SOUTH-WEST Nigeria is noted for its exemplary leadership position and its many firsts in the history of the country. The development earned the region the sobriquet of pacesetting region. It was noted for many historic firsts, the first television station in Africa, Nigeria Television Authority (NTA); premier university in the country, the University of Ibadan (UI), established in 1948; first teaching hospital in the country, University College Hospital (UCH); the first skyscraper, Cocoa House in Ibadan, among many others.
Aside the feat, the region also excelled in its model of education, leaping in bounds by producing renowned academics and professionals. Education in the defunct Western Region was par excellence and it towered the region above all others in the country. The success of free education programme of the premier of the region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, helped it to produce notable individuals shining like stars in the region today. Agriculture was the mainstay of economy of the region at the time, culminating in the construction of the first ever skyscraper in the country, the Cocoa House
The report could not be totally true today, as the region has traded off its pacesetting status, especially in the areas of education and agriculture. It has watched other regions take over what was its pride. In many growth indices, the South-West had been overtaken by other regions. In the area of education, statistics of results in West African Examination Council (WAEC) and others had relegated the region to the background.
To reinvent the pacesetting status, however, the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), has projected into the space, breaking the limitation and setting new record of academic pioneering in the country. The private institution, which started its academic activities on January 4, 2010, has also built for itself a multi-system teaching hospital, equipped with up-to-date state-of-the-art equipment, managed and run by reputable organisations in the world.
One of the famous quotes of President John F. Kennedy of the United States when he mooted the plan to send Americans to the moon in 1961 was: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” To Kennedy: “Everything we do [in space] ought to be tied into getting to the moon ahead of the Russians.” He made the race to the moon as the top priority of NASA and, except for defence, the top priority of the United States government. On May 25, 1961, Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress to announce his decision to go to the moon. He backed up this decision with remarkable financial commitments. In the immediate aftermath of his speech, NASA’s budget was increased by 89 per cent, and by another 101 per cent the following year. To carry out Apollo, NASA became the large engineering organisation centered on developing capabilities for human space flight that it is today.
To make history, great men accomplished things that are hard and same was the vision and focus of the founder of ABUAD. Chief Afe Babalola. He chose the hard path to keep the university in its pacesetting status. In one of the words of Chief Babalola: “I have emptied all my bank accounts, I have sold many of my properties to see this school grow and become the best I dreamt it to be.” For ABUAD, Chief Babalola has not minced words in describing the school as his vision and he was committed to making it the best it could be.
The university, a not-for-profit institution, has been leading by example in the provision of quality and functional education. The latest in its inventory being the planetarium constructed on its site and set for inauguration on May 21. The university’s 18m fix dome planetarium is the only one in Africa with astronomical observatory and one of the largest fixed planetariums in the world. Today, ABUAD has recorded another first. A university that began operation on less than 10 years ago has taken effort to project into the future.
The university also boasts of another first, not only in Nigeria but in Africa, as it will also inaugurate its sophisticated telemedicine equipment donated by its partner, Aster DM Healthcare of Dubai, for the ultra-modern 400-bed Multi System Hospital. The telemedicine equipment will assist the hospital in the area of tele-consulting, tele-diagnosis and tele-management of medical cases. It will also enable its partners in Dubai to join ABUAD in performing medical service in the institution by proxy.
The hospital will also inaugurate same day its multi-billion naira state-of-the-art College of Social and Management Science building. The building, a three-storey, was completed within four months at the cost of N1.5 billion. Its foundation was laid on December 16, 2017 and now ready for inauguration. Also for inauguration on the same day is the Postgraduate building and hall of residence built at a cost of N2 billion.
The university started with 240 students on January 4, 2010 and by 2018, the population has increased to 8,112 and in a way to encourage students to study agriculture, the institution slashes tuition fee for students by half and also pays them N250,000 on graduation day to start farming. The institution, at present,
Speaking with journalists after a tour of facilities in the institution, Chief Babalola said although the university is just eight years old, it has, within the period, received 100 per cent accreditation in all its 47 academic programmes.
“In the realm of medical education and quality medical care, we commissioned our ultra-modern 400-bed multi system hospital on October 20, last year. The hospital, which is built on 60 hectares of land, is equipped with most sophisticated and state-of-the-art hospital equipment that will enhance quality health care, teaching, training and research,” he said.
Stating his reasons for constructing the teaching hospital, he said: “when we started the medical college, as one of the conditions for accreditation, there must be a teaching hospital. We approached the then Federal Medical Centre, Ido-Ekiti and the panel recommended that to make it a teaching hospital status, its name must be changed to Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti. We did that alongside construction of structures and upgrade of the hospital. After a while, the medical staff went on strike. We resolved that and not long after, they went on another strike.”
The development, he said, motivated him to start in earnest the construction of what has become the multi-system 400-bed hospital, the first in the country with pneumatic tube system for the transportation of materials within the hospital, the first of its kind in the country. He said the hospital will work in partnership with Abbot, a renowned laboratory company, which would manage the equipment and profit shared in the ratio of 60:40.
The teaching hospital, in the word of the Provost, Professor Rotimi Sanya, is a quaternary hospital because it has facilities in place which are not found in near hospitals. He described the hospital as currently the best equipped in the country and set to solve the brain drain issue with adequate preparation for any complex medical case. The hospital is also equipped with equipment that allows live streaming of medical procedures, which could be viewed by relatives of patients as well as by other resident doctors.
The multi-system hospital boasts of 1.5 Tesla MIR, mammogram, digital X-ray, result of which can be sent to doctors anywhere in the world through electronic means, Fluoroscopy, bone densitometer, CT scan, diagnostic centre, ECG, ultrasound scan, anatomic pathology and forensic medicine centre and the VIP Lounge.
Chief Babalola said due to the state of road leading to the university, the institution is constructing a helipad to ease the movement of people, especially important personalities. He also said when fully operational, the hospital would be affordable for the middle clas, adding that no single patient would be turned back without being given due medical treatment.
A tour of the institution facilities showed a serene environment with well-trimmed grasses having talent discovery centre which has a swimming pool, fitness centre for all Olympic games and houses 59 indoor games. The Law college, rated as the best in West Africa by the Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC), having both virtual and physical library which can seat 550 students at a time, far above the stipulated standard of the NUC.
The College of Engineering houses 37 laboratories and one central workshop for the use of the university and its programme was described by the immediate past president of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Isaac Olorunfemi, as the “template for engineering education in Nigeria.” There is also the Alfa Belgore Hall with 6,000 seating capacity used for convocation and other activities. These features rank the university as one of the best. The university also boasts of a large expanse of land for farming purpose.
To Babalola, ABUAD is set to correct the trend that Nigerian graduates are worthless. The university is sited in Ado-Ekiti to take the South-West back to its glorious era and to reclaim its leadership in the country. Example, he said, is the best teacher and that is his aim to make ABUAD an example to other public and private institutions in the country.