My mentor is not just a man of super human character and a rare gem but a man favoured by the gods, he is also a man who I so admire for his achievements and noble qualities. He was an enigma. In his rather eventful life Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola who was born on the 24th of August,1937 and died July 7th, 1998, was to me a man of many parts. He was a chartered accountant, International businessman, politician, philanthropist, sports enthusiast, populist, multimillionaire and of course, my mentor!

Rising from a very humble background, his achievements was nothing but a study in hard work and perseverance. His was a classic rags to riches story of someone born into abject poverty, but rose to become a stupendously wealthy man. This was because life did not start easy for him as his mother died simply because the family could not afford to pay 55 kobo (55 cents) that the doctor had demanded to treat her.

Despite the unfortunate predicaments, which befell their family, his quest to excel was unshaken. To survive, he had to sell firewood to supplement the family income and to pay his school fees but that was not enough means of sustenance so he ventured into music. His band played only on weekends and was paid only 1 naira and five kobo (1 dollar 5 cents).

At school, he had to memorize volumes of books he borrowed because he could not afford to buy them. Through a dint of hard work and single-minded devotion, he pursued his education. After his primary education, he proceeded to high school, he completed his

High school education before tragedy struck his mother. He was however later awarded a scholarship due to excellence and proceeded to the University of Glasgow, Scotland, on the journey to accomplish his academic dream! He graduated in 1963 with a degree in Accountancy, which enabled him to work with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital

(LUTH) as a deputy chief accountant. He later joined the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (ITT) where fortune smiled on him.

He was never tired to speaking of his poor background because he had the privileged to taste both sides of life; the rich side and the poor side, I quote