Afe Babalola seeks Fed Govt’s help to fix deplorable Ado-Ijan road
The Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), has urged the Federal Government to expedite action on the reconstruction of the Ado-Ijan road. The eminent lawyer
The Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), has urged the Federal Government to expedite action on the reconstruction of the Ado-Ijan road.
The eminent lawyer said the residents and other road users were suffering due to its deplorable state.
Babalola said the condition of the road had continued to cause hardship for commuters, noting that the situation was negatively affecting academic and economic activities in the state.
The ABUAD founder spoke at this year’s edition of the annual Aare Afe Babalola Distinguished Personality Lecture Series at the university’s campus in Ado-Ekiti.
Describing the road as a critical access route, Babalola said it connects the state capital to neighbouring states and serves major institutions, including ABUAD, the Federal Polytechnic, and the Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport.
The elder statesman noted that although the Federal Government had awarded the contract for the expansion of the trunk “A” highway over a year ago, work has been going on at a slow pace.
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He urged the contractor handling the project to intensify efforts, saying: “Whoever is given the contract of that road, please, everybody should say please, help us to work day and night. We know what we suffer.
“I learnt it from my teachers who lives outside and plies that road. Teachers who don’t want to come late, come late because of this road. Teachers who want to stay till 11 o’clock to work with my students want to go back home because of this road. We are suffering. We are losing.”
Babalola hailed Governor Biodun Oyebanji for delivering one of the best public lectures he has heard recently.
The legal luminary noted that the lecture was lucid, easy to understand, stimulating, deep and capturing key ingredients that enriched the understanding of the audience on the principles of continuity and succession in governance.
He advised the governor to consider coming back to ABUAD at the end of his public service to lecture students and share his insights and experience in governance as a means of giving back to humanity
Delivering the lecture, titled: “Building Legacies: Governance, Successor-Generation and Continuity,” Governor Oyebanji said the state was reaping benefits of deliberate policy of continuity of programmes, policies and projects that add value to governance and beneficial to the people.
Oyebanji said the best way to preserve legacy and ensure continuity is to deeply entrench institutional systems that carry on seamlessly even in the absence of pioneers and achieve sustainable development in all key sectors.
The governor urged the leaders to always develop a pragmatic succession plan that sustain laudable vision and enlistment of dedicated and capable lieutenants who do not only believe in the vision but also committed to its continuation and improvement.
He stated that he had been prepared for his present role right from under the tutelage of the first elected governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo and his predecessor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in which he held the positions of Special Assistant, Special Adviser, Chief of Staff, Commissioner, Director General, and Secretary to the State Government (SSG).
According to him, the offices held before he became the governor gave him opportunities to serve the people, add value to governance, and gain requisite experience from leaders who deliberately put in place succession plans that is presently benefiting the state.
Responding to questions from students, Oyebanji dismissed concerns that Nigeria was drifting towards a one-party state.
The governor noted that the current political landscape reflects the choices of individuals and groups aligning with a dominant party for strategic reasons.
Commenting on youth development, the governor advised students to prioritise skill acquisition and entrepreneurship alongside formal education.
He urged them to think beyond certificates and prepare themselves to become job creators in a rapidly evolving economy.
