Profiles - August 6, 2022

The Story of Afe Babalola, a Health Enthusiast Living Legend

Kenechukwu Muoghalu August 6, 2022

7 min read

Afe Babalola is a Nigerian lawyer and health fanatic that has succeeded in making impossible circumstances possible. Dating back to the 30th of October, 1929, Afe Babalola was born into an agrarian family in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. As a child, he was trained on the farm and growing up Afe Babalola thought life ended with working on the farm and hunting for animals.

In 1973, he left his comfort zone and moved to town for his education. Babalola had his primary school at Emmanuel Anglican Primary School, Okesha, Ado-Ekiti. By 1950, he attempted a private study to cover his senior school certificate. Afe Babalola then sat for Cambridge School Certificate Exams and passed.

In 1953, Babalola went further to prepare for a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from the University of London, from home. Soon enough, he bagged his BSc degree in Economics. By 1963, he had already studied law from home and also got his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of London. He was later called to the England bar in 1963, just after he became a member of Lincoln’s Inn, London.

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The Beginning of Afe Babalola’s Career

Afe Babalola picked an interest in law and took off his law career in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. After a few years of his legal practice, Afe Babalola established his law firm and named it Afe Babalola and Co. He kept the fire on and soon became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), which was the highest rank for legal professionals.

Afe Babalola was also made the pro-chancellor of the University of Lagos in 2001 and within 5 years, he won the best pro-chancellor award twice. At that instant, babalola discovered the talents he had in the educational system and proceeded to establish his university. By 2008, he birthed Afe Babalola University, with a total of 47 accredited courses and a standard farm for agriculture students.

When Babalola succeeded in exploring every rank of the law industry and education he decided to transfer his potential to the healthcare industry. A sector that needed his magic minds.

Afe Babalola’s Debut to the Nigerian Health Sector

Afe Babalola Multi-System Hospital came to reality on the 20th of October, 2017. The hospital was created out of Afe Babalola’s quest for international standard health care, teaching, training and research services.

Babalola’s hospital was recognised by prominent professors to be a hospital that matches the best in the world, which will end up solving medical tourism outside Nigeria. On a normal day, Nigerians’ cost of medical tourism every year is more than one billion dollars, but with a standard and upskilled hospital, the health sector will be more reliable.

Babalola’s world-class multi-system hospital has over 400-bed capacity, an orthopaedic medical theatre, abdominal medical theatre, ear, nose and throat theatre, brain theatre, and cardiac theatre among others. After the creation of the Afe Babalola multi-system hospital, it was recognised with grants and loans from different personnel including the continental bank in Nigeria. Thus, the hospital has been providing specialised medical treatments for its patients.

Afe Babalola’s hospital also made provisions for speciality departments which include accident and emergency(A&E), internal medicine, surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, community medicine, physiotherapy and dentistry among others. Afe Babalola was also proud to announce that his teaching hospital has over 95 qualified practitioners in Nigeria and abroad, who randomly fill up each department.

All these and more were what Afe Babalola pulled through to help heal and promote the Nigerian health industry. His great facility has gone wide because of its ability to provide incredible quality healthcare in Nigeria and avoid constant travel.

In his words, Babalola would say, “I must make it clear that this hospital is open to everyone, the rich and the not-so-rich alike. We will run this place like we run our chambers where we handle the cases of the not-so-rich at minimal charges while those who can pay are made to pay”