ABUAD commences work on its 121-unit Industrial Park


ABUAD commences work on its 121-unit Industrial Park

The man of history, an avid Entrepreneur and a consummate Educationist, Aare Afe Babalola, CON, SAN, begins the writing of another chapter of history in his homestead in Ado-Ekiti, South-West Nigeria this morning. Naturally, the questions that would quickly race to the mind of readers are how and why? But the answers to these simple questions are not fetched, they within easy reach.

To further oil the wheel of its resolve of producing well-rounded young men and women who will be sure-footed employers of labour instead of shopping for white-collar jobs which are fast disappearing, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), on Thursday, January 25, turn the sod of its 121-unit Industrial Research Park.
The turning of the sod which is coming 96 days after the commissioning of the ultra-modern and world-class 400-bed ABUAD Multi-System Hospitalwhich the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University Teaching Hospital (UCH), Prof. Temitope Alonge, dubbed “the answer to outward Medical tourism in Nigeria”, will be witnessed by the crème-de-la-crème of the society made up of members of the Royalty, the Bar and the Bench, Legal Academics and the Clergy as well as leading Captains of Industries and generational giants.
The Industrial Research Park is designed to translate into viable products the Research efforts of the University through the establishment of various industries in a dedicated Park with provision for all necessary infrastructural facilities such as energy, Staff Housing and security among others. It will take off with a 5.67 Megawatts of Gas turbine-driven Power Plant which will be provided by ABUAD Plant Limited, a Joint Venture (JV) between ABUAD and CADMIUM
It will also provide a veritable platform for staff, undergraduate and graduate training and general technical empowerment.
Upon take off, the Industrial Research Park will provide functional and self-sustaining link between the University and Industry, launch Nigeria and other emerging economies in Africa into the modern age through innovative and research driven industrialization and entrepreneurship, promote investments in High-tech industries and encourage the establishment of Small, Medium and Large Scale Industries ranging from Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Plastic, Blocks and Building, Woods, Electrical and Iron, Automobile, Food Processing,Hair products and Recycling of plastic products as well as Refining of Crude Oil, among other several value adding others totalling over 120 industries.
It will also promote innovative research and developmental programmes of the University through commercialization, encourage university-industry linkages which will facilitate mutual research, student and staff training, promote entrepreneurship in ABUAD students and staff through development of incubation units which will concretize their budding ideas and provide avenues to the immediate communities for employment, vocational and professional training as well as provide a platform for patronage of industries, Research Institutes, Governmental Organizations and other Corporate Bodies in Project, Product and Technological Innovations and Development
As the only University in West Africa running a Programme in Mechatronics, the take-off of the Research Industrial Park will enable the university move to the next stage, i.e. F.A.C.T, whereby it will make a foray into the world of Robotics.
Above all, the Industrial Research Park will give verve and further signification to ABUAD’s drive to produce well-rounded young graduates who will be employers of labour instead of pounding the streets of our State Capitals shopping for white collar jobs that are fast disappearing.
This will no doubt be a convincing boost to its drive to institutionalize quality and functional education in Nigeria with the ultimate aim of ensuring that the nation recovers its lost glory in education.
An obviously elated Babalola said his vision and mission for ABUAD, his 21st Century University which commenced Academic works on January 4, 2010 but now has more than 8,000 students, would not have been fully accomplished without the ultra-modern 400-bed Multi System Hospital which was commissioned on October 20, last year and the ABUAD Industrial Park whose sod will be turned later this morning.
A big and an unrepentant dreamer who has been bitten by the bug of optimism, the revered iconic legal giant,who said because of the public image of his university and people’s beliefof his proverbial Midas Touch whereby whatever he touches becoming a big success, enthused that the Industrial Park for which he has acquired a sizeable expanse of land with the plan in place, is already a success.
According to the legal juggernaut and Educational giant, ABUAD would establish a number of industries of its own whilst it has already got in touch with some Industries, Banks and Allied institutions which would rent part of the structures in the Industrial Park upon take-off, adding that “this is the time to effectively make use of the myriads of partnerships and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) we have entered into as a university with reputable organizations like FESTO of Germany and to go the way Stanford University, my mentor, which has the biggest Industrial Park in the world”-Afe Babalola


By: Tunde OLOFINTILA
abuad.edu.ng

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