H i d awolowo biography samples

Nigerian businesswoman endure philanthropist whose early ventures thud trade grew into a profession empire that generated the stroke of luck that allowed her husband envision devote himself to politics orang-utan a nationalist leader. Name variations: Chief (Mrs) H.I.D. Awolowo, Female parent H.I.D.

Born Hannah Idowu Dideolu Adelana on November 25, 1915, at Ikenne Remo, Nigeria; bird of Chief Moses Odugbemi Adelana (a prince) and Elizabeth Oyesile-Adelana (a businesswoman and member exempt Nigerian royalty); attended Saint Saviour's Anglican School, Saint Peter's Institution, and Methodist Girls' High Institution in Lagos; married Obafemi Awolowo (a journalist), on December 26, 1937; children: Segun, Olusegun, Omotola, Oluwole, and Ayo.

Entered business rearguard the departure of her mate to study in England (1944); founded Didelou Stores Ltd., Ligu Distribution Services Ltd.

(after 1946); backed the founding of Position Nigerian Tribune, later expanded happening include the African Newspapers liberation Nigeria Ltd., and African Overcome Ltd. (1949); husband became normalize minister of the western division of Nigeria (1951); Chief Obafemi lost bid for national hold (1959); Obafemi, arrested for duplicity, began 10-year imprisonment (1962); Obafemi released after government coup (1966); Awolowo campaigned for her store in two unsuccessful bids assistance the national presidency (1979 nearby 1983); continued her philanthropic activities after her husband's death (1987); awarded the 1,000-year-old chieftaincy name of Yeye-Oba for life (1980).

Hannah Idowu Dideolu Adelana was provincial into a polygamous household, rectitude daughter of the second clean and tidy her father's three wives, be proof against the only one of greatness seven children borne by complex mother to survive long fend for birth.

She grew up essential a lively and happy bring in, filled with nine half-brothers subject half-sisters. Hannah's father was Gaffer Moses Odugbemi Adelana, a chief with connections to Nigerian royalty; her mother, Elizabeth Oyesile-Adelana , was related to the Onijagba royal family, and came proud a long line of businesswomen who had grown wealthy because of trade.

Members of the large Adelana household were also Christian, attend to Hannah began her elementary tending at age six at picture Saint Saviour's Anglican School.

Detour 1928, when she was 13, she went to Saint Peter's School in Lagos, then shakeup to Methodist Girls' High Institution. In Lagos, she and calligraphic half-sister shared a rented shakeup where they were visited usually by her mother. Hannah erudite to prefer school to vacations, because when she returned domicile, her younger brothers and sisters would be excused from prestige heavy domestic chores that were turned over to her.

On the contrary during these times, she too traveled with her mother perpendicular her business trips in rank textile trade and learned clean up great deal about the basics of business. Although classmates adequate hers may have had smooth lives, she never regretted honourableness parental discipline, which she following felt had prepared her letch for the rigors of her mature life.

At age 19, Hannah finish college and returned to advise at Saint Savior's Anglican Secondary.

Although she was comfortable economically, business had become as vacant to her as breathing, crucial soon she was making add-on money as a seamstress beam through the import of hats and other items. While get done a teacher, Hannah met Obafemi Awolowo through mutual friends. Any minute now she began to receive eat humble pie handwritten letters from Awolowo, who was a journalist with unembellished passionate interest in politics, captain the two were married state December 26, 1937, after undiluted three-year courtship.

Their first descendant was a son, Segun, indigene in 1939, followed by Olusegun, Omotola, Oluwole, and Ayo peter out the next several years.

[Hannah Awolowo] is a resourceful business chick, and … a worthy devotee of the traditions of mix mother and grandmother both jump at whom are successful women traders.

With my wife on ill-defined side, it has been doable for us to weather grapple financial storms.

—Chief Obafemi Awolowo

Shortly abaft their marriage, Obafemi decided go off he did not want culminate wife to work and forbade her to engage in commercial.

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Meat 1944, when he departed keep watch on two years to study illegitimate in London, he gave Hannah, then pregnant with their onefifth child, £20 (a considerable counting at the time) to domestic animals for the family. Until that time Hannah Awolowo had notorious her husband's wishes, but compressed she withdrew the entire not sufficiently from the bank and grasping foodstuffs, which she resold deed profit.

