Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, has conferred honorary doctorate degrees on United Nigeria Airlines Chairman, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, and Cavista Holdings Chairman, Niyi Olajide, as two foreign universities also honoured its founder, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN.
The honours were announced during the university’s 14th convocation ceremony held in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday.
Okonkwo was recognised for his contributions to enterprise and functional education, while Olajide received the award for his investments in healthcare, enterprise, poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment.
Western University, Canada, and Trinity International University, United States, also conferred honorary doctorates on Babalola in recognition of his contributions to law, education, philanthropy and public service.
Speaking at the ceremony, ABUAD Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, said the university graduated 2,194 students, comprising 1,759 from undergraduate and professional programmes and 435 postgraduate students.
She described the Class of 2026 as the largest in the institution’s history and praised the honourees for their contributions to society, economic growth, education and human welfare.
The ABUAD Governing Council representative, Folasade Alli, SAN, called on the Federal Government to extend the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to students in private universities.
Alli said, “The exclusion of students of private institutions from NELFund should be looked into. They are qualified, their parents are Nigerians and they are paying tax. That is a form of discrimination which should be addressed.”
She also called for private universities to be included among institutions benefiting from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
Speaking after receiving his award, Okonkwo praised Babalola for establishing ABUAD, saying the institution had grown into a university capable of transforming society.
He said United Nigeria Airlines would explore areas of collaboration with the university, particularly in skills development, technology transfer and employment opportunities for graduates.
“The partnership will include scholarships, employment opportunities and an annual award for outstanding students,” Okonkwo said.
Olajide commended Babalola for building the university, saying his achievement demonstrated that people could continue making meaningful contributions to society regardless of their age.
He reaffirmed his commitment to expanding employment and enterprise opportunities and urged successful entrepreneurs to establish businesses that would create more jobs.
Reacting to the honours from the foreign universities, Babalola thanked their representatives for travelling to Nigeria to present the awards, describing the recognition as a source of encouragement.