Babalola also urged private businesses in the country to set up more journalism endowments, fellowships, prizes and awards as part of their CSR.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Afe Babalola, has said that if Nigeria is to be truly great, it needs genuine patriots and not ethnic champions and religious warriors.
The Founder and Chancellor, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD) said this in Lagos on Thursday during the public presentation of a book in honour of Nigerian columnists and their contributions to nation-building.
The book, THE PATRIOTS: Conversations with Nigerian Columnists and Public Intellectuals on Dividends of Democracy, Governance, Leadership and Nation-Building, authored by award-winning journalist and writer, O’Femi Kolawole, is published by POSTERITY MEDIA.
Speaking at the ceremony which held at Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Babalola, who was represented by a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ekiti State, Gboyega Oyewole SAN, said to make Nigeria better, every citizen has a role to play.
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He commended Kolawole for playing his role well by reaching out to the array of veteran and respected columnists featured in THE PATRIOTS like Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese, Yakubu Mohammed, Owei Lakemfa, Ikechukwu Amaechi, Eniola Bello, and Ijeoma Nwogwugwu among others, adding that the book contains unique ideas and insights which can help in actualising Nigeria’s greatness as a true giant of the Black race.
Speaking further, the veteran lawyer and columnist bemoaned the state of education in the country and lambasted the government for perennially failing to prioritise and devote significant resources to education.
He appealed to the Federal Government to pay all outstanding salaries to university teachers and fund education adequately.
Babalola also urged private businesses in the country to set up more journalism endowments, fellowships, prizes and awards as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, adding that these must not be one-off initiatives but sustainable ones for the long term towards improving professionalism in Nigeria’s media industry.
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