The Afe Babalola university community has celebrated the founder ,Aare Afe Babalola ,on the recent global recognition as the “2026 Icon Man of the Year Award”. The award was bestowed on himby a London-based Nigerian media platform, Triangle International Magazine .
Academic and non academic staff ,as well as students trooped out in their numbers to honour their benefactor and Senior Advocate of NIgeria.
In his remarks after the presentation of the award earlier received on his behalf by the ABUAD’s Vice Chancellor, the highly related Aare Babalola described the recognition as a moment that made him feel ‘on top of the world’.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria explained that while he handled high-profile legal cases during his career, without receiving notable awards, saying the establishment of the university had attracted widespread recognition from different parts of the world.
According to him, the motivation to establish the university, stemmed from his personal experiences, growing up without adequate access to formal education.
Babalola revealed that financial constraints, prevented him from receiving classroom education beyond Standard Six, which later inspired his resolve to create opportunities for others, through quality education.
Babalola urged students to remain determined and confident in their abilities, stressing that their backgrounds should never limit their aspirations.
“You asked me how do i feel today, I’m on top of the world. This is important, but the importance of it lies in what i believe in, and why a few years ago, i decided to establish a university. It was because i knew where I started.
“In my wishy-washy home where i obtained tuition, there was no money for me to go to an ordinary school. So i wake up every day and ask myself: what can i do to thank God and please God for what i have done in my lifetime?
“Honestly, that is the question i ask myself. I ask God every evening when I want to sleep and every morning when I wake up. If somebody does you a good turn, in return, you also have to do something. What can I do to thank God and please God for what I have done in my lifetime? What can I do?
“That was why we started this university a few years back. Education was our priority, and yet I never received any classroom education beyond Standard Six”, he said.
“Now, we are receiving almost every day, awards from all persons in the world. That is because I started a university when I was a lawyer. I was a Senior Advocate; It was a big deal then. But now, because of my students, I am receiving these awards.
“When I won cases worth one million or two million, I didn’t get an award. But now we have a university with credible students and we are getting awards every day.
“Without a doubt, in the last ranking of all universities in the world, our university was number one in Nigeria, and it has been number one in Nigeria for three years consecutively”.
Babalola, in a letter, earlier notifying him about the award, sent to him , and signed by the Chief Executive Officer of Triangle International Magazine, Olufemi Salako said the magazine’s nomination and selection committee, unanimously chose Babalola for the award, based on his outstanding leadership, visionary impact and enduring contributions to Nigeria and the African continent.
According to him, the award, which is part of the activities, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the magazine, is reserved for the legal icon, whose lifetime achievements, demonstrate exceptional leadership and transformative influence on society.
Salako noted that the committees considered Babalola’s remarkable accomplishments in legal practice, educational innovation, philanthropy and institution building, describing his contributions as a model of transformative leadership.
He also highlighted Babalola’s personal investment in the development of Nigeria’s educational sector, which has proven to having a lasting impact on the country, and inspired generations of scholars, leaders and reformers across Africa.