SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO M.K.O ABIOLA ON HIS 18 YEAR REMEMBRANCE ANNIVERSARY.

Chief  Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, CFR (24 August 1937 – 7 July 1998)

July 7, 1998 will always be remembered by Nigerians. That day, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, the adjudged winner of the 1993 presidential election died

Often referred to as M. K. O. Abiola, was a popular Nigerian  businessman, publisher, politician and aristocrat of the Yoruba. 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.

 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.

In Nigeria, the Chief 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

FACTS BOUT THE LATE POLITICIAN

·         Before his birth, MKO’s father had lost 22 children in their infant stage and so he was named Kashimawo meaning ‘let’s wait and see’ with hope that chances of the young child would survive infancy was very slim

·         He started his first business at the age of 9. The young Kashimawo would go to the farm early in the day to get firewood, then package and sell before going to school. This was his first entrepreneurial drive. 
Despite being a stammered, MKO was in his teenage days a musician who performed at shows to make money for his upkeep. He formed his band at the age of 15. While at the Baptist Boys High School, Kashimawo was a respected writer moving on to emerge the editor of the school magazine. His deputy editor at the time was Nigeria’s former Head of State and president, Olusegun Obasanjo and the magazine was called The Trumpeter.

·         At the age of 19, MKO was employed as a clerk at the Baclays Bank in Ibadan. Two years later he left the bank for another financial institution but soon proceeded to Glasgow University where he graduated with a first class degree in Accounting.

·         Abiola’s involvement in politics started at a young age. He was 19-years-old when he joined the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in 1979.

·         For the June 12, 1993 presidential elections, Abiola’s running mate was Baba Gana Kingibe. He overwhelmingly defeated his rival, Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention.

·         Many people may have paid attention to the word ‘Hope’ being used to convey a message of possibility during Obama’s 2008 election in America, but 15 years before then in Africa’s most populous nation, MKO Abiola became a rallying figure for many Nigerians with his ‘Hope’ campaign.

·         In 1993, MKO won the presidential election which was later annulled by the outgoing Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida. This led to the popular June 12 agitation and riots engulfed the whole nation. Abiola was later thrown in jail by General Sanni Abacha under frivolous claims of treason.

·         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.

·         Moshood Abiola was detained for four years, largely in solitary confinement with a Bible, Qur’an, and fourteen guards as companions.

·         Abiola died on July 7, 1998 on the day he was due to be released from incarceration under suspicious circumstances shortly after the death of General Abacha. The official autopsy stated that Abiola died of natural causes, but Abacha’s chief security officer, Al-Mustapha alleged he was beaten to death.

·         On Tuesday July 7, 1998, Abiola’s death was announced, leading to widespread protests across the country. Abiola died 30 days after the demise of the late dictator, Abacha who had passed on under controversial circumstances on the night of June 8, 1998.

·          Chief MKO Abiola’s memory is celebrated in Nigeria and internationally. June 12, remains a public holiday in Lagos and Ogun states and other All progressive Congress party states. MKO Abiola Stadium was named in his honour.

·         He was awarded the third highest national honour, the Commander of the Federal Republic posthumously in 1998.