sammirano: @Poster, are you minding UNILAG kids who don't known anything as at the life of MKO but were unfortunate to hear bad stories regarding the philanthropist.

The story of Abiola’s life is a classic rags to riches story that could be a Hollywood film. He was born into poverty in a large family. His birth came after a series of failed pregnancies, still born children and infant deaths in his family. He eventually attended the famous Baptist Boys High School in his home town of Abeokuta, in Ogun State. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is another alumnus of that school. Afterward he studied accountancy at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. He then worked with the multi-national pharmaceutical company Pfizer.[size=13pt] [b]However Abiola made his name and riches when he joined the telecommunications company International Telegraph and Telephone (ITT). Abiola eventually became the chairman of ITT and via series of cordial relations with key army officers, Abiola amassed so much wealth, influence and fame that he once boasted of being the richest African on Earth.

Two of Abiola’s closest military friends were then Minister of Communications Brigadier Murtala Muhammed and Lt-Col Ibrahim Babangida. Abiola met Babangida in 1974 when Abiola was selling radio systems to the military. Babangida was sent to evaluate the quality of devices being sold by Abiola. According to Babangida “From that time the relationship developed and he was always around”. Abiola also met Brigadier Muhammed after bravely confronting Muhammed over a series of debts owed to Abiola’s company by Muhammed’s Communications Ministry. The normally fearsome and ruthless Muhammed was impressed by Abiola’s courage and the two struck up a friendship. With Babangida and Muhammed eventually becoming Heads of State, Abiola exploited his relationship with them to secure extensive patronage via contracts with the government and became spectacularly rich in the process. His business empire grew massively as did his bank account balance, number of wives, concubines and children.[/b][/size]

adolfe bad:


Even your grand father cannot claim to know more about the politics of Abiola than ADOLFE does.
[/b]I have told you to forget about whatever transpired between MKO and IBB.
[b]Everyone cuts one corner or the other and I'm not sitting here to discuss with you about tales of conspiracy and betrayal.
I'm discussing the life of a HERO.
I'm showing you the reason MKO is a proclaimed hero.

I will give you an assignment now LIKE your teachers do.
Search through the history of Nigeria back and forth, from cover to cover and name any PHILANTROPIST like MKO you find.
He funded over 60 secondary schools, built over 100 mosques and churches in the nation, has over 150 traditional titles bestowed on him from different communities all over the country, he built libraries, his boreholes provided free water for tons of people.
HE gave money to people in need resiliently like free wine,
or have you forgotten so soon that ABIOLA bookshop he built where people who could not buy a book could go and get for free?

HE probably touched more people in his lifetime than a combination of you and your grand father(pls no offense) has done.

And you wonder why people rallied round and supported him in mass?
You wonder where that CHARISMA came from that even village people loved and wanted him?

Listen here GANJA-JUNKIE. . .

If there is any HERO you want in times like this, who would touch so many lives directly, he is someone LIKE MKO ABIOLA.
A PHILANTROPIST passionate to just keep helping and helping people.
He is more than a HERO.

joshuapharm: @adolfe..wat u said about abiola..two years ago..my lecturer was teaching before he branched into abiola's gist..he spoke about his generosity and how people liked him...and u ethnic bigots that think abiola doesnt deserve this..even if its true that he stole..at least he gave back to the society..wat has jonathan given to us..its all about fake and unseen achievements in his democracy day speech..he keeps promising and there is notin to show for it..

personally..am not happy with it name change cos (1). i think Abiola deserves more..a national property would be better (2). unilag is d wrong choice..unaab or even u.i would just do..gawd!!! do u know d meaning of brand it didnt take a year to create a strong one like dat u know...

@beaf is back with his usual show of unparalled ignomitious stupidity..

Educated as a chartered accountant at Britain's Glasgow University, he joined the U.S. International Telephone and Telegraph Corp. in 1969.

[size=13pt]He was ITT's vice president for Africa and the Middle East in 1971.

