ADEWEBS UPDATE
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M.K.O AND JUNE 12 HISTORY

Moshood Abiola
Moshood Abiola
Born
24 August 1937
Abeokuta
Died
7 July 1998 (aged 60)
Abuja
Nationality
Nigerian
Other names
M.K.O Abiola
Occupation
tycoon
Known for
Philanthropy
Children
Abdulateef Kola Abiola Dupsy Abiola Hafsat
Abiola
Mustapha Abiola
Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (24
August 1937 – 7 July 1998), often referred to as
M. K. O. Abiola , was a popular Nigerian Yoruba
businessman, publisher, politician and aristocrat
of the Yoruba Egba clan. He ran for the
presidency in 1993, and is widely regarded as the
presumed winner of the inconclusive election
since no official final results were announced. He
died in 1998, after being denied victory when the
entire election results were dubiously annulled by
the preceding military president Ibrahim
Babangida because of alleged evidence that they
were corrupt and unfair.
Early life
Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola was born in
Abeokuta , Ogun State .His name, Kashimawo,
means " Let us wait and see ". Moshood Abiola
was his father's twenty-third child but the first of
his father's children to survive infancy, hence the
name 'Kashimawo'. It was not until he was 15
years old that he was properly named Moshood,
by his parents.
MKO showed entrepreneurial talents at a very
young age, at the age of nine he started his first
business selling firewood. He would wake up at
dawn to go to the forest and gather firewood,
which he would then cart back to town and sell
before going to school, to support his old father
and his siblings. He later founded a band at age
fifteen where he would perform at various
ceremonies in exchange for food. He eventually
became famous enough to start demanding
payment for his performances and used the
money to support his family and his secondary
education at the Baptist Boys High School
Abeokuta, where he excelled. He was the editor of
the school magazine The Trumpeter, Olusegun
Obasanjo was deputy editor. At the age of 19 he
joined the National Council of Nigeria and the
Cameroons ostensibly because of its stronger
pan-Nigerian origin compared with the Obafemi
Awolowo -led Action Group .
Career
In 1956 Moshood Abiola started his professional
life as bank clerk with Barclays Bank plc in
Ibadan , South-West Nigeria. After two years he
joined the Western Region Finance Corporation as
an executive accounts officer before leaving for
Glasgow , Scotland to pursue his higher education.
From Glasgow University he received a first class
degree in accountancy.He also received a
distinction from the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of Scotland . On his return to Nigeria,
he worked as a senior accountant at the
University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, then went
on to Pfizer , before joining the ITT Corporation,
where he later rose to the position of Vice-
President, Africa and Middle-East of the entire
corporation, which was headquartered in the
United States. As a result, Moshood Abiola spent
a lot of his time and made most of his money in
the United States, whilst retaining the post of
chairman of the corporation's Nigerian subsidiary.
In addition to his duties throughout the Middle-
East and Africa, Moshood Abiola invested heavily
in Nigeria and West Africa. He set up Abiola
Farms, Abiola bookshops, Radio Communications
Nigeria, Wonder bakeries, Concord Press, Concord
Airlines, Summit oil international ltd, Africa Ocean
lines, Habib Bank, Decca W.A. ltd, and Abiola
football club. In addition to these, he also
managed to perform his duties as Chairman of
the G15 business council, President of the
Nigerian Stock Exchange , Patron of the Kwame
Nkrumah Foundation, Patron of the WEB Du Bois
foundation, trustee of the Martin Luther King
foundation and director of the International Press
Institute .
Philanthropy
Moshood Abiola with H.E. Pankratiy, Metropolitan
of Stara Zagora and head of the Department for
Ecumenical relations of the Bulgarian Orthodox
church
Moshood Abiola sprang to national and
international prominence as a result of his
philanthropic activities. The Congressional Black
Caucus of the United States of America issued
the following tribute to Moshood Abiola:
“
Because of this man, there is both cause for
hope and certainty that the agony and
protests of those who suffer injustice shall
give way to peace and human dignity. The
children of the world shall know the great
work of this extraordinary leader and his
fervent mission to right wrong, to do justice,
and to serve mankind. The enemies which
imperil the future of generations to come:
poverty, ignorance, disease, hunger, and
racism have each seen effects of the valiant
work of Chief Abiola. Through him and
others like him, never again will freedom rest
in the domain of the few. We, the members
of the Congressional Black Caucus salute
him this day as a hero in the global pursuit
to preserve the history and the legacy of the
African diaspora.
”
From 1972 until his death Moshood Abiola had
been conferred with 197 traditional titles by 68
different communities in Nigeria, in response to
the fact that his financial assistance resulted in
the construction of 63 secondary schools, 121
mosques and churches, 41 libraries, 21 water
projects in 24 states of Nigeria, and was grand
patron to 149 societies or associations in Nigeria.
In this way Abiola reached out and won
admiration across the multifarious ethnic and
religious divides in Nigeria. In addition to his work
in Nigeria, Moshood Abiola was a dedicated
supporter of the Southern African Liberation
movements from the 1970s and he sponsored the
campaign to win reparations for slavery and
colonialism in Africa and the diaspora. Chief
Abiola, personally rallied every African head of
state, and every head of state in the black
diaspora to ensure that Africans would speak
with one voice on the issues.
Remembrance of M.K.O. Abiola
Chief MKO Abiola's memory is celebrated in
Nigeria and internationally.12 June remains a
public holiday in Lagos and Ogun states.
There
are also remembrance events arranged across
Nigeria.MKO Abiola was known for his
charisma and for being a man of the people.

