Hafsat Abiola: Difference between revisions

| alma_mater = [[Harvard University]]<br/>[[Tsinghua University]]

| spouse = {{marriage|Nicholas Costello m.|2005}}

| children = Khalil<br>Anabella2

'''Hafsat Olaronke Abiola-Costello,''' (21 August 1974) in [[Lagos]], is a Nigerian [[human rights]], civil rights and [[democracy]] [[activist]], founder of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), which seeks to strengthen civil society and promote democracy in [[Nigeria]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=KIND |url=https://kind.org/ |access-date=2022-09-03 |website=KIND |language=en-US}}</ref> She is President of [[Women In Africa Initiative|Women in Africa Initiative]] (WIA), international platform for the economic development and support of African women [[Entrepreneurship|entrepreneurs.]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hafsat Abiola is the President of Women In Africa – WIA Initiative |url=https://wia-initiative.com/hafsat-abiola-is-the-president-of-women-in-africa/ |access-date=2022-09-03 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=WIA Set to Mitigate Failure of African Women Led Businesses – THISDAYLIVE |url=https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/10/14/wia-set-to-mitigate-failure-of-african-women-led-businesses/ |access-date=2022-10-15 |website=www.thisdaylive.com}}</ref> She is also one of the founders of Connected Women Leaders (CWL).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Speaker Details {{!}} The New York Times Climate Hub |url=https://climatehub.nytimes.com/speaker/343866/hafsat-abiola |access-date=2022-09-04 |website=climatehub.nytimes.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Abiola-Costello is the eighth child of Nigeria's [[1993 Nigerian presidential election|uninaugurated]] [[president-elect]], the late Chief [[Moshood Abiola]] and late [[Kudirat Abiola]]. Her father, Moshood Abiola, was put in prison by the dictator Gen. [[Sani Abacha]] for [[treason]] after declaring himself president. The elder Abiola later died while in detention in 1998.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CNN – Nigerian opposition leader Abiola dies – July 7, 1998 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/africa/9807/07/abiola/ |access-date=2022-04-16 |website=edition.cnn.com}}</ref> While her mother was murdered<ref>{{Cite news |last=Driscoll |first=Margarette |title=They shot my mother. She fights on through me |newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/they-shot-my-mother-she-fights-on-through-me-mm0w9tl93z0 |access-date=2022-09-04 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> during a demonstration for the release of her husband in 1996.<ref>[http://naijarchives.com/the-brutal-assassination-of-kudirat-abiola/ The Brutal Assassination of Kudirat Abiola] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006062355/http://naijarchives.com/the-brutal-assassination-of-kudirat-abiola/ |date=6 October 2017 }}, NAIJArchives, Retrieved 8 February 2016</ref><ref name="Chideya">{{Cite newsmagazine |last=Chideya |first=Farai |date=1998-06-22 |title=Nigeria's Orphan |language=en-US |workmagazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,988574,00.html |access-date=2022-10-16 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> In June 2018, President [[Muhammadu Buhari]] 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-06-07 |title=Buhari declares June 12 Democracy Day, honours Abiola with GCFR |url=https://punchng.com/buhari-declares-june-12-democracy-day-honours-abiola-with-gcfr/ |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=Punch Newspapers |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-06-12 |title=Buhari formally confers GCFR on Abiola |url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/06/buhari-formally-confers-gcfr-abiola/ |access-date=2022-04-16 |website=Vanguard News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Abiola-Costello studied at [[Queen's College, Lagos|Queens College, Yaba, Lagos]] and then [[Phillips Academy]], [[Andover, Massachusetts|Andover]], Massachusetts <ref>{{Cite web |title=Hafsat Abiola ’92'92 |url=https://www.andover.edu/people/hafsat-abiola-92 |access-date=2022-10-15 |website=Andover {{!}} An independent and inclusive coed boarding high school |language=en-US}}</ref> where she graduated in 1992. She then studied for degree in [[Development economics|Development Economics]] receiving a degree from [[Harvard College]] in 1996, and later earned her [[Master of Science|M.Sc.]] in International Development from [[Tsinghua University]], [[Beijing]].<ref name="KIND">{{Cite web|title=Our Board|url=https://kind.org/whoweare/board/|access-date=2021-06-08|website=KIND|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hafsat Abiola-Costello |url=https://www.globalteacherprize.org/person/ |access-date=2022-10-15 |website=Varkey Foundation |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In July 2011, she was appointed the [[SpecialSenior adviseradvisor|Special Adviser]] to the Governor of [[Ogun State]] with responsibility for achieving the [[Millennium Development Goals]].<ref name="KIND" />

In 2001 she married [[British people|British]] economist and diplomat Nicholas Costello.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nicholas Costello {{!}} EVPA |url=https://www.evpa.ngo/people/nicholas-costello |access-date=2022-10-15 |website=www.evpa.ngo}}</ref> They have 2 children, Khalil and Anabella.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-635723/nicholas-costello-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people|access-date=2021-06-08|website=www.myheritage.com|title=Nicholas Costello}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pamela Zuber|date=2015-06-02|title=Writing clip_PZ_Abiola-Costello|url=https://www.slideshare.net/PamelaZuber/writing-clippzabiolacostello-48910661}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Driscoll |first=Margarette |title=They shot my mother. She fights on through me |newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/they-shot-my-mother-she-fights-on-through-me-mm0w9tl93z0 |access-date=2022-10-15 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref>

*''[[Foreign Policy]] Diplomat of the Year Award'', 2016<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=F. P. |title=Watch FP's Diplomat of the Year Awards |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/11/17/watch-fps-diplomat-of-the-year-awards/ |access-date=2022-10-15 |website=Foreign Policy |date=17 November 2016 |language=en-US}}</ref>

*''[[National Civil Rights Museum]]’s Freedom Award'', 2019<ref>{{Cite web |last=BlackPressUSA/NNPA |date=2019-10-06 |title=Nigerian Activist Hafsat Abiola Selected as Honoree for National Civil Rights Museum’sMuseum's Prestigious Freedom Award |url=http://afro.com/nigerian-activist-hafsat-abiola-selected-as-honoree-for-national-civil-rights-museums-prestigious-freedom-award/ |access-date=2022-10-15 |website=AFRO American Newspapers |language=en-US}}</ref>