Afe Babalola

Afe Babalola CON OFR SAN
Born	(1929-10-30) 30 October 1929 (age 95) Ado Ekiti, Southern Region, British Nigeria (now in Ekiti State, Nigeria)
Nationality	Nigerian
Citizenship	Nigeria
Alma mater	London University
Occupations	Lawyer farmer educationist educational administrator
Years active	1963–Present
Organization	Afe Babalola University
Spouse	Modupe Mercy Babalola
Children	9, including Bolanle
Awards	Commander of the Order of the Niger Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic Senior Advocate of Nigeria
Website	www.afebabalola.com

Afe Babalola CON OFR SAN (born 30 October 1929) is a Nigerian lawyer and founder of Afe Babalola University.[1]

Early life and education

Babalola was born in Ado Ekiti in Southern Nigeria (now in Ekiti State). He enrolled for the Senior Cambridge School Certificate examination by private study from Wolsey Hall, Oxford.[2] He later obtained the A’Level certificate of London University before he proceeded to London School of Economics where he received a bachelor's degree in Economics.[3]

After working at the Central Bank of Nigeria, he left to the University of London where he obtained a bachelor's degree in law,[4] and in 1963, he was called to the England bar, the same year he became a member of Lincoln's Inn, London.[5]

Legal career

Afe Babalola began his career at Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, western Nigeria as a litigation lawyer at Olu Ayoola and Co, law firm.[6] In 1965, after two years of legal practice, he established his own law firm, Afe Babalola and Co. (Emmanuel Chambers).[7] In 1987, he became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the highest rank in Legal profession in Nigeria.[8] In 2001, he was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a former President of Nigeria.[9] He held the position till 2008 during which he emerged as best Pro-Chancellor of Nigerian Universities consecutively in 2005 and 2006.[10] In 2009, he established Afe Babalola University to promote education in Nigeria. In 2013, the university was ranked the second best private university in Nigeria and 17th of 136 universities in Nigeria.[11]

Arbitration

In 2002, he was inducted as a fellow in the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (NICArb). He was president of the institute from 2017 to October 2021.[12] He made significant contributions towards the growth of the institute during his tenure. Despite his retirement, he has remained an avid supporter of NICArb and the ADR community.

Personal life

Babalola is married to Modupe Mercy Babalola. He has nine children, including Bolanle Austen-Peters and Folashade Alli (SAN).[13]

Footnotes

1. "That Afe Babalola University May Truly Excel, Articles". Thisdaylive.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
2. "A living legend: Afe Babalola". 27 October 2017.
3. "I want to live beyond 114 years – Afe Babalola," The Punch News, 4 Aug. 2013.
4. "Between Obafemi Awolowo and Afe Babalola". The Nation News. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
5. "at 80 Babalola teaches law at abuad". Punch News. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
6. "Afe Babalola: A lifetime of achievements". Vanguard News. 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
7. Michael Omolewa, "Lessons Learnt From Celebrating Aare Afe Babalola," The Guardian [Nigeria], 15 March 2015.
8. "Babalola bags University of London LLD". The Sun News. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
9. "Parents' influence important to wards' success –Afe Babalola". New. Telegraphonline.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
10. "I Can't Prostrate To Any Monarch Except Alaafin". PM News Nigeria. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
11. "Former minister othhers applaud Abuad law programme". Punch News. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
12. The Guardian (12 October 2021). "Aare Afe Babalola hand over NICArb to Fabian Ajogwu". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
13. "Afe Babalola Biography / Profile". Afe Babalola. Retrieved 22 January 2020.