Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (August 24, 1937 - July 7, 1998), often referred to as M. K. O. Abiola, was a popular Yoruba businessman, publisher and politician. He ran for the presidency in 1993, and won, but remained President-Elect till his death, as he was denied his mandate when the election results were annulled by the preceding military president Ibrahim Babangida. Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State. His name, Kashimawo, means 'Let us wait and see'. Moshood Abiola was his father's twenty-third child but the first of his father's children to survive infancy, hence the name 'Kashimawo'. It was not until he was 15 years old that he was properly named Moshood, by his parents.

In 1956 Moshood Abiola started his professional life as bank clerk with Barclays Bank plc in Ibadan, South-West Nigeria. He left 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. On his returm to Nigeria he worked as a senior accountant at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, then went onto Pfizer, before joining the ITT Corporation (International Telephone & Telegraph), where he later rose to the position of Vice President, Africa and Middle-East of the entire corporation which was head-quartered in the United States. As a result Moshood Abiola spent much of his time and made most of his money in the United States, whilst retaining the post of chairman of the corporation's Nigerian subsidiary. In addition to his duty's throughout the Middle-East and Africa, Moshood Abiola invested heavily in Nigeria and West Africa. He set up Abiola Farms, Abiola bookshops, Radio Communications Nigeria, Wonder bakeries, Concord Press, Concord Airlines, Summit oil international ltd, Africa Ocean lines, Habib Bank, Decca W.A. ltd, and Abiola football club. He was also President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Moshood Abiola sprang to national and international prominence as a result of his philanthropic activities. The Congressional Black Caucus of the United States of America issued a tribute to Moshood Abiola. 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.

The most widely known critic of Chief Abiola, was Fela. In his twenty-five minute song 'ITT' (International Thief Thief), although the song was not about Moshood Abiola, he mentioned the name of both Olusegun Obasanjo and Moshood Abiola at the very end. It is far less widely known that Fela had been signed to Moshood Abiola's record label, Decca W.A. and had a dispute over royalties with him. When Abiola asked Fela to take him to court if he felt that he had been treated unfairly, he instead opted to destroy the studio's of Decca. This may have been because Abiola's influence and Fela's unpopularity with the government would have made it unlikely that he received a fair trial. Moshood Abiola is also criticised for his close relationship and support of some of Nigeria's military regimes. He received two oil blocks from the Federal Military Government, however he did begin extracting oil from them before he died, and therefore they were never a source of his wealth. Moshood Abiola was said to have had children with as many as 30 women. However it is widely believed that most of them were mistresses or just gold diggers. As a muslim he is allowed to marry 4.

Moshood Abiola was twice voted international businessman of the year, and received numerous honorary doctorates from universities all over the world. In 1987 he was bestowed with the golden key to the city of Washington D.C. In Nigeria, Abiola was made the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland. It is the highest chieftancy title in Yorubaland, and has only been conferred 14 times in the history of the Yoruba.

Abiola's involvement in politics started early on in life when he joined the NCNC at age 19. In the 1980s, he was elected as the chairman of the ruling National Party of Nigeria. However,In 1983, a military coup ended civilian rule. After a decade of military rule, General Ibrahim Babanginda came under pressure to return democratic rule to Nigeria. After an aborted initial primary, Abiola stood for the presidential nomination under the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and won. The election was declared Nigeria's freest and fairest presidential election by national and international observers, with Abiola even winning in his Northern opponents (Baba Gana Kingibe) home state. However, the election was annulled by Ibrahim Babangida, a political crisis that ensued which led to General Sani Abacha seizing power later that year.

In 1994 President-Elect Moshood Abiola declared himself the lawful president of Nigeria. He had recently returned from a trip to win the support of the international community for his mandate when he was declared wanted and was accused of treason.He was arrested on the orders of military President General Sani Abacha. Moshood Abiola was detained for four years, largely in solitary confinement. During that time, Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and human rights activists from all over the world lobbied the Nigerian government for his release. The sole condition attached by the Government to the his release was that he renounce his mandate, something that he refused to do, although the military government offered to compensate him and refund his extensive election expenses.

Abiola's wife, Kudirat, after her husband was arrested began an intimidating campaign against Abacha's government and organised the masses in support of Chief Abiola's mandate. She was murdered in her car in a drive-by shooting. After her brutal murder, the New York City government named a street in Manhattan (close to the Nigerian consulate) after her.

Abiola died under extremely suspicious circumstances shortly after the death of General Abacha. Several accounts by security officials exist. One by Abacha's Chief Security Officer, al-Mustapha states that he was beaten to death. Another account by Assistant Superintendent for Police Theodore Bethel Zadok says he slumped after drinking tea provided by a United States delgation during a meeting. According to Zadok, Chief Abiola who suffered from high blood pressure and heart problems was healthy and in high spirits before the meeting. He died on the day he was due for release July 7th, 1998. This caused some to believe he was killed by the CIA. The final autopsy report, which was produced by a group of international coroners has never been publicly released.