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 is Oluremi Tinubu who has held the title since 29 May 2023. The Constitution of Nigeria does not create an office ...

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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

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

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

. 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, lipo ...

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 t ...

in her own right, supporting such causes 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 190,0 ...

Edo State Edo, commonly known as Edo State, is a state located in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. As of 2006 National population census, the state was ranked as the 24th populated state (3,233,366) in Nigeria, However there was controversy ...

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

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(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 government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

(now

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

), 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 hedge ...

, 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 combined military forces of Nigeria. It consists of three uniformed service branches: the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force. The President of Nigeria functions as the commander-in-chief o ...

, following the assassination of General

Murtala Mohammed Murtala Ramat Muhammad (8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian general who led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi military regime and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War ...

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 200 ...

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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 and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as at the 2006 population census. History Pre 1914 Rock engravings dating back to the Mesolithic period, hav ...

prison. His arrest was prompted by an article the previous week about her, headlined "Greedy Stella".

Death

Obasanjo died a few weeks before her 60th birthday from complications of

cosmetic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniofa ...

at a private health clinic in

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, 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 occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

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 common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

s had requested a two-year jail term and five-year disqualification. A request for compensation for the Nigerian government was also rejected. The

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

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 contains many organs. It is a part of the abdominopelvic cavity. It is located below the thoracic cavity, and above the pelvic cavity. Its dome-shaped roof is the th ...

. She sustained a punctured colon and lacerated

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

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 Comedy *Stella (comedy group), a comedy troupe consisting of Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain Characters *Stella (given name), including a list of characters with th ...

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