Afe Babalola - 'We should imbibe the spirit of self-sustainability'

The former Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos said diversifying to areas other than academics would make universities financially strong and less dependent on their owners.

Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, has urged universities to engage in ventures that will make them self-sustainable and impact positively on their immediate environment.

Speaking while hosting officials of the South African investment firm, AFRO BOIS on June 9, Babalola said his university is setting the pace in the areas of investment in businesses to make profit and create more jobs for the citizens.

He also added that his university decided to invite the team from South Africa for the purpose of finding ready market for its Teak Trees.

The legal luminary said the trees run into over one million stands among other export products grown on the institution’s large expanse of farms.

The former Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos said diversifying to areas other than academics would make universities financially strong and less dependent on their owners.

Apart from investment in business, Babalola said ABUAD has become a model in academic excellence as it now ranks as the second best private university in Nigeria.

Babalola told the guests from the former apartheid enclave that ABUAD has invested in ventures like merchandise, hospitality, farming, fishing, bakery, laundry, food processing, fruit juice processing and general consultancy.

He added that the university is building a teaching hospital to provide quality medical training and healthcare delivery, which will soon be ready for inauguration.

Babalola said: “We are not only good academically, we are also showing others how to imbibe spirit of self-sustainability.”

The leader of AFRO BOIS delegation, Mike Burgess, explained that there is presently a global market for timber.

He said trees produced by ABUAD Farms have the capacity of being processed for marketing.

Burgess added that his organisation deals majorly in agricultural products, lumbering marketing and processing.