His father, Joseph Olawuni Omowunmi Babalola (Ajala) was a master carpenter, renowned for the charitable re-building of homes in Ipetumodu after severe storm damage very early in the 20th Century; hence the family title "Alatunse of Ipetumodu" – "The Fixer", a family that improves their environment.
Babalola accepted Christ as his Lord and Saviour while at Igbobi College, and was confirmed by the Bishop of Lagos, Rt.
It was a good practice run; in 1937 he took the Entrance Examination to Igbobi College, Lagos and was admitted into Form One in January 1938.
Babalola was invited to sit the examinations to the University Section although he was given automatic admission based on his academic antecedents.
On August 8, 1946, he returned to Igbobi College where he was known as "Nine-Alphas Babalola" or "Accurate Man" – this time as a member of the teaching staff.
It was at Cambridge that he responded to a request by the BBC West Africa Service to submit English verse translations of the oral poetry of their people.
He came back to Igbobi College to continue teaching and he rose to become the first African principal of the school, despite being the youngest staff member.
The work introduced Yoruba folk tales, poetic forms and an annotated anthology of Ijala (hunter's songs) poems, translated into English.
The university's School of African and Asian Studies was founded in 1967, with Babalola one of three lecturers, and focused on Nigerian languages such as Yoruba, Igbo, Edo and Hausa.
[3] Babalola's scholarly works have been prominent in preserving a great deal of African oral traditions.