Afe Babalola, a renowned educationist, asserted that in Nigeria, politics has evolved into the sole profitable enterprise. He made these remarks during the 11th convocation ceremony of Afe Babalola University on October 21.
During his speech, he recounted a story where he had offered a scholarship to a top-performing student for their master’s degree. However, when he suggested the student pursue a Ph.D., the student declined. The reason? A fellow student from his secondary school days had entered politics and was now a local government chairman with a car and a house.
Afe Babalola expressed his distress at the fact that, in Nigeria, politics had become the most lucrative pursuit. He lamented the transformation of the country’s political landscape, emphasizing that politics should be about serving the public rather than personal gain. He stressed the need for ethical and service-oriented politics, as opposed to the prevalent trend of profiteering from public funds.
He made it clear that he does not discourage political ambitions but believes that the current state of politics in the country is not aligned with its true purpose of serving the people, but rather has become a means to amass wealth from public resources.
