Personality Of The Month; Dr Gboyega Babalola.

Shakespearean quotes are always defined; "Some are born great, some achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them", but probably in the needed context it could be redefined by combining all forms of greatness in one as such is what suits this young, energetic, intelligent, charismatic academician and entrepreneur.

Myself and Dr G..."Famzing is allowed"...LOL

In an exclusive interview with The Omotoso Alex Blog, the son of legendary law Icon & founder of the fastest growing school in Africa, (ABUAD), Dr Gboyega Babalola speaks up on a wide range of personal and contemporary issues concerning him and his career, background, lifestyle and future aspirations.

***Tell us about yourself.

I am a very simple person, I’m an athlete at heart, my love for basketball is overwhelming and I would say that is what keeps me grounded. I love to watch movies, read novels, mostly inspirational books, then I love surfing the internet a lot.

Throwback with Mum...Momma's Love.

*** Family Background.
My  Dad and Mum have been married for over 40 years, Most of my Siblings are in

The States. We are 4 of us from my Mom although I have step-siblings.

***Tell us about your educational background.
I was in Nigeria shortly, and then I moved to The United States at a very tender age. My High school, College, Masters, PhD were

all in The States. My first undergraduate degree was in Economics and I basically have 3 degrees. My PhD as well was in Management sciences.

***Why Management Sciences and not Law like your Dad?
Some things are meant for some people, Law isn’t for me. I never thought for a second I was going to become a lawyer, as much as I love to work, my father just seems to work too hard and bottom-line, I don’t want to go that line, but all the same I respect him a lot and you can’t get to where I am today without hard work.

***How has been the son of Afe Babalola influenced your life?
When you see someone that works tirelessly, you respect that in them. You can count how many days he takes holidays, he doesn’t go on holidays. I mean Monday to Sunday, the only day he takes off work is Christmas day, and even on New Year’s Day he is in the office, I respect him a lot.

Papa's G...✋

I will forever be proud of him, he has set a lot of standards and when people see me they ask me how I intend to match those standards, but I am not scared because whatever is going to happen would happen.
One thing I know is when you have faith in God, the sky is always going to be the limit.

***Why did you decide to come back home and settle?

I won’t lie to you; it was a very huge decision. I initially came home once or twice and I wasn’t interested, but in 2014, I finally decided I was going to come and settle. Secondly, my father is getting older so I wanted to come and see how I could help.

***So now that you are back, why academics and not full time management.

LOL… you always have to keep your brain working. I am a PhD holder, so learning and teaching is always going to be fun and interesting. Secondly, my father was a teacher and probably still does, so I think my decision to take a class every semester is a nice one. I am also a member of the council and I was as well the NPUGA Games Loc Chairman.

***As a member of the council, what your say concerning the Feb 7 riot in ABUAD?

Every action that took place that day was sad, I can’t think of a situation whereby you have no reason for destroying school properties. I detest such actions and hopefully such won’t repeat itself.

***Do you understand Yoruba?

Of course,“Mi gbo dada”… (Laughs).  I understand but I am not too fluent, although I don’t understand what they speak here in Ekiti, but in the right situation I will speak even if not too good.

***Do you take African/Yoruba dishes?

(Laughs)…Nah, I can’t take Yoruba dishes, I take a lot of rice and all.

***Tell us about your choice of cars.

I like cars, but I am more of a shoe person. I love sneakers; I can categorically tell you that I have over 600 sneakers… (giggles). My father bought me my first car at the age of 18, and then he bought me a Jaguar when I graduated from the university.  Presently I have several cars.

***What about your relationship status?

(Laughs)… I’m single, no kids and searching.

***So how have you been coping with all the girls and admirers?

First of all, there has to be some kind of professional decorum, although there have been several cases… (Laughs).

*** (cuts in)… Any you would like to share?

Absolutely not, people do lot of things to gain attention especially when they know you are blessed but you have to be extremely careful because you know nothing about what their genuine intentions are.

***How have you been coping with the America complex?

Nigeria is home and with lot of potentials, the complex is always there but I always treat everyone the same. I will treat a janitor the same way I will treat a president.

***What’s you say about the way Nigerians beg for help especially from celebs and rich peeps?

(Laughs)… I’m not going to lie to you, I’m blessed and also the giving type. What I want you to think about is the fact that I have worked as an economist for over 8 years, so have it at the back of your mind that I know how to manage my money.

***Having said a lot about your respect for your Dad, does that mean he is your role model?

You can’t say that, I think my role model is my Mum, she is very strong and is my best friend. I love my Dad but I got my Mum on this one.

***What Next?

I want to see ABUAD grow well, that’s my goal.

***Your vision for ABUAD?

My father wants ABUAD to break into the top 1000 tertiary schools in the world, no Africa school, is on that list, Rome wasn’t built in a day and ABUAD at 6 is amazing. Hopefully with everyone getting better we would get there.

***One word for your fans, admirers, ABUAD populace and The Omotoso Alex Blog?

What can I say? God bless ABUAD, God bless the fans and admirers... (Laughs), God bless The Omotoso Alex Blog, the blog is nice and I fully endorse it.

                                                                                                      
Interview Moderators: Omotoso Alex & Shotade Bayo.

Written by: Omotoso Alex.
Edited by: Obatuyi Olumide.
Produced by: Omotoso Alex

                                                                                                                        #Oshamo