Moshood Abiola

Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola was born on August 24, 1937, in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Overcoming extreme childhood poverty, he earned a degree in accountancy from the University of Glasgow. Joining ITT Corporation, he rose to become Executive Vice-President for Africa and the Middle East, amassing vast wealth in telecommunications, banking, oil shipping, and publishing the Concord newspaper group.

A philanthropist across the African continent who funded reparations movements and sports development, Abiola ran for the presidency under the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1993. On June 12, 1993, in what is recognized as Nigeria's freest election, he secured a decisive pan-ethnic victory. When the military annulled the poll, Abiola declared his mandate in the historic Epetedo Proclamation of 1994, suffering four years of solitary confinement until his sudden death on July 7, 1998.