Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, has doled out ₦44.5million to 81 outstanding farmers across Ekiti State under the Afe Babalola Agric Expo and Youth Empowerment Programme (ABA-EX).
Breakdown showed in each of the 16 local governments, top five farmers received ₦200,000, ₦150,000, ₦100,000, ₦75,000 and ₦50,000.
The best farmer in the state, Chief Sunday Babalola from Ado Local Government, won the N2 million star prize.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Babalola said the annual initiative was designed to make farming attractive and complement government’s efforts in revamping the agricultural sector.
The legal icon said the programme since its inception in 2015 had disbursed over N170million cash awards and start-up grants to promote food production, empower farmers and attract youths to agriculture.
He decried the growing dependence of Nigerians on government palliatives and handouts, warning that such culture of laziness posed a grave threat to national productivity and dignity.
“It is lamentable that many Nigerians, especially youths, no longer want to work. Instead, they prefer to queue for bags of rice and beans distributed as palliatives.
“The question is: are they truly entitled to eat without working? The Constitution does not empower government to feed citizens; it only mandates government to provide an enabling environment for productivity,” he said.
He described the practice of distributing food items to able-bodied citizens as “unconstitutional, wasteful and counter-productive,” noting that it encouraged laziness, instead of fostering the spirit of self-reliance.
Babalola said his intervention in the agriculture sector over the years had been motivated by his desire to restore the country’s economic self-sufficiency through food production, create jobs and empower communities.
He hailed the Federal Government for adopting some of his long-standing proposals on agricultural mechanisation, saying mechanised tools should be distributed to local governments, not state governments, to ensure they reached real farmers at the grassroots.
He reaffirmed his belief that Nigeria’s surest path to prosperity and economic breakthrough lied in agriculture, not oil, politics, or foreign aid.
“If properly managed, agriculture can sustain this nation, create employment, reduce crime and restore dignity to our people. Nigeria’s future is on the farm, not in the streets,” he said.
The Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Prof. Abiodun Ojo, described ABA-EX 10th anniversary as “a decade of impact, innovation and hope.”
He recalled that the flagship agricultural project began modestly in 2015 with N7 million in rewards, but had since grown to N44.5 million in 2025.
Appreciating the ABUAD founder for his commitment to agriculture, Ojo lamented the growing neglect of farming among Nigerians despite rising food insecurity and population pressure.
He said Babalola’s investment in agriculture was an example of how individual initiative could inspire national transformation.
ABUAD Vice Chancellor, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, lauded Babalola’s consistency in driving self-reliance through agriculture and education, describing him as “a man whose philanthropy continues to shape Nigeria’s development narrative.”
Governor Biodun Oyebanji praised the legal icon for using his resources to complement government’s agricultural and job creation initiatives.
Represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Ebenezer Boluwade, the governor described Babalola’s strategic interventions as vital to the state’s agricultural growth.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
