Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, has said that the quality of education in Nigeria had degenerated to the extent that many graduates cannot defend their certificates.
Babalola, who expressed displeasure at the growing declining standards of education, particularly university education, called for urgent action to correct the trend before it was too late.
He said this during a reception for 37-year-old Prof Damilola Sunday Olawuyi, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Research, Innovation and Strategic Partnerships of the institution who recently became a SAN.
The ABUAD founder, who spoke on how his law chambers produced 24 SANs, including Olawuyi of his university, said, “I love bright, hardworking and industrious people, like Prof Olawuyi.
“My inclination towards bright and brilliant people has influenced the way I have been running my chambers over time. I have made it abundantly clear that the senior lawyers owe it a duty to take good care of their juniors,” he said.
Babalola, who said poor education was worse and more dangerous than illiteracy, said, “Due to poor education, Nigeria is today producing graduates whose education makes them more dangerous than uneducated people.
“Today, Nigeria produces graduates who cannot write simple and correct sentences, graduates who do not understand the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs, graduates who cannot defend their certificates.
“Whereas our towns will only be better if we have quality education, our nation will be better if we have quality education and the world will be better if we have quality education.
According to him, ABUAD is replicating the type of quality and functional education that he had in primary school.
Taking pride in the feat achieved by Olawuyi, Babalola said, “We have again made history by producing the youngest academic senior advocate at the age of 37.
“I can recall very vividly that I produced the youngest SAN so far in Nigeria and that was when Lateef Fagbemi, SAN of my chambers was elevated to the Inner Bar at the age of 33,” he said.