Hafsat Olaronke Abiola-Costello, (21 August 1974) in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, is a Nigerian

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

, civil rights and

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

, founder of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), which seeks to strengthen civil society and promote democracy in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. She is President of Women in Africa Initiative (WIA), international platform for the economic development and support of African women entrepreneurs. She is also one of the founders of Connected Women Leaders (CWL).

Early life and education

Abiola-Costello is the eighth child of Nigeria's uninaugurated

president-elect An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the Un ...

, the late Chief

Moshood Abiola Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola , also known as M. K. O. Abiola (; 24 August 1937 – 7 July 1998) was a Nigerian business magnate, publisher, and politician. He was the honorary supreme military commander of the Oyo Empire and an arist ...

and late

Kudirat Abiola Alhaja Kudirat Abiola (born Kudirat Olayinka Adeyemi) , popularly known simply as Kudirat Abiola (1951 – 4 June 1996), was a Nigerian pro-democracy campaigner. She was assassinated whilst her husband, Moshood Abiola, was being detained by the N ...

. Her father, Moshood Abiola, was put in prison by the dictator Gen.

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

after declaring himself president. The elder Abiola later died while in detention in 1998. While her mother was murdered during a demonstration for the release of her husband in 1996. In June 2018, President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

bestowed the title of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on her father, late Chief Moshood Abiola, the supposed winner of the presidential election on June 12, 1993. Abiola-Costello studied at Queens College, Yaba, Lagos and then

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

, Massachusetts where she graduated in 1992. She then studied for degree in

Development Economics Development economics is a branch of economics that deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural c ...

receiving a degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1996, and later earned her M.Sc. in International Development from

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Career

Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND)

In honour of her mother's death, she founded KIND in 1997, with the aim of promoting the development of women as initiators of change through leadership and awareness programs. She is currently board president. KIND is among the major organization that demanded for the reconsideration of the gender bill rejected by

National Assembly of Nigeria The National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a bicameral legislature established under section 4 of the Constitution of Nigeria The body consists of 109 members of the Senate and 360 members from the House of Representatives; The ...

(NASS). A bill seeking the amendment of the section 26 (2a) of the Nigerian 1999

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

; if passed, foreigners married to Nigerian women will be able to apply for Nigerian

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

. The bill is also pushing for at least 35% of political party and appointive positions at the federal and state levels be filled by women, as well as many other issues related to women's rights.

Later works

In 2009, Abiola-Costello founded China-Africa Bridge and China Africa Forum, which promotes mutually beneficial cross-cultural collaboration between

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, with a specific eye on women's contributions to the economy. In 2006, she raised funds by organising performances of ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run at the Westside Theatre. The play explores ...

'' in Nigeria. Since May 2008, she is also a Councillor at the World Future Council among 49 other well known personalities. Abiola-Costello is an advisory council member at the

Fetzer Institute The Fetzer Institute, based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, was founded by broadcast pioneer and Detroit Tigers baseball team owner John E. Fetzer (1901–1991). He formed the institute to support work “designed to discover and enhance the integral rel ...

, as well as the

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) is a non-profit, non-partisan international education and advocacy organization. Founded in 1982, NAPF is composed of individuals and organizations from all over the world. It has consultative status to the ...

. In July 2011, she was appointed the

Special Adviser Special adviser may refer to: *Special adviser (Norway), a high-ranking civil servant *Special adviser (UK) A Special Adviser, also known as a SpAd, is a temporary civil servant who advises and assists UK government ministers or ministers in th ...

to the Governor of

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It is bordered to the south by Lagos State and the Bight of Benin, to the east by Ondo State, and to the north by Oyo and Osun states while its western border forms part of the national borde ...

with responsibility for achieving the

Millennium Development Goals In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These w ...

. In 2016, she was re-appointed Special Adviser to Governor

Ibikunle Amosun Ibikunle Amosun (; born 25 January 1958) is a Nigerian politician, former governor of Ogun State and two-term senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He first served as an elected senator for Ogun Central district of Ogun State, Nigeria from ...

in Ogun State. In 2022, she announced and her support for the Kogi state government's intention to run for the position of president of the republic of Nigeria. In her words, she said she is leading the campaign efforts for Governor

Yahaya Bello Yahaya Adoza Bello (; born 18 June 1975) is a Nigerian businessman, politician. He served as the governor of Kogi State from 2016 to 2024. A member of the All Progressives Congress, Bello was the youngest governor in Nigeria throughout his term ...

because she sees the qualities needed to take Nigeria to its right destination in him.

Personal life

In 2001 she married

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

economist and diplomat Nicholas Costello. They have 2 children, Khalil and Anabella.

Awards and recognition

In 2000, Abiola was honoured as a Global Leader of Tomorrow at the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

in Davos, Switzerland. In 2003, she was elected as a Fellow of the Ashoka: Innovators for the Public in recognition of her international status as a

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, Startup company, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to ...

. In 2006 she was

nominated A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

to be a founding councillor at the

World Future Council The World Future Council (WFC) is a German non-profit foundation with its headquarters in Hamburg. It works to pass on a healthy and sustainable planet with just and peaceful societies to future generations. FuturePolicy.org The futurepol ...

A 2014 documentary, "

The Supreme Price ''The Supreme Price'' (2014) is a feature-length documentary film about the evolution of the pro-democracy movement in Nigeria, produced and directed by Joanna Lipper. The film explores gender politics, military dictatorship, and the ongoing str ...

" details the story of Hafsat Abiola and how both her parents paid a terrible cost in their quest for a better, freer Nigeria. It was directed by Joanna Lipper, a lecturer at Harvard University, who tells the story from Hafsat's perspective. The documentary also includes interviews with

Walter Carrington Walter C. Carrington (July 24, 1930 – August 11, 2020) was an American diplomat who served as the United States ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Senegal and Nigeria. Carrington served as the U.S. ambassador to Senegal from 1980 ...

, former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, and Nobel Prize-winning writer

Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka , (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty five plays and five memoirs. He also wrote two transla ...

. In 2015 she was chosen to be one of 21 women who met for a conference at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government funded by Hunt Alternatives. The group included Judy Thongori from Kenya, Fauzia Nasreen from Pakistan and

Olufunke Baruwa Olufunke Baruwa is a Nigerian gender and development practitioner, feminist and public speaker with a focus on gender, public policy and governance. For more than two decades, she has been at the forefront of social policies and reforms in Nige ...

, Esther Ibanga and

Ayisha Osori Ayisha Osori is a Nigerian lawyer, author, international development consultant, journalist and politician known for her work on good governance, gender equality, women economic and political participation and ending violence against women in Nig ...

also from Nigeria.17 women changing the world
Jan 2015, InclusiveSecurity, Retrieved 8 February 2016 Some of her other awards and recognitions include: *''Youth Peace and Justice Award'' of the Cambridge Peace Commission, 1997 *''State of the World Forum Changemaker Award'', 1998 *''Woman to Watch for Award'', 1999 *''Global Leader of Tomorrow Award'', World Economic Forum, 2000 *''Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Global Award'', 2001 *''Seeking Common Ground Award'', 2007 *''Andover Alumni Award of Distinction,'' 2013 *''Goi Peace Award'', 2016 *''

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

Diplomat of the Year Award'', 2016 *''

National Civil Rights Museum The National Civil Rights Museum is a complex of museums and historic buildings in Memphis, Tennessee; its exhibits trace the history of the civil rights movement in the United States from the 17th century to the present. The museum is built ar ...

’s Freedom Award'', 2019

Early life and education

Career

Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND)

Later works

Personal life

Awards and recognition

See also

Notes

External links