From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
LEGAL icon and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, has cautioned governors against creating universities in their states for political reasons, saying many of the universities created can hardly endure when they are no longer in power.
He also lamented the prevalence of illegal universities and called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the National Universities Commission(NUC) and the Ministry of Education to start prosecuting and confiscating property of their operators.
The legal icon, who underscored the need to save the country’s universities from impending destruction, urged NUC to be strict and thorough in its regulations for the establishment of universities and stop the recurrent cases of establishing mushroom institutions destroying the system.
Babalola spoke, yesterday, in Ado-Ekiti, at the ninth convocation ceremony of the institution, where 1,415 graduands bagged various degrees.
At the ceremony, ABUAD conferred honorary doctorate degrees on Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, Ooni of Ife, Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe and the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.
Zulum, Ooni of Ife and Ewi of Ado-Ekiti bagged Doctor of Letters degrees respectively while the Emir of Ilorin, who was represented by the Turaki of Ilorin, Soliu Mustapha, received Doctor of Laws degree.
Babalola said: “Most disappointedly, the National Assembly for sometime now approved the establishment of one-subject university in their constituency. One remembers the fate of state universities established by some governors in their localities, which were not sustainable after they left power. I call these universities political universities. I call on NUC, which in law is authorised to approve establishment of universities to ensure the conditions laid down in law are strictly followed. NUC on its website had been publishing names of illegal universities annually. This means no action had been taken against those discovered in previous years.”