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The Founder of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Afe Babalola, on Wednesday lamented the continued refusal by the federal government to issue a free trade zone certificate to his university.
Mr Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said the over 132 units of ABUAD industrial park, located in Ado-Ekiti, was enough to turn the story of Nigeria around, if well annexed, and utilised.
The legal icon said the certificate would have enabled foreign companies to establish businesses in the park, thereby boosting Nigeria’s economy.
He raised the concern in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, while hosting delegates from the China-Nigeria Consortium on Industry and Education during the ABUAD-China Partnership Forum Meeting which was held on the campus.
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He wondered why China, which was a very poor country some years ago, could suddenly overtake Nigeria in the scheme of economic matters.
The ABUAD founder stressed that a free trade zone would facilitate international trade and industrial activities, ultimately contributing to the country’s economic growth.
What Nigeria is missing
Mr Babalola lamented that such progressive ideas would have been embraced, under the defunct regional government system, while also reiterating his call for a people-oriented constitution, to foster national development.
He said: “In 1999, I travelled to China. At that time, China was a very poor country, but the Chinese people were very wise. They created an area, called free trade zone, which allowed countries like the United States and Germany to set up industries there.
“Unknowingly to those countries, the Chinese learned from these foreign industries, which eventually contributed to their remarkable global development today.
“However, for the past two years, I have applied for the same concept here, but the government has refused to grant us a free trade zone certificate.”
He said there is an American company that is ready to commence manufacturing of cars “in my industrial park but the lack of this certificate has stalled their plans.”
“If we still had the regional government system that we used to have, we would be more developed than we are today. This is why we need a new constitution,” he said.
Chinese team speaks
In her address, the Secretary-General of the China-Nigeria Consortium on Industry and Education, Wendy Wang, who spoke through an interpreter, commended Mr Babalola for his visionary achievements in education, engineering, and health.
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She described ABUAD as the best institution in Nigeria, highlighting its integration of cutting-edge technologies in its curriculum.
Earlier in her address of welcome, the Vice Chancellor of ABUAD, Smaranda Olarinde, a professor, commended Mr Babalola for allowing the partnership between the university and the park to thrive.
She described the visit as a replica of the one earlier made by her and a select ABUAD team that Mr Babalola sponsored to China in a working tour recently.
She disclosed that, with the partnership, ABUAD would soon start manufacturing vehicles and robots.
Other highlights of the event, was the presentation of the ‘Chinese Plus Digital Intelligence Education Gold Medal’ to Mr Babalola, in recognition of his commitment to quality and functional education in Nigeria.
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