By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – The man Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State on August 24, 1937, was a popular Nigerian Yoruba businessman, publisher, Philantropist and politician.
He was his father’s twenty-third child but the first of his father’s children to survive infancy.
MKO showed entrepreneurial talents at a very young age when at a tender age of nine he started his first business by 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, in order to support his old father and his siblings.
He later established a band at age fifteen where he performed at different functions in return of food. He in the end came to be acclaimed enough to begin requesting money for his exhibitions and utilized the cash to uphold his family and his optional instruction at the Baptist Boys High School Abeokuta, where he outperformed.
Moshood became the editor of the school magazine- “The Trumpeter” while former president Olusegun Obasanjo was then his deputy.
His first incursion into politics was at the age of 19 when he joined the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons apparently as a result of its container Africanist office, inclining toward it to the Obafemi Awolowo-led Action Group to keep focus on investment and educational advancement for the Western Region of Nigeria, where the Yoruba were in the majority.
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.
In Glasgow he received 1st class in political economy, commercial law and management accountancy. He also received a distinction from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
He returned to Nigeria and worked as a senior accountant at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital – (a University which was later renamed Moshood Abiola University). Moshhod later worked with Pfizer, before joining the ITT Corporation, where he later rose to the position of Vice President, Africa and Middle-East of the whole partnership, which was head-quartered in the United States.
Moshood Abiola invested a considerable measure of his time and money in the United States, whilst holding the post of executive of the corporation’s Nigerian subsidiary.
He invested heavily in Nigeria and West Africa one of such investments are: “Abiola Farms”,” Abiola Bookshops”, “Radio Communications Nigeria”, “Wonder Bakeries”, “Concord Press”, “Concord Airlines” and “Summit Oil International Ltd. Others are,; “Africa Ocean Lines”,” Habib Bank”, “Decca W.A. Ltd and Abiola Football Club.
Focused Moshood did not relent as he also performed his duties as Chairman of the G15 business council, President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Patron of the Kwame Nkrumah Foundation.
Moshood Abiola sprang to national and global prominence as a consequence of his humanitarian exercises.
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 the international arena, Moshood Abiola was twice voted as “Worldwide Businessman of the Year”, and gained various honorary doctorates from universities all over the world. In 1987 he was given the golden key to the city of Washington D.C., and he was bestowed with an award from the NAACP and the King center in the USA, and also the International Committee on Education for Teaching in Paris, around numerous others.
Back home in Nigeria, he was made the “Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland”. It is the most noteworthy chieftancy title in Yoruba land and has just been given by the tribe 14 times in its history. This basically rendered Abiola the ceremonial Viceroy of the greater part of his tribes people.
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 defense of his nation in order to prove himself in the eyes of both the divine and the mortal as having been worthy of his title.
Moshood Abiola was the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 election which has been adjudged the freest and fairest election ever conducted in the history of elections in Nigeria despite that it was Muslim/Muslim joint ticket. Nigerians rose above ethnic and religious sentiments in the election of Abiola/Kingibe ticket.
Then came the annulment of the election by IBB and the rest is history. Like his title, “Aare Ona Kakanfo” depicted, Abiola died a warrior fighting to actualize the mandate given to him by Nigerians after he was arrested and put in prison for declaring himself President.
Therefore, President Muhammadu Buhari’s conferment of Nigeria’s highest award of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola on Wednesday was an honour well deserved.
Also, the declaration of June 12, starting from 2019, as “”democracy day” has received wide commendation by Nigerians with many admitting that the real history of return to democracy in Nigeria is anchored on June 12.
MKO as was fondly called would be turning in jubilation at his grave as Nigerians turn out in numbers tomorrow to join President Muhammadu Buhari to posthumously confer the highest national award of “Grand Commander of Federal Republic” (GCFR) to him in honour of his contribution to the democracy we all enjoy today.
Late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (GCFR) died on the 7th of July, 1998 in suspicious circumstances on the day he was due to be released.