As a prominent social activist, democratic
freedom fighter, and successful business figure,
the continuing support for MKO Abiola is part of
his legacy. MKO Abiola Stadium was named in
his honour. There were also calls for posthumous
presidential recognition.
Despite his popularity or because of it, MKO
Abiola occasionally attracted criticism from
political activists and detractors. Controversy was
caused by a song by Nigerian musician, Fela Kuti .
Kuti was a charismatic multi-instrumentalist
musician, composer and human rights activist –
famed for being the pioneer of Afrobeat music as
well as a controversial figure, due to his unusual
lifestyle and apparent drug use. It is believed
that Kuti had entered into an acrimonious dispute
relating to a contract with MKO Abiola's record
label [ citation needed ] . He used the abbreviation of
International Telephone & Telegraph (IT&T) in a
song criticising big multinational corporations.
The song, ITT accuses such companies of
draining Africa's resources and makes specific
reference to MKO Abiola ("they start to steal
money Like Obasanjo and Abiola".
Awards and honours
Moshood Abiola was twice voted international
businessman of the year[ citation needed ] , and
received numerous honorary doctorates from
universities all over the world. In 1987 he was
bestowed with the golden key to the city of
Washington D.C., and he was bestowed with
awards from the NAACP and the King center in
the USA, as well as the International Committee
on Education for Teaching in Paris, amongst many
others. In Nigeria, the Oloye Abiola was made the
Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland. It is the highest
chieftaincy title available to commoners amongst
the Yoruba, and has only been conferred by the
tribe 14 times in its history. This in effect
rendered Abiola the ceremonial War Viceroy of all
of his tribespeople. According to the folklore of
the tribe as recounted by the Yoruba elders, the
Aare Ona Kakanfo is expected to die a warrior in
the defence of his nation to prove himself in the
eyes of both the divine and the mortal as having
been worthy of his title.
Involvement in politics
Abiola's involvement in politics started early on in
life when he joined the National Council of Nigeria
and the Cameroons (NCNC) at age 19. In 1979,
the military government kept its word and handed
over power to the civilian. As Abiola was already
involved in politics, he joined the ruling National
Party of Nigeria (NPN) in 1980 and was elected
the chairman of his party. Re-election was done
in 1983 and everything looked promising since the
re-elected president was from Abiola's party and
based on the true transition to power in 1979;
Abiola was eligible to go for the post of
presidential candidate after the tenure of the re-
elected president. However, his hope to become
the president was shortly dashed away for the
first time in 1983 when a military coup d'état
swept away the re-elected president of his party
and ended civilian rule in the country. After a
decade of military rule, General Ibrahim
Babangida came under pressure to return
democratic rule to Nigeria. After an aborted initial
primary, Abiola stood for the presidential
nomination of the Social Democratic Party (SDP)
and beat Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe and
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to secure the presidential
nomination of the SDP ahead of the 12 June 1993
presidential elections. Abiola had managed to
work his way out of poverty through hard work
and symbolised the aspirations of many
downtrodden Nigerians. His commitment to the
plight of ordinary Nigerians included establishing
Abiola bookshops to provide affordable, locally
produced textbooks in the 1980s when imported
textbooks became out of the reach of ordinary
Nigerians as the naira was devalued. He also
made available daily necessities such as rice and
soap at affordable prices in the market.
Presidential elections
Moshood Abiola's Hope '93 political manifesto
For the 12 June 1993 presidential elections ,
Abiola's running mate was Baba Gana Kingibe .
He overwhelmingly defeated his rival, Bashir Tofa
of the National Republican Convention . The
election was declared Nigeria's freest and fairest
presidential election by national and international
observers, with Abiola even winning in his
Northern opponent's home state. Abiola won at
the national capital, Abuja, the military polling
stations, and over two-thirds of Nigerian states.
