Ayeleru exits Nigeria French language village in grand style

It was all accolades, expression of goodwill and outpouring of emotions, as friends and associates of Prof. Lateef Babatunde Ayeleru, as well as staff members at departmental and sectional levels in the Nigeria French Language Village, organised series of activities spanning five consecutive days to honour the Director / Chief Executive Officer as he ends his five-year tenure.

The series of activities began with a novelty football match organised by the Ajara All Stars International Club on Saturday on the sports field of the Nigeria French Village.

The purpose, according to the President of the Club, Mr. Zakari Adamu, a Fellow of the Nigeria French Language Village ‘is to thank God for Professor Ayeleru and to appreciate him for his support to the Club’. The club, thereafter, conferred on the outgoing Director the title of a Patron of Ajara All Stars International Club.

Next was another group identified as ‘Friends of Prof Lateef Babatunde Ayeleru. FNAL” who hosted the outgoing Director / CEO and his wife to a dinner on Sunday at the Senior Staff Club, in appreciation of the friendship they shared with him. His Colleagues from the various Academic Departments took turn to celebrate him on Monday, reeling out his achievements that have led to an improved status of the Inter-University Centre better than he met it.

Later on same day, the newly recruited staff, majority of who are young Nigerian across various professions gave him a grand reception in the auditorium as they named him hero as a result of the way he has impacted them as well as his humility in relating with people across age groups, firmness in implementing policies, fairness in dealing with cases.

Members of health services department led by Matron Abodunrin Onafalujo were not also left out as they featured during the programme to present their gift as a token of appreciation to the Chief Executive Officer.

On Tuesday, Heads of Directorate Units honoured their Head of Department in his Office to express their goodwill and wish him well as they equally present gifts in appreciation of his possitive impact on their various Units.

Staff members of his office also towed the path of friends, well wishers and their colleagues in adding to the sweet memories which Prof. Ayeleru is taking along with him.

In response, Prof. Ayeleru expressed his profound gratitude to the organisers for their kind gestures, stating that his achievements were a collective effort by all role players in the Nigeria French Language Village.

He charged the newly employed who he referred to as his legacies to justify their employment through dedication to their various duties. It is necessary to state that the Governing Council of the Nigeria French Language Village has resolved to hold a send-forth in honour of Professor Ayeleru some weeks after the assumption of duties of the newly appointed Director / CEO, Prof. Samuel Oladiipo Kolawole.

The achievements of Prof. Lateef Babatunde Ayeleru in the Nigeria French Language Village include: Training seven thousand, eight hundred and forty-two (7,842) students in various aspects of French language studies in the institution; introducing online French programme for business professional and other needs of Nigerians; capacity building, six academic staff are undergoing doctorate degree programmes and two staff have completed the programme. In addition, 80 academic and non-teaching staff also received training on topic relevant to their job schedule while 14 management staff members were trained on procurement; implementation of the National Universities Commission’s-initiated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Nigeria French Language Village and the Lagos State University, which enabled the promotion of six senior academic staff to professorial cadre; resolution of Strained Relationship between the Nigeria French.

Language Village and French Embassy leading to access to technical support in the following areas; Sponsorship of ten (10) lecturers on a three-week training in France on teaching French as a Foreign Language (FLE) methodology; installation of Wifi: Microwave Internet with SMT-1 (155Mbps) bandwidth Campus Wireless

Area Network (WAN) was installed.
Scholarship for DELF / DALF Examination: 100 undergraduates students in the Nigeria French Language Village benefit from scholarship to write the examination yearly and 69% success rate was recorded.

Donation of 500 books on French as a Foreign Language

Installation of E-library
Equiping three classrooms with Interractive Boards and furniture
Transmission of French Village Establishment Bill to the Presidency

Successful Hosting of the 20thUFTAN Conference
Book Project (Festschrift) titled “Readings in Essays and Literatures” in honour of Professor Raufu Adebisi, the immediate past Director / CEO of the Village. The book, edited by Babatunde Ayeleru, Simeon Olayiwola and Richard Ajah was launched on October 11, 2023 in a grand style.

Inaugural Lectures series hosted by the first set of Professors produced by the NUC-initiated Memorandum of Understanding between the Nigeria French Language Village and the Lagos State University. The first, titled “Three Decades of Simulation and Interpreting Fiction: Stakes and Gains in the Nigeria French Language Village” on 12th October, 2023, delivered by Prof. O. A. Laditan of the Department of Literary and Cultural Studies. The second Inaugural Lecture, titled Symbiosis of Culture, Language and Literature: The African Experience was delivered by Professor J. A. Adeleke on Tuesday, December 3, 2025 from same department.

Infrastructural Development / Capital Projects include:
Rehabilitation of Electricity
Supply and installation of all- in – one solar powered street lights
Supply and Installation of 500KVA generator
Supply and installation of 150KVA generator

Improvement of Road Network/ Extension of Concrete Drains
Rehabilitation of Students’ Hostel (Princess Hall)
Purchase of Ambulance
Purchase of Identity Card Producing Machine and Shredding machine
Extension of Academic Building
Renovation of the classroom Blocks
Purchase of steel bunk beds and mattresses to replace the old and dilapidated wooden bunk beds
Rehabilitation of Administrative Blocks A & B
Rehabilitation of 2 Blocks of C & D female Students’ Hostels.
Construction of a maintenance building
Reconstruction of the Clinic building

11.0 Proposed Postgraduate Programmes
Prof. Lateef Babatunde Ayeleru-led administaration has concluded plan to commence postgraduate programm in affiliation with the University of Caen in France in the following areas:
Masters in Language and Linguistics
Masters in Literature (African /Metropolitan French Literature
Masters in Translation and Interpretation
Masters in French as a Foreign Language
PhD in Language and Linguistics
PhD in Translation and Interpretation
PhD in French as a Foreign Language
12.0 Collaboration between the Nigeria French Language Village and Armed Forceson French Language training to their Officers and Men for effective intelligence gathering to tackle insurgency.
13.0Advocacy to discourage Nigerian Institutions from patronizing and Ferrying French students to illegal centres across the borderleading to a remarkable improvement on students’ enrolment in the Village.
14.0Promotion and Upgrading of Deserving Staff to Senior Positions and upgrading of qualified members of staff.

Awards Presentatation
The Ayeleru-led administration honored distinuished Nigerians and Best Performing Staff with Award. Six distinguished Nigerians were honoured with Fellowship Awards; five senior public servants in the Military and Seme Border Officials received Merit Awards. It was in recognition of their effort in collaborating with NFLV to beef up security on campus and facilitate seamless passage of students on excursion to Benin Republic at Seme Border. Best Performing Staff Awardwas presented to seventeen (17) Staff members that distinguished themselves in outstanding performance on their duties.

16.0 Collaboration with Security Agencies – the Nigerian Army, the Police, the Civil Defence Corps and the Department of State Services to secure lives and property on campus

Increase in the institution’sasset through the donation of an entire library and two apartments by late Prof. Tunde Fatunde

Considering the above achievements, Professor Lateef Babatunde Ayeleru, FNAL. the fourth Director / Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria French Language Village has consolidated the foundation laid by his predecessors, left an indelible foot print in the sand of time and posterity will forever be fair to him.

Sessi Fagbeji-Agemo, Mrs.
Deputy Registrar (Information & Protocol)