When he retired from the company in 1988, he was a target for critics who painted him as the unacceptable face of Western imperialism in Africa. [/size]

But Mr. Abiola went on to become a leading pan-Africanist and has been honored for his work by some of black Africa's top institutions.

During the campaign, in which he showed an occasional intolerance of criticism, Mr. Abiola proclaimed an ability to pull Nigeria through testing times.

Aides say his cure for Nigeria's crumbling, oil-dependent economy will be authoritarianism with an emphasis on big business.

[size=13pt]Mr. Abiola has had his eyes on the presidency since the late 1970s when he failed to win the nomination for the right-wing National Party of Nigeria in the 1979-83 republic.

He became disillusioned with feudalism in the NPN hierarchy, overthrown in a 1983 army coup.[/size]

Beaf:

Tell them, bro. We didn't get out on the streets to risk our lives for a man without essence.
MKO was a very great man that touched many lives in ways no individual has in the annals of Nigeria.

jason123: Ndigbo, I apologise for using you as an example.

Papabrowne, rather I think you exposed your hypocrisy.

A few months ago, the University of Nigeria, Nnsuka was about to be renamed after Ojukwu or Nnamdi (not sure which it was). The Igbo kicked against it, no one said the Igbo hates them. Now the Yorubas are doing the same and you brand them hypocrites??

Mister, search your heart well and find out what is biting you.

joshuapharm: @beaf is back with his usual show of unparalled ignomitious stupidity..

edicolove:
I am waiting for South West to come out in 2 weeks time and tell us we should all celebrate June 12. It will be very funny indeed.

Demdem:

So u did this with me and u are still in the business of sucking the Retardeen's arse constantly. Na wa for u ooo. U remind me of baba gana kingibe.

Kobojunkie:

This is what irks me of how some of you folks think. Celebrating June 12 has little to do with the man Abiola, but the fact that Nigerians across the Nation STOOD UP to fight for their right to a democracy. That is what June 12th was about.

The riots that followed, led mostly by the agberos and ignorant Abiola blind bats, should not be used to taint June 12th and what it really meant for Nigeria as a whole.

I protested June 12th as well. I stood against the annulment of the people's decision, not on behalf of any man, but on behalf of the Nation and it's future. Please get it right. June 12th is not about Abiola but about a Nation standing against in protest against a decision made by the establishment to deny them their right to choose.

RoadStar:
So you've answered the question, no one really loves MKO ...

CHESSBOARD:

UNN was personally built by ZIK of Africa and yet he said he doesnt want the name to be change to his or any other person, we the JGBOs respects our Elders wishes, not even the WARLORD himself EZE-GBURUGBURU will make us dis-respect ZIK word.
All I want in this forum, is for YORUBAS to agree that MKO does not worth such a recognition, maybe because he was once and ITT and i will personally tell Jonathan to revert the name sharp sharp

Kobojunkie:

You mean this Philanthropist?



http://maxsiollun./2008/06/02/what-if-abiola-had-become-president/

Chinom: Great or not, philanthropist ot not MKO does not deserve to have Unilag named after him. It's like asking Igbos to accept renaming UNN to Orji Uzor Kalu university. He is a philanthropist too. And they both stole our money conniving with the military men. UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS IT SHOULD BE.period.

Beaf:

But today, you think MKO's name is not worth it and university's old name was a "brand" and "legacy" that is worth more than MKO's.
Shame on you.

Nop, no one said that liar. Infact, i would have love a situation whereby Aso Villa is named after him and Democracy day now June 12 instead of what OBJ imposed on us.

Dude, I am not a hypocrite like you. I was for MKO, then and I am now.

Delighted to know u were once on the good side.

We stopped an armoured column under Palmgrove bridge, unarmed, but believing; many of us died. You are a hypocrite, bro.