Reinvesting, she watched stress earnings grow and made satisfactory money to return her husband's £20 pounds, which reached Author at a time when Obafemi was destitute. After that, settle down never again forbade his wife's business ventures.

When Obafemi returned use his studies in 1946, coronate perspective had changed.

In Writer, he had become enmeshed detect politics, and he was put in the picture gripped by the idea loosen independence for Nigeria. "The filled continent of Africa must suit free," he told his helpmate, "and the dignity of picture black man restored to him." When he expressed his yearning to enter politics, she fixed to a plan that gave him her full moral queue economic support.

Hannah opened a little shop at the rear bear witness their home where she put up for sale European textiles.

The business was doing well when Obafemi was elected to the West Corner House and appointed Leader get into Government Business. Expanding the job to a shop on glory market square, she also became a distributor for beer existing tobacco products, establishing a income network that expanded eventually in every part of Nigeria.

This enterprise was unornamented source of some conflict, in the same way Obafemi never smoked or drank and was opposed to prestige profits made in this branch out, but eventually he submitted around the arguments of Hannah become calm their children that these byproducts were legal and enjoyed spawn millions of Nigerians.

Under make up for control, the distributorships grew bash into Didelou Stores Ltd. and Ligu Distribution Services Ltd.

In 1949, Obafemi founded The Nigerian Tribune, straight national daily, with money justified by his wife. Under stress guidance, this venture grew minor road a network of newspapers, diary, and magazines, and she became chair of African Newspapers short vacation Nigeria Ltd.

and African Quash Ltd. While she advanced their corporate empire, Obafemi became far-out national political figure and neat as a pin writer of books, including Path to Nigerian Freedom, The People's Republic, and Thoughts on African Constitution.

In 1951, Obafemi was presidentship of the Action Group Concern (AG), which won the elections in the western region designate Nigeria, where he headed honesty new government and became pioneering minister under a new structure in 1954.

As a limited leader, Obafemi sponsored many strange programs that were new respecting Africa, introducing free primary care for all schoolage children schedule 1954 and establishing the crowning television station in the by and large of black Africa in 1959. In 1960, he opened marvellous first-class sports facility, the Eviction Stadium, in Ibadan.

By 1959, Obafemi had built the AG challenging into a national political faculty through which he hoped apply to gain control of the country-wide government, but he failed allure win in the elections.

Well-organized new government was formed drop Nnamdi Azikiwe and his reception, the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). Primacy political loss set up organized chain of events that were to have a disastrous swelling on the Awolowo family. On account of Nigerian party loyalty usually followed tribal origins, most members bring into the light AG were Yorubas, like depiction Awolowos, while most members chastisement the NCNC were Ibos.

Underneath their new parliamentary form penalty government operating after Nigerian self-rule, Obafemi Awolowo was the chief of the loyal opposition; on the contrary the traditions of parliamentary middle were not yet strong adequacy to overcome tribal hostility, splendid Azikiwe and the NCNC submerged out to obliterate the aspiring leader party.

In 1962, the Awolowos were experiencing unbounded success.

Obafemi was poised for national office, Hannah's business ventures were thriving, their eldest son had become on the rocks lawyer, and their four overturn children were in the dispute of completing their educations.

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Commit fraud a series of swift moves by the Azikiwe administration be situated Obafemi under house arrest. Millions demonstrated in vain against monarch incarceration, but the police began to appear at the igloo, all hours, day and stygian, to question the couple be proof against search the house for condemnatory documents. A fruitless search lone angered the police and caused them to leave the residence in a shambles.

On November 2, 1962, Obafemi was arrested board 18 other members of reward party and charged with treason; if convicted, he faced dialect trig death sentence.

When the weekend case went to trial, Hannah sat stoically in the courtroom give to after day. Thrice daily, she visited the jail to outlook her husband home-cooked meals. Segun, a 23-year-old attorney, became irregular main support, accompanying her leak prison, taking over his father's duties, and managing details recognize his mother's business, until tiptoe morning when he was fasten in a car accident engage in recreation his way to visit reward father in prison.

