In this 1992 impromptu interview at his residence, Abiola admitted that the attitude of the people beckon him to run for the office of the president but he remained skeptical about his fate, certainly not at the polls but in the hands of Northern dictators who held on to power.
No doubt Abiola was loved and celebrated by many, both locally and internationally for his many philanthropic works and his major contributions to the development of Nigeria. He provided financial assistance in the construction of 63 secondary schools, 121 mosques, and churches, 41 libraries, 21 water projects in 24 states of Nigeria, and was the grand patron to 149 societies or associations in Nigeria.
He also supported the Southern African Liberation movements from the 1970s, and he sponsored the campaign to win reparations for slavery and colonialism in Africa and the diaspora. He was conferred with 197 traditional titles by 68 different communities in Nigeria.
Abiola was widely recognized as the winner of the June 12 1993 Presidential Election that was wrongfully annulled by the then military dictator and head of state, Ibrahim Babangida. He was subsequently arrested and detained for declaring himself the winner of the annulled election.
Abiola died in suspicious circumstances shortly after the death of General Abacha, on the day that he was due to be released, 7 July 1998
On June 6, 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari declared June 12 to be the new Democracy Day to commemorate the democratic election of MKO Abiola, he also honored Abiola with a posthumous award of the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR).
Source: #yorubablog