Legal icon and Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN) Aare Afe Babalola has cautioned Nigerian governors against establishing universities in their states for political reasons.
He also said many of the universities are found to be unsustainable after the governors relinquish power.
He emphasized the need for stringent punishment for operators of illegal universities across the country.
The founder Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti(ABUAD),who spoke during 9th convocation ceremony of the private institution where 1,415 graduated,also urged the NUC to be strict and thorough in its regulations for the establishment of Ivory towers in Nigeria, to stop the recurrent cases of creation of mushroom institutions that are destroying the system.
Some distinguished Nigeria were bestowed honorary doctorate degrees ,among them were , the Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe and the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Sulu Gambari.
He urged the Economic and Financial Crime Commission(EFCC) and other regulatory bodies to swing into action in this regard to safeguard the system”
Babalola said ” to safeguard the country’s tertiary education from imminent collapse, the founder, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti(ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola(SAN), has advised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the National Universities Commission(NUC) to start prosecuting and confiscating property belonging to operators of illegal universities in the country.
“Most disappointedly, the National Assembly for sometime now approved the establishment of one-subject university in their constituency.
“One remembers the fate of state universities established by some governors in their localities, which were not sustainable after left power. I call these universities political universities. I call on NUC who in law is authorized to approve establishment of universities to ensure that the conditions laid down in law are strictly followed.
“The NUC on its website had been publishing names of illegal universities annually. This means no action had been taken against those which were discovered the previous years.
“The damage done to education by these illegal universities is irreparable. I call on the federal government, Ministry of education, NUC, EFCC to identify these universities , their operators and teachers and take appropriate sanctions which include forfeiture of the property and inprosinment of collaborators”.
Babalola said the university has expended a sum of N620 million in the last 10 years on reward mechanism for students , academic and non academic staff, who demonstrated exemplary qualities in character, scholarship, entrepreneurship and leadership.