And to think that u supported the retardeen's deployment of soldiers to innocent protesters in Lagos in January beats my imagination. Bros, u fit lie oooo

Sedar:
UNILAG renamed Moshood Abiola University (MAU)....so? Is this d first University being renamed? Uni Ife became OAU, OSU became OOU, BSU, became AAU, OSUTECH became LAUTECH(thank God!), and the world didn't come to an end then, so y d hullabaloo about UNILAG becomin MAU?? Or d name nor get swag ni?.. Lol.. This same UniLag students went out enmasse to protest the annulment of the June 12 elections in 1993, y are they now protesting the honoring of the same man they fought for 20yrs ago?? How soon people forget... Make una just Meche onu nd embrace ur new name.... Greatest

Guyman02: Oga Jona, abeg build something else and name it after the democracy icon MKO. UNILAG has become a unique brand that some of us who schooled in better schools still rever that name UNILAG. Its like the US Govt renaming the Masserchussets Institute of Technology (MIT) to George Bush Institute of Technology (GBIT) or jibiti.

akindayor: @PapaBrowne
Wat is wrong with ur thinking, who told u those students are southwesterners?
why are Nigerians so tribalistics in their perspective?
no wonder we ve d type of leader we get!!!!

Kobojunkie:

This is what irks me of how some of you folks think. Celebrating June 12 has little to do with the man Abiola, but the fact that Nigerians across the Nation STOOD UP to fight for their right to a democracy. That is what June 12th was about.

The riots that followed, led mostly by the agberos and ignorant Abiola blind bats, should not be used to taint June 12th and what it really meant for Nigeria as a whole.

I protested June 12th as well. I stood against the annulment of the people's decision, not on behalf of any man, but on behalf of the Nation and it's future. Please get it right. June 12th is not about Abiola but about a Nation standing against in protest against a decision made by the establishment to deny them their right to choose.

sammirano: @Poster, are you minding UNILAG kids who don't known anything as at the life of MKO but were unfortunate to hear bad stories regarding the philanthropist.

The story of Abiola’s life is a classic rags to riches story that could be a Hollywood film. He was born into poverty in a large family. His birth came after a series of failed pregnancies, still born children and infant deaths in his family. He eventually attended the famous Baptist Boys High School in his home town of Abeokuta, in Ogun State. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is another alumnus of that school. Afterward he studied accountancy at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. He then worked with the multi-national pharmaceutical company Pfizer.[size=13pt] [b]However Abiola made his name and riches when he joined the telecommunications company International Telegraph and Telephone (ITT). Abiola eventually became the chairman of ITT and via series of cordial relations with key army officers, Abiola amassed so much wealth, influence and fame that he once boasted of being the richest African on Earth.

Two of Abiola’s closest military friends were then Minister of Communications Brigadier Murtala Muhammed and Lt-Col Ibrahim Babangida. Abiola met Babangida in 1974 when Abiola was selling radio systems to the military. Babangida was sent to evaluate the quality of devices being sold by Abiola. According to Babangida “From that time the relationship developed and he was always around”. Abiola also met Brigadier Muhammed after bravely confronting Muhammed over a series of debts owed to Abiola’s company by Muhammed’s Communications Ministry. The normally fearsome and ruthless Muhammed was impressed by Abiola’s courage and the two struck up a friendship. With Babangida and Muhammed eventually becoming Heads of State, Abiola exploited his relationship with them to secure extensive patronage via contracts with the government and became spectacularly rich in the process. His business empire grew massively as did his bank account balance, number of wives, concubines and children.[/b][/size]

Sedar:
UNILAG renamed Moshood Abiola University (MAU)....so? Is this d first University being renamed? Uni Ife became OAU, OSU became OOU, BSU, became AAU, OSUTECH became LAUTECH(thank God!), and the world didn't come to an end then, so y d hullabaloo about UNILAG becomin MAU?? Or d name nor get swag ni?.. Lol.. This same UniLag students went out enmasse to protest the annulment of the June 12 elections in 1993, y are they now protesting the honoring of the same man they fought for 20yrs ago?? How soon people forget... Make una just Meche onu nd embrace ur new name.... Greatest

Johndoe100: Why are you all still on this? This is a done deal. All haters can lick their wounds here if they wish.