Afe Babalola laments non-issuance of free trade zone certificate to ABUAD

Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Afe Babalola, has described the refusal by the Federal Government to issue a free trade certificate to his university as discouraging and embarrassing.

Babalola, who raised the concern in Ado-Ekiti, while hosting delegates from the China-Nigeria Consortium on Industry and Education, held at the ABUAD-China partnership forum meeting, yesterday, said the over 132-unit ABUAD Industrial Park, located in Ado-Ekiti, was enough to turn the story of Nigeria around if well annexed and utilised.

He wondered why China, which was a very poor country some years ago, could suddenly overtake Nigeria in the scheme of economic matters.

According to Babalola, the certificate would have enabled foreign firms to establish businesses in the park, thereby boosting Nigeria’s economy.

The ABUAD founder stressed that a free trade zone would facilitate international trade and industrial activities, ultimately contributing to the country’s economic growth.

Babalola, who, however, lamented that such progressive ideas would have been embraced under the defunct regional government system, reiterated his call for a people-oriented constitution to foster national development.

“In 1999, I to China. At that time, China was a very poor country, but the Chinese people were very wise. They created an area called a free trade zone, which allowed countries like the United States (U.S.) and Germany to set up industries there.

“Unknowingly to those countries, the Chinese learned from these foreign industries, which eventually contributed to their remarkable global development today.

“However, for the past two years, I have applied for the same concept here but the government has refused to grant us a free trade zone certificate,” he said.

In her address, Secretary-General of the China-Nigeria Consortium on Industry and Education, Wendy Wang, who spoke through an interpreter, commended Babalola for his visionary achievements in education, engineering, and health.

She described ABUAD as the best institution in Nigeria, highlighting its integration of cutting-edge technologies in its curriculum.

Also, in her welcome address, the Vice Chancellor of ABUAD, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, commended Babalola for allowing the partnership between the university and China to thrive.

She described the visit as a replica of an earlier one made by her and a select ABUAD team to China during a working tour recently.

She said that, with the partnership, ABUAD would soon start manufacturing vehicles and robots.