Babs Fafunwa
| Aliu Babs Fafunwa | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 23, 1923 Isale Eko, Lagos |
| Died | October 11, 2010 (aged 87) Abuja |
| Residence | Lagos |
| Citizenship | Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Institutions | University of Nigeria |
| Known for | Education |
| Notable awards | NNOM |
Aliu Babatunde Fafunwa (23 September 1923 – 11 October 2010) was a Nigerian educationist, scholar and former minister for Education. As minister, he was in charge of the biggest school system in Africa. He is known for his early writings on the need to re-appraise the inherited colonial epistemological system in Nigeria and to introduce relevant cultural goals, subjects and local languages into the system, in order to accommodate the developmental and cultural pattern of the country. He is also a notable authority on the history of educational planning in Nigeria.
Born on September 23, 1923, in Isale Eko, Lagos, Fafunwa had his secondary education at the CMS Grammar School, Lagos between 1937 and 1943. He obtained a B.Sc (Magna Cum Laude) in Social Science and English from Bethune Cookman College (now Bethune-Cookman University, Florida, United States in 1950 and had his M.A (Cum Laude) in Administration and Higher Education in 1955. He earned a Ph.D. in Education from New York University in 1958, becoming the first Nigerian recipient of a doctoral degree in Education. He was a co-founder of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria.
He started his career in 1961 at the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka. During the Nigerian civil war, he left the east and moved to Ife, and taught at the Obafemi Awolowo University.
He became a Professor of Education in 1966 and held the position of Dean, Faculty and Head, Department of Education at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN. Due to his brilliance and hard work, he rose to the position of Acting Vice Chancellor at both UNN and University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). He was also Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council, University of Calabar. He was at several times, President, Association of Teachers Education in Africa, Director, International Council on Education for Teaching, Washington D C. He retired from active teaching service in 1978 to start the first tutorial college in Nigeria in 1982 and was Minister of Education between 1990 and 1992.
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