Stella Obasanjo (14 November 1945 – 23 October 2005) was the

First Lady of Nigeria The first lady of Nigeria is an informal, but accepted title, held by the wife of the president of Nigeria. The current First Lady, first lady is Oluremi Tinubu who has held the title since 29 May 2023. The Constitution of Nigeria does not creat ...

from 1999 until her death. She was the wife of former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

, although she was not the First Lady in 1976, when Obasanjo was military

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

. She died while undergoing elective

liposuction Liposuction, or simply lipo, is a type of fat-removal procedure used in plastic surgery. Evidence does not support an effect on weight beyond a couple of months and does not appear to affect obesity-related problems. In the United States, lip ...

abroad. She was a

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

in her own right, supporting causes such as women's liberation, youth as leaders of tomorrow, and the rehabilitation of a war-torn Nigeria.

Early life and education

Stella Abebe was born on 14 November 1945, she was from Iruekpen,

Esan West Esan people, Esan West is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Ekpoma. It has an area of 502 km and Esan West (Ekpoma) has an estimated population of over 1 ...

Edo State Edo State, Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South Geopolitical zones of Nigeria, geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As of 2024, the state was ranked as the List of Ni ...

. Her father, Dr. Christopher Abebe, was chief of the

United Africa Company The United Africa Company (UAC) was a British company which principally traded in West Africa during the 20th century. The United Africa Company was formed in 1929 as a result of the merger of Royal Niger Company, The Niger Company, which had b ...

(UAC) who became the first indigenous (African) chairman of UAC Nigeria. She began her education at Our Lady of the Apostles Primary School. She enrolled at St. Theresa's College, where she obtained her

West African School Certificate The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is a type of standardized test in West Africa. Students who pass the exam receive a certificate confirming their graduation from secondary education. It is administered by the West Af ...

in 1964 with grade one. Two years later she obtained the higher school certificate. She was admitted to the

University of Ife Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which w ...

(now

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which w ...

), Ile-Ife, for a bachelor's degree in English, attending from 1967 to 1969. In 1969 she transferred to the UK to complete her studies, this time round, in

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

, in

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and

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, from 1970 to 1974. She completed her education with a certificate as confidential secretary from Pitman College in 1976. She returned to Nigeria in 1976.

Personal life

She married General Obasanjo with whom she had one son; Olumuyiwa Obasanjo born in 1977. Olusegun Obasanjo had just become Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the

Nigerian Armed Forces The Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF) are the Military, military forces of Nigeria. The forces consist of three service branches: the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force. The President of Nigeria functions as the commander-in-chief of ...

, following the assassination of General Muritala Mohammed.

First Lady of Nigeria

When she became Nigeria's First Lady in 1999, following the election of her husband as president, Obasanjo established Child Care Trust, for the care of underprivileged and/or disabled children. As First Lady of Nigeria, Obasanjo joined the Campaign Against Female Genital Mutilation and on 6 February 2003, she declared the day the

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is a United Nations-sponsored annual awareness day that takes place on February 6 as part of the UN's efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation. It was first introduced in 2003 ...

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

reported that Orobosa Omo-Ojo, the publisher of the Lagos-based '' Nigerian Midwest Herald'', was arrested on Stella Obasanjo's orders on 2 May 2005 and taken to

Akure Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as of the 2006 population census. Its current population is estimated at 774,000.

Death

Obasanjo died at age 59 from complications of cosmetic surgery at a private health clinic in

Puerto Banús Puerto José Banús, more commonly known simply as Puerto Banús, is a marina located in the area of Nueva Andalucía (Marbella), Nueva Andalucía, to the southwest of Marbella, Spain on the Costa del Sol. It was built in May 1970 by José Banús, ...

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the re ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, on 23 October 2005. The surgeon, identified only as "AM" in court, was sentenced to one year of imprisonment in September 2009 on a charge of "causing

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

through negligence", disqualified from medicine for a period of three years and ordered to pay

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120,000 (approximately

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176,000) in compensation to Stella Obasanjo's son.

Prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

s had requested a two-year jail term and five-year disqualification. A request for compensation for the

Nigerian government The federal government of Nigeria is composed of three distinct branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial, whose powers are vested and bestowed upon by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. One of the primary f ...

was also rejected. The

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

had misplaced a tube designed for a

procedure into Obasanjo's

abdominal cavity The abdominal cavity is a large body cavity in humans and many other animals that contain Organ (anatomy), organs. It is a part of the abdominopelvic cavity. It is located below the thoracic cavity, and above the pelvic cavity. Its dome-shaped roo ...

. She sustained a punctured colon and lacerated

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

and died two days after the surgery. The doctor did not immediately answer his mobile phone when called after performing the operation and reportedly left Obasanjo for four hours. Had she been hospitalised in time, it is thought she might have survived her injuries.

References

stella obasanjo as a political activist
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External links

"Nigerian President's wife dies after plastic surgery operation in Spain"
''The Independent.co.uk'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Obasanjo, Stella 1945 births 2005 deaths Nigerian women activists Activists against female genital mutilation First ladies of Nigeria

Stella Stella or STELLA may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Films * ''Stella'' (1921 film), directed by Edwin J. Collins * ''Stella'' (1943 film), with Zully Moreno * ''Stella'' (1950 film), with Ann Sheridan and Victor Mature * ''Stella'' (1955 ...

Obafemi Awolowo University alumni 20th-century Nigerian women 21st-century Nigerian women