Will that money transform King's College, London, taking it to the level of Cambridge or Harvard, for example?
Babalola is quoted as declaring that he is making the donation because “My
contribution to this programme is a way of reciprocating what I benefited from
the laudable and unique external degree programme of the University of London
in the 1960s without which I certainly would have ended up an unsung farmer or
at best the secretary of the local motor union.”
Does he not realize that he used that external degree programme because the opportunity did not exist in his own country?
Afe Babalola is described as owning a university in Nigeria and as contributing significantly to various Nigerian universities.
What is the global ranking of his own university? Is it equatable to King's College, London?
The donation is meant to initiate and sustain
The Afe Babalola African Centre for Transnational
Education [ enabling] young Africans to access education and opportunities which they would
otherwise not be able to have.
… the new centre would offer blended and online programmes, and also
offer post-graduate level modules which can be brought together to create
professionally recognised qualifications from diplomas to master degrees.
[along with providing] scholarships alongside other
funding partners, to support interested and qualified students [ while developing a] bespoke programme
for Africa …in partnership with the University of London and an alliance of leading
African universities.
Why must such beautiful ideas and awesome funding be carried to the University of London, one of the greatest conglomerations of universities in the world, in one of the most prosperous cities in the world, in one of the most prosperous nations on Earth, while Babolola's Ekiti state does not feature significantly on any global development index?
Universities often have transformative effects on their environment. Imagine what such a powerful initiative could have done for Babalola's own university and its surrounding community.
How honest are we Nigerians, though, in the face of money?
The people managing King's College, London, are not hungry people. They can be counted on to spend the money for the purpose it is meant for.
Nigerians are currently struggling with a cash scarcity that has even led to the deaths of people. To what degree can we be counted on to use huge monies strictly for the purpose intended?