20th July, 2023
Every institution requires a combination of factors to thrive, yet the most critical amongst the mix is the place and role of human driver(s). In the case of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti, the role and place of its founder and chancellor, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, is well known to observers. Yet, another personality in the firmament of the institution is the current Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Professor E.S. Olarinde, a tireless and extremely hard-working chief-executive officer, whose vision to take the school to greater heights is in tandem with the founding vision as espoused by Aare Afe Babalola at inception. With her, any success recorded is only a call to further push forward towards another milestone. Her energy is boundless and her ethos for a greater ABUAD is etched in her approach and methodology. She believes that regardless of any obstacles before her with the price of hard work, collaboration and choice faculty, such obstacles can be overcome.
Her sterling contributions to the continued visibility, growth, stability and advancement of the institution has been attested to by the Oracle himself, Aare Afe Babalola when her announcement was made as the third substantive vice-chancellor only a year ago. Then some elements nursed reservations about the choice not necessarily because of her lack of capacity to deliver as her stint as the doyen of the College of Law has proven before her elevation to the exalted office of vice-chancellor, but it was not about dazzling exploits for those who didn’t share the notion that she should be appointed but their own choice of candidate.
In the College of law, she established a pattern of successes that endeared her to the founder and legal juggernaut and other well-wishers during her tenure. Her staggering accomplishments, never say die attitude, synergy, comportment, willingness to serve the interest of the school and especially students and faculty were sufficient to pave the way for her to stroll into the office as Vice-Chancellor. The Aare and the governing council were insistent on a performer.
Those with reservation about her candidacy nursed it because of politics of choice. They had their preferred candidates and rightly so and their template were not ennobling, simple pedestrian and nothing else. She didn’t even lobby nor played the politics in the run off to the choice. She was devoted to her duties within the College of Law and nothing else interested or caught her fancy at that material point in time. For her, she was okay with just being a lecturer in the College of Law and the additional burden of being the provost were sufficient distraction which was for her.
However, against the run of play and the eagle eyes of the founder for spotting talents and deploying them appropriately, she emerged the Vice-Chancellor. The pronouncement and accompanying results have since validated her candidacy. For her, it is about work and more work. She is not the type that shies away from work. Her tenure has since been defined my staggering accomplishments.
She has consolidated the ranking of the school as the best with all their academic courses fully accredited both at undergraduate and graduate levels. Inflamed by passion and a culture of excellence, she has since gone on over drive. Both at the undergraduate and graduate levels the institution, ABUAD has demonstrated that quality and functional education in Nigeria is a possibility.
Within the intervening period of her appointment, her dynamic, purpose driven and result oriented and mostly impactful stewardship has left nobody in doubt about the direction she intends to take the institution. Of course, she came into office at a time when ABUAD’s fame as a center for academic excellence was well known but she has done more in recent times to confront other issues as well as consolidating on the previous successes.
In an attempt to bring education closer to the people, ABUAD under her watch has since evolve a School of Part-Time Studies and Open and Distance Learning School. The idea is to bring education to many whose financial reach cannot bear the interest of leaving their duty post for education and as such these initiatives. The exponential growth in the number of students has since validated the marching order of the Founder/Chancellor for the creation of both institutions within ABUAD and the Vice-Chancellor’s express implementation of the vision.
Her flair for excellence and her free spirit has accompany her signature successes within her first year in office. Today, Afe Babalola University is adjudged best in Nigeria in two successive counts (2021/2022 and 2022/2023), by the Times Higher Education Ranking of all Universities. This milestone cannot be explained as mundane against the backdrop of the humongous investments in quality equipment, human and physical infrastructure which the institution invested in to compete at the global arena.
Indeed, ABUAD under her watch is primed to play big and in the global arena. She believes that for ABUAD to live full to its avowed aspiration then the institution must ensure that no cost is too much to get necessary manpower and equipment to give students the best.
First, the Vice-Chancellor being an administrator par excellence has ensured that the directive of the Founder/Chancellor, Aare Afe Babalola to the effect that all researches done by faculty are duly paid for by the school in international journals. The payments, running into thousands in hard currencies and way beyond the reach of academics in the country because of the exchange rate being taken care off by the institution have strategically enabled its faculty to concentrate on research.
That singular action has fired up faculty who are not encumbered by payment from their purse. The resounding successes from this initiative is better imagined.
Another initiative is making sure that faculty and students are exposed to training and re-training on a constant basis both within and beyond the shores of Nigeria. She has ensured that Afe Babalola university is linked to diverse institutions of higher learning both within Africa and beyond.
The school is currently in international linkages and collaboration with universities in the United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and some other European countries. The idea is to ensure that students and faculty from ABUAD are exposed and integrated within the global arena with relative ease.
For Professor E.S. Olarinde, the understanding is if a student is educated here in Nigeria/Africa without preparing such for the global arena then such education is defective because we live in an ever-globalized world. Every educated person in today’s world must be prepared for the global arena, she is fond of saying. Directly or indirectly, an educated mind in today’s world must be prepared for challenges which the world grapples with. She maintains that ABUAD will always provide highly skilled and dynamic manpower in the ever competitive and dynamic arena.
The institution must ensure that only the best hands are recruited and students are built for the global arena in view of the shrinking nature of today’s world. Her approach is mixed and profound. She leverages on the road-map given by the legendary founder and chancellor, Aare Afe Babalola to the effect that preparation is as essential to result than any other thing.
Being a teacher, she maintains that adequate attention be paid to the welfare of students and faculty for maximum effect. She considers herself a mentor to the generation of students in the institution as she runs an open-door policy round the clock. There is no time of the day that is odd for her to sprint out in protection and service to any student. She drives through the campus even at the dead of the night to observe security and responds to call with immediacy which continues to elicit the adulation of students and observers.
Talking about security. She is particular that a campus that is secured is a pre-condition for healthy social interaction. Under her stint, ABUAD successfully pursued and obtained license for a community radio styled ABUAD FM 88.1, which has since commenced operation and is gradually becoming the wave of the moment within the short period of its operation early this year.
A disciplinarian and highly passionate teacher, Olarinde is tireless in the discharge of her duties. She lives for her students. In spite of the demands of office, she finds time to come into the classroom to teach. She stops periodically and this is daily to chat up with students and faculty to feel the pulse of people around. For her, her time is best spent when she engages both faculty and students and nothing upsets like a lazy or an unprepared being. Never someone to compromise her high standards for living. She ensures that she gets involved in virtually everything going on within the campus and for good reason, ensures that only the best is good for the institution.
For E.S. Olarinde, her main essence is to ensure that the institution perches at all times as the best, the best institution devoted to functional and qualitative education.
Rotimi Opeyeoluwa
Department of International Relations & Diplomacy,
Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.