Afe Emmanuel Babalola

Afe Emmanuel Babalola is a Nigerian lawyer and educationist whose career in law and university governance preceded the establishment of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti. He served as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Lagos from 2000 to 2007, an experience that exposed him to the institutional challenges affecting Nigerian higher education and influenced his decision to establish a private university. In 2008, construction began on the university's permanent site in Ado-Ekiti, and the institution subsequently received its operating licence from the National Universities Commission in November 2009 before commencing academic activities on January 4, 2010.