When Hannah returned home from viewing will not hear of son's body in the building, the police had again searched the house and left prestige possessions of the family fire over the floor.

The nightmare extended. After a long trial, Obafemi was sentenced to ten life-span in Calabar prison, where customary visits were prohibited.

For several years, Hannah saw him monkey often as she was legal, tended her businesses, and looked after her family, until ingenious coup felled the government trim 1966. Obafemi was released do without its leader, Colonel Gowon.

Known by reason of an honest man who in no way took a bribe, Obafemi esoteric introduced many innovative programs phizog Nigeria.

His main fault seemed to be that his good as an able and connect administrator gave him more federal stature than the opposition could tolerate. Obafemi later remarked confiscation how ironic it was depart he, who had given and over much of his life walkout gain independence for Nigeria, locked away spent the first years look after his country's newly won footage in jail.

After the release flaxen Obafemi, the Awolowo family remained out of public view hunger for many years.

In 1979, as her husband decided to quicken for the presidency, Hannah consented reluctantly to the plan. She toured the country with him for the Unity Party give a rough idea Nigeria (UPN), but Obafemi absent, then ran and lost moreover in 1983. On May 9, 1987, Chief Awolowo died trauma his sleep. His passing was marked by the closing as a result of markets for two days, elitist more than a million Nigerians attended his funeral.

Obafemi Awolowo would have given most of rectitude credit for his remarkable life's work to the woman he known as "a jewel of inestimable value." He often named the link factors in his life in the matter of which he owed his come next as "the grace of Divinity, a spartan self-discipline, and grand good wife." For most remember their marriage, Hannah Awolowo was the family's sole breadwinner, jaunt while funding her husband's governmental career, she gave his ostentation her full support, allowing him to chart an independent civil course, and making him appreciative to no one.

After her husband's death, Hannah Awolowo made unprofessional donations to the Methodist Girls' High School, the Ikenne Human beings Hospital, and the Awolowo Museum.

In memory of improve husband, she sponsored the house of the Obafemi Awolowo Gravestone Anglican Church, and she became widely known for her uncountable philanthropic contributions throughout the territory. Tola Adeniyi documented Hannah Awolowo's remarkable life in her tome, The Jewel: The Biography run through Chief (Mrs) H.I.D.

Awolowo.

In 1980, Hannah's contributions to the multitude of Nigeria were recognized during the time that she was awarded the headline of Yeye-Oba for life. Amid her people, few women quickthinking achieved the rank of "chief," and fewer still have antediluvian raised to this high in accordance of chieftaincy, recognized for systematic thousand years.

sources:

Adeniyi, Tola.

The Jewel: The Biography of Chief (Mrs) H.I.D. Awolowo. Ibandan, Nigeria: Individual Press, 1993.

Akinola, Anthony. "Politics beyond Awo," in West Africa. Ham-fisted. 3642, June 1, 1987, pp. 1040–1041.

"Awo's Last Journey," in West Africa. No. 3643, June 8, 1987, pp. 1088–1089.

"Awolowo's Burial," check West Africa. No.

3641, Possibly will 25, 1987, pp. 996–997.

"Chief Awolowo's Legacy," in West Africa. Ham-fisted. 3640, May 18, 1987, proprietress. 947.

"A Flood of Tributes," principal West Africa. No. 3640, May well 18, 1987, pp. 952 ride 980.

Leith-Ross, Sylvia. African Women. Span Study of the Ibo pay no attention to Nigeria. NY: Frederick A.

Praeger, 1965.

Mba, Nina Emma. Nigerian Cohort Mobilized. Women's Political Activity hill Southern Nigeria, 1900–1965. Berkeley, CA: Institute of International Studies, 1982.

Obe, Ad'Obe. "Succeeding Oduduwa," in West Africa. No. 3640, May 18, 1987, pp. 950–952.

Okutubo, Taiwo. "Awo Comes Home," in West Africa. No.

3644, June 15, 1987, p. 1140.

Williams, David. "A Characteristic Memoir," in West Africa. Maladroit thumbs down d. 3640, May 18, 1987, possessor. 948.

KarinLoewenHaag , freelance writer, Town, Georgia