* Babalola, wife, others receive awards of distinction
By Tunde Olofintila
The Founder and Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola CON, OFR, SAN, his wife, Yeye Aare Modupe Babalola, FSM, FNIMN, FFPA, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, and eight others have been rewarded with various Awards for their stellar contributions to the entrenchment of quality and functional education in the country.
Speaking at the well-attended Awards ceremony in Ado-Ekiti, Aare Babalola, the esteemed legal luminary, who received two awards – The Visionary Leadership and Innovation Award for his role in shaping the future of ABUAD Business School and a Golden Sceptre – a Legacy Award for Institutional Excellence, presented by the ABUAD Business School Postgraduate Students Association (APSA), decried the unpalatable trend where many people settle for less because of their self-inflicted failure to dream big and aim higher.
Emphasising that success comes to those who dream, plan, and relentlessly pursue their goals, the former Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the University of Lagos revealed that “The only thing I do is think about what I want to achieve during the day and dream about it at night with the firm belief that hardship or poverty is the mother of success. Hardship or poverty breeds character, character breeds industry and Industry breeds faith, faith never fails”.
Babalola therefore encouraged Nigerians to keep aiming for excellence like his staff members in ABUAD who he described as “fans and pioneers of change”.
His words: “A 15-man delegation from the Durban University of Technology (DUT) was in our university earlier in the week to see what we are doing here and how we have been able to achieve this much in barely 15 years of our existence as a university.
“I told them quite frankly that my staff are not employees, but fans. Just like Arsenal Football Club fans are not paid, we are not paying them. We only appreciate them for their unbending sacrifice and commitment. But they are all happy and ever willing to assist me on this self-imposed journey of reworking the equation of quality and functional education in Nigeria. That’s why we keep winning.
“That is one of the principal reasons why our 15-year-old university was rated in 2024 by the highly respected Times Higher Education Impact Rankings (THEIRS) as No. 1 in the World in SDG 7, No. 1 in the World in Outreach with a score of 98%, No. 1 in the World in Stewardship with a score of 98.2%, No. 1 among all the 264 Federal, State, and Private universities in Nigeria for three consecutive years: 2022, 2023 and 2024”.
He encouraged other ABUAD staff to take a cue from the award recipients, stressing that they should all appreciate that others are watching what they are doing.
Other award recipients were the Executive Chairman of ABUAD Ventures, Yeye Aare Modupe Babalola, FSM, FNIMN, FFPA, who was honoured with the Woman of Impact Award in recognition of her dedication and profound influence, which continues to inspire students and Faculty at ABUAD Business School. The Vice-Chancellor, Professor E. Smaranda Olarinde, FCArb, FCAI, received the Grand Leadership Honour for her unwavering dedication and commitment to the advancement of the university, which has seamlessly promoted excellence and placed students, staff, and faculty in enviable positions globally.
Also, ABUAD Registrar, Lady Christie Oluborode, bagged the “Students Advocate Award” for her passion and dedication to students’ empowerment, leaving a lasting impact on their academic and personal growth. The Recognition Award for Service in Support of Academic Excellence was presented to the Provost of the College of Social & Management Sciences, Professor Christopher Aina, in acknowledgment of his outstanding contributions to ABUAD Business School and students’ academic success.
Also, Dr Peter Alase was presented with the Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his outstanding commitment and invaluable contributions in teaching and research at the ABUAD Business School. The Director of ICT, Dr Adebayo Ogundipe: Recognition Award in Students Support & Partnership: in recognition of his commitment to exceptional students’ support and fostering of relevant partnerships in advancement of the Business School.
Also, the Director of Quality Assurance, Prof. Yekini Lawal: Quality Advocate Award (2023/2024 Session): for his passion for quality teaching output which has been crucial to the entrenchment of academic excellence at ABUAD Business School, Ibadan. The Provost, College of Social and Management Sciences, Prof. Christopher Aina: Recognition Award for Service in Support of Academic Excellence: for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of ABUAD Business School and students’ academic achievements.
The Immediate Past Provost of the College of Social & Management Sciences, Prof. Ademola Azeez: Award for Outstanding Professional Excellence for his exceptional scholarly engagement, mentorship & overall support of ABUAD Business School, and Prof. Adedayo Olutoye: Award for Outstanding Professional Excellence for his exceptional scholarly engagement, mentorship and overall support of ABUAD Business School.
Earlier, the Director of ABUAD Business School, Prof. Emmanuel Ayodeji, revealed that the selection process for the 10 Award recipients was conducted with utmost transparency.
Ayodeji said, “An assessment form was issued two months ago to ensure credibility and fairness. The outcome was very interesting. Some names kept coming up repeatedly. It was then we had a clear idea of what each person stands for. And that was how we came about the list of the Award recipients we are honouring today”.
Speaking on behalf of the Award recipients, the Director of Quality Assurance, Professor Yekini Olawaye Lawal, who received the Quality Advocate Award for his dedication to Academic excellence.
Lawal expressed appreciation to the organizers for the recognition, pledging to uphold the values of the institution by intensifying efforts toward the realization of ABUAD’s mission and objectives.
* Tunde Olofintila is the Director, Corporate Affairs, ABUAD
