The American Consul-General in Nigeria, Mr. Jeffrey Hawkings, has commended the Founder and Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, for standing out among African leaders through his outstanding achievements in education.
Hawkings who was visiting ABUAD for the second time in its short history was on hand for an educational outreach for staff and students of the university on educational and training opportunities in the United States of America and how to access such opportunities, said African leaders have a lot to learn from Babalola’s selflessness and gift of philanthropy.
As part of America’s determination to assist Africa, he said the American government has come up with the Young African Leadership Initiative through which African Youths between age 25-35 with exceptional leadership qualities could access quality education in the United States of America.
He therefore encouraged ABUAD’s students to plug into the programme.
The Consul-General’s 20-man team first visited university’s expansive farm, the College of Law, described by NUC as the Best College of Law in West Africa and the gargantuan Goodluck Jonathan College of Engineering built on three and half acres of land and reputed to be the largest in Africa before retiring to the 7,000-seater Ultra modern Alfa Belgore Multi Purpose Hall to address the university community.
Flagging off the presentation, the Consulate’s Public Diplomacy Officer, Ms Rhonda Watson, said she had not seen any university like ABUAD anywhere in the world with its kind of achievement in less than four years of existence.
Watson who gave a step-by-step process of accessing education both at undergraduate and graduate levels enjoined prospective students who want to study in the United States to weigh their options and think thoroughly about what they want to study.
According to her, several options available depend largely on the level of course of study students want to undertake, whether undergraduate or graduate studies with competitive funding available for Fellowship, tuition, scholarship, teaching, research and graduate assistantship.
Jeff Jung and Jennifer Van Winkle thereafter educated the house on processes involved in visa application and procurement.
By; Tunde Olofintila
Head, Public Relations
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