Babalakin: Collective Intellect Critical for Growth

The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), has called for the harnessing of Nigeria’s collective intellect. This, he said, would speed up the nation’s growth.

Babalakin spoke in Lagos at the maiden edition of the UNILAG ProChancellor’s Distinguished Annual Lecture Series. The lecture, titled: ‘Responding to Nigeria’s Disease Outbreaks and Epidemics: Ebola, Zika and HIV’, was delivered by Prof. Phyllis Kanki, a professor of Immunology and Infectious Disease from the Harvard School of Public Health.

The event was chaired by Justice Olayinka Ayoola, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court.

Babalakin, who initiated the lecture series, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria, said the objective was to accelerate Nigeria’s educational exposure, harness talents and bring to Nigeria gifted people from all areas of human endeavor who have contributed to advancing knowledge.

His words: “It is because of this premise that we have sought out Prof. Phyllis Kanki, who is an outstanding professor of medicine at Harvard University and whose research in HIV/AIDS has been very beneficial to limiting the scourge of this deadly disease. Our lecture is designed to continue to find those who fit into this category. “

Emphasising the importance of education in problem solving, Babalakin said: “It is our view that education is going to liberate Nigeria.” “Until we get our education sector right, we will continue to dwell in underdevelopment and be unable to attend to the needs of our people. In 2001, I delivered a lecture at the Government College, Ibadan (GCI), titled ‘The Nigerian Intelligentsia, an Endangered Species’. In 2001, it sounded like a false alarm,” he said.