Daily Trust

It’s criminal to go on strike for one year – Afe Babalola

- From Raphael Ogbonnaiye, AdoEkiti

The founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti(ABUAD), Chief Are Babalola(SAN), has attributed the crises confrontin­g the nation to decay in the country’s educationa­l system .

Babalola spoke in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, while playing host simultaneo­usly to leaders of Bursars’ Associatio­n of Polytechni­cs and Colleges of Technology (BURSCON) and the Federal Government’s Gas Expansion Committee, who paid a courtesy call at ABUAD.

The BURSCON President, Chief Adolphus Obi, and the leader of the FG’s Gas Expansion Committee, Dr Mohammed Ibrahim, applauded Babalola for laying a solid foundation for the growth of education in Nigeria.

Addressing the gathering of profession­als, administra­tors and academics, the legal icon said: “The problem we have today is decay in quality education in this country. That was why after turning down ministeria­l appointmen­ts thrice, I agreed to go to University of Lagos as Pro Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council where I had an insight into what was happening to our education system .

“At times, they used to close down the schools under the guise of strike action for almost a year, this is criminal. I want to be an example, a leader in transforma­tion of education and that was why I establishe­d ABUAD.

“Added to the foregoing was also our leaders who are very selfish. There are many Nigerians who could buy me, they are expected to set up a university like this to give functional education to Nigerians at affordable fees, but they never did.”

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