Legal luminary and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola, has announced a self-sponsored national conference tagged, ‘Summit of Hope’ to find urgent ways out of the current crisis facing Nigeria.
Babalola, SAN, also donated N50m to the said conference, which is to take place at his university in Ado Ekiti, anytime from now.
Chief Babalola spoke during the 10th Aare Afe Babalola Annual Public Lecture, organised by the Ado Ekiti branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
Daily Trust could not establish whether the announcement for the “summit of hope” by Babalola was just a coincidence or has something to do with the alarm raised by the presidency.
Babalola, however, explained that the intervention was to stop the country from drifting into imminent anarchy or resorting to another civil war.
He also donated the 700-Seater ABUAD Hall and the Five-Star ABUAD Inn to be used for the summit.
He said restructuring and forming a new constitution were key to turning things around for the better, if Nigerians so desired.
He listed a number of eminent Nigerians to be invited to the conference. These include all former presidents and all leading traditional rulers.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, who was at the event hailed the decision of Babalola, describing the step as patriotic.
He said in his capacity as co-chairman of the National Council of Traditional in Nigeria, he will report the development to fellow monarchs to seek support since the conference was aimed at restoring normally to the polity.