The Socio-Cultural and Economic Impact of Locating Babcock Univesity at Ilisan and Its Environs

Abstract

It has been argued from some quarters that the establishment of Babcock University has not benefitted its immediate environment and host community and that the tendency has been that the University have only profited its own—Adventists adherents, its workers and founders. This notion has further generated some controversies, creating room for doubts about the genuineness of the core values and founding spirit of the institution.

This work is therefore fuelled by the sincere urge to investigate/ascertain the claims whether the institution has being able to create, fulfil its responsibility and impacted positively to Ilisan-Remo as a town, its people and their immediate neighbours.

The work focusses on the historical development of this institution since its establishment in 1959 to 2009 which marked its golden jubilee of 50 years of institutional existence and ten years of federal government charter as a private university from 1999.

To ascertain these doubts and crosscheck these speculations, the work has utilized a combination of oral and written sources in its assessment of the development to achieve a social-economic impact analysis of the institution since inception.  The work’s findings have clearly mapped out certain challenges which clearly needs to be readdressed and have fully highlighted the major socio-economic advantages which has been derived by Ilisan-Remo and other towns around since the establishment of the university. The work concluded that more needs to be done in the areas of Babcock – Ilisan community relations in order to muster growth for the future of the institution whichever remains an illuminating beacon, not just for the students, staff and the indigenes of the town but to the entire nation as a whole.

The work has been divided into six major sections. The Introduction, Literature Review, Statement of Problem, Theoretical Framework a Brief History of Ilisan and the emergence of BU, the Birth of a Full-fledged University, The Impact of the University on the community and environs and The Summary of Findings and Conclusion.