Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, GCFR, (aka MKO Abiola) was by all standards a genius; highly endowed in multitudinous dimensions, perhaps beyond human comprehension. Such personalities are not created by God in sufficient quantities. They trickle in and out of the world. And the wicked could stay longer! That is God Almighty Who does whatever HE likes. As Shakespeare once said, ‘’those whom the gods love often die young’’. So it was with MKO Abiola, a sympathizer of humanity who combined ingenuity with humility, and fellow-feeling of a highly cultured and detribalized Nigerian; or even global citizen. Abiola’s bravery, absolute professional competence, and dedication to whichever cause he chose to pursue, ranked him among the class of the greatest Nigerians that ever lived. THE MAN WITH A MIDAS TOUCH: As an American poet and educator Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote: “The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” Longfellow, in 1834, became a professor at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. MKO Abiola was widely regarded as a global businessman with ‘’a Midas touch’’ Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. MKO was an immensely successful man by global ratings. Abiola’s influence traversed Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East where he drove the expansionist policy of American communications giant, ITT. Abiola, by dint of hard work rose to the position of ITT Corporation’s Vice-President for Africa and Middle-East. Abiola spent a lot of his time flying all over the world attending to his vast businesses. He made most of his money, in the United States, while serving the ITT and retained the post of chairman of the corporation’s Nigerian subsidiary – Radio Communications. He knew how to navigate the business better than political terrains. Both may be connected to intrigues. But politics, as played in Nigeria could be frightening and may not be for the timid soul. Politics features harder tackles than business. Politics might not give room for what Yoruba call ‘’Omoluabi’’ to operate. In politics, nobody bothers if you die. The important consideration appears to be political power. In the business world, MKO was a master strategist with rare and unique marketing and negotiations skills that won him a sizable chunk of ITT’s mouth watering earnings from his areas of jurisdiction. And…