The reason why the election was so historic, was
because men of Northern descent had largely
dominated Nigeria's political landscape since
independence. The fact that Moshood Abiola (a
Southern Muslim) was able to secure a national
mandate freely and fairly remains unprecedented
in Nigeria's history. However, the election was
annulled by Ibrahim Babangida , a political crisis
that ensued which led to General Sani Abacha
seizing power later that year.During
preparations for the 2011 Nigerian Presidential
elections there were calls from several quarters to
remember MKO Abiola .
The famed Nigerian Pastor T.B. Joshua is said to
have predicted the annulment to Abiola and
warned him against contesting.
Imprisonment
Moshood Abiola leaving a Black Maria van under
heavy armed guard
In 1994 Moshood Abiola declared himself the
lawful president of Nigeria in the Epetedo area of
Lagos island, an area mainly populated by
(Yoruba) Lagos Indigenes. He had recently
returned from a trip to win the support of the
international community for his mandate. After
declaring himself president he was declared
wanted and was accused of treason and arrested
on the orders of military President General Sani
Abacha, who sent 200 police vehicles to bring
him into custody. MKO Abiola has been referred
to as Nigeria's greatest statesman.
Moshood Abiola was detained for four years,
largely in solitary confinement with a Bible,
Qur'an , and fourteen guards as companions.
During that time, Pope John Paul II , Archbishop
Desmond Tutu and human rights activists from all
over the world lobbied the Nigerian government
for his release. The sole condition attached to the
release of Chief Abiola was that he renounce his
mandate, something that he refused to do,
although the military government offered to
compensate him and refund his extensive election
expenses. For this reason Chief Abiola became
extremely troubled when Kofi Annan and Emeka
Anyaoku reported to the world that he had agreed
to renounce his mandate after they met with him
to tell him that the world would not recognise a
five-year-old election.
Death
Abiola died under suspicious circumstances
shortly after the death of General Abacha.
Moshood Abiola died on the day that he was due
to be released, on 7 July 1998.While the
official autopsy stated that Abiola died of natural
causes, Abacha's Chief Security Officer, al-
Mustapha has alleged that Moshood Abiola was
in fact beaten to death. al-Mustapha, who was
detained by the Nigerian government, but later
released, claims to have video and audiotapes
showing how Abiola was beaten to death. The
final autopsy report, which was produced by a
group of international coroners has never been
publicly released. Irrespective of the exact
circumstances of his death, it is clear that Chief
Abiola received insufficient medical attention for
his existing health conditions.
As recounted at the time in a BBC interview with
special envoy Thomas R. Pickering , an American
delegation, which included Susan Rice , visited
Abiola and during their meeting with him, Abiola
fell ill, with what was presumed to be a heart
attack which caused his death.

HAPPY JUNE12 CELEBRATION ADEWEBS CARES

I didn't read all but I support what you saying.

This abiola that you all want to turn into mandela by force also had 2 sides like a coin oh? If someone loots the commonwealth of his people and turns right around 2 use it 4 progressive ideas like airlines, papers, sports teams etc, it does not mean that individuals deeds have covered the fact that he is a CORRUPT THIEF! He was also a well known financier and front through which naija dictators and their kind fleeced the nation during the military era, until he grew 2 big 4 his britches and got dealt with by his former friends! Listen 2 "fela" or "ask I.T.T"! That's HOW he got his philantrophic cash! Learn your history!

Did u also write that he was a curupt man that sponsored abacha's coup with the hope of him handing over to him

The u also mention that he disobedience lead to the consultation of the June 12 elections

Pls this man is not different from any Nigerian politician

Buhari is the only Nigerian leader that has his country first at heart
And don't pant this curupt man in same level

Philanthropist/Thief/backstabber/polygamist= M.K.O

Vicadonis:
Philanthropist/Thief/backstabber/polygamist= M.K.O

Bros, the Doctor said I should remind u of ur DRUGS......
Its already MORNING...thankyu