. To many of you graduands today, the future is not bleak; it is real. We can be your symbols, so that you can be more successful than many of us.
“It is good to get education, but you must match this with character. And if you fail to emulate Afe Babalola, your Bachelor degrees are nothing. Let this institution go through you as go into the world.
“I understand the university accords special attention to the sciences and technology. This is as it should be. I urge you to consider imparting solid knowledge and proper guidance in those areas where our youths can, upon graduation, begin to reshape the world around them by using their knowledge and ingenuity to improve extant economic processes and to embark on novel and innovative enterprises that will undergird national prosperity for decades to come.”
In his address, Babalola, described ABUAD as a child of circumstance, saying the university had arrived and that the 10-year plan, with which he prosecuted the development agenda, had been improved upon.
The ABUAD founder appealed to the Ekiti State Government for assistance in the areas of road construction, saying, “We learnt that FERMA had awarded a contract for the construction of a road, but it was badly executed. We also need an independent power plant because all over the world, universities sustain and subsist through endowment and donations from private bodies.
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, who was represented by his deputy, Bisi Egbeyemi, hailed Babalola for the exploits in the university within 10 years of its existence. He promised that the government would support the university in its pursuit of excellence.
