Legal luminary and founder of Afe Babalola University at Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, SAN has expressed worry over the low level of women in Nigeria’s political space and leadership positions.
Babalola spoke at the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital during an event in partnership with the UN Women to mark this year’s edition of International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration.
The legal icon said the age-long discrimination against women had reached an alarming rate, stressing that some still erroneously believe that it is a waste of resources to even educate a female child.
According to him, “When as a young adult I was admitted into an infant class at Emmanuel School in Ado-Ekiti in 1937, we were 25 in the class. There were only five girls among us, and only one of them completed the eight-year programme, leading to the award of the Primary Six School Leaving Certificate.
“Things have changed since then, especially with my university, ABUAD, where today girls outnumber the boys.
“It is such that at a time, it once occurred to me that I should change the university to girls’ only. As a matter of fact, as I speak, I made sure the Vice Chancellor, the Registrar, the Librarian, among several others, are all women.
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“And the good news is that they are all performing very well.”
He urged women in Nigeria Africa and across the globe to fight for their rightful place in politics.
According to him, it is regrettable that women do not play active and effective roles in politics, to belong to platforms through which they can fight for themselves.
Babalola also called for compulsory education for women, and the need to draft a constitution that would guarantee equity, fairness and justice to all Nigerians, irrespective of sex or religion.
The UN Country Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Beatrice Eyong, who commended Babalola for his philanthropist gestures, said women play an important role in the development of society.
Eyong said women hold a duty to be affirmative the significant roles they are naturally made to perform.
” In Nigeria, UN Women has been at the forefront of advocating for gender-responsive policies, supporting women’s political participation, and working with communities to prevent gender-based violence.
” Through initiatives like the HeForShe campaign, we actively engage men and boys as allies in the fight for equality.
” Today, we are proud to strengthen our partnership with ABUAD, ensuring that the next generation of leaders is equipped with the values of inclusion, equity, and social justice.
” This year’s theme, “For All Women and Girls: Rights, Equality, Empowerment,” #Accelerate Action is a call to move beyond conversations and take meaningful steps toward change. It is not enough to recognize gender disparities; we must actively dismantle them.
“We must address the persistent issues that confront Nigerian women—limited access to education, inadequate economic opportunities, limited access to leadership opportunities, gender-based violence, and discriminatory cultural norms. These are not women’s issues alone—they are societal issues, and they demand a collective response,” she said.
Also, the Secretary to the Ekiti State Government (SSG), Professor Habibat Adubiaro, said Ekiti is one of the leading states having the highest number of women occupying top elective and appointive positions.
ABUAD’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, said the institution remained the number one centre of gender equity and inclusiveness with women holding major key offices.
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