By Abiodun Fanoro

Ekiti could most appropriately be called the Eastern State when referring exclusively to the Yoruba nation or “country.” And like the Biblical brightest and shiniest star in search of by the famous Three Wise Men from the East, which turned out to be Jesus Christ, the lone Centennial Star from the East of the Yoruba “country”is Aare Afe Babalola, an enigma of sort and a testament of the incomprehensible and uncommon wonder of the creator of mankind!

It is an incontrovertible fact attested to globally that some enigma are born into the world and their generation only once in a century. And from all indices Aare Afe Babalola is one of such special people in his generation and in a century.

From birth till part of his early days, the likelihood of surviving infancy was almost nil due to the penury into which he was born. That, age-wise, he is now three years away from a century with a record of innumerable, amazing and multidimensional achievements as well as an empire in nature confirms the more that he is more than a human being. This is what has made Aare Afe Babalola amulti-disciplinary field of study.

In the Yoruba land, Babalola has become an uncommon person like some late Yoruba leaders, including Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Gani Fawhinmi as well as the living literary legend, Prof Wole Soyinka.

Call Babalola the moral compass of the Nigerian nation you are on course, call him educational pathfinder of the country, you will not be faulted, call him the legal luminary, the iconic lawyer, “akorin niwaju adajo or the human law school”, you are coasting home, call him the philanthropist, you are calling Afe, the benefactor to thousands of people.

In the realm of philanthropy, Afe is the proverbial “Igi Aba” in the village square that offers multi services to different people. Some people use it as protective shade against the biting sun, to some it is a relaxation centre to play “Ayo” game, ludo or draught. Some visit it for the ever present and nourishing fruit. In the afternoon, it is home for joyous and singing birds while in the night, home-bred animals (goat, sheep, hens) take their turn to use it as a dwelling home.

In the contemporary history of Ekiti people, it is not an overstatement that there is hardly any individual that has never held any political office who has surpassed the record of Babalola’s contributions to the development of the state. He concentrates on direct and indirect emancipation of Ekiti people at home from all fronts and across age grades and genders.

In the area of employment, it is the same unbeatable record where no individual or group has provided as many employment opportunities for Ekiti people and non- Ekiti as done in Babalola’s university, his mechanised farm as well as his furniture manufacturing company.

Afe is the “alternative” government in Ekiti! in terms of employment and welfare of the people.

The Aare Bamofin of Yoruba land is a self-made colossus exemplified by his unique history of obtaining his degrees externally from the University of London through sheer grit, illustrating a baseline determination that later shaped his multi-dimensipnal legacy achievements.

A mentor to the Bar, whose law firm, Afe Babalola & Co. (Emmanuel Chambers) founded in 1965, has for decades grown into an institutional nursery that has trained over 1,000 lawyers, dozens of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), judges, and attorneys-general. His patriotism and faith in Nigeria is unequalled, belonging to the corps of a few Nigerian elite who choose to aggressively invest in the country their personal wealth rather than retaining foreign assets as done by many other wealthy Nigerians.

One thing that is still intriguing about the legal giant is how he turned 360 degree to engineering the establishment of the prestigious Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti tailored after Havard University.

ABUAD as it is called which also sounds like Havard, is unconsciously styled after missionary schools, a home for students where discipline and moral education are immeasurably dished to them.

His administrative and managerial ingenuity came to the fore when he became the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the famous University of Lagos where he engineered massive turn-around of the institution. He was repeatedly voted the best Pro-Chancellor in Nigeria, attracting multi-million naira corporate interventions without drawing a personal emolument.

Babalola’s educational ventures are a natural expansion of his legal mind—using structured institutional frameworks to cure societal deficiencies and build a new generation of self-sufficient African leaders.

Fanoro, a media practitioner in Nigeria is the National President, Good Governance For National Unity.