Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo

Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo, popularly known as HID, was a Nigerian businesswoman and politician. She was born to a modest family in the small Ikenne community of Ogun State in Nigeria, and attended Methodist Girls' High School in Lagos. She married Obafemi Awolowo, a journalist and politician, in 1937 and supported his political career as the leader of the Action Group and the premier of the Western Region. She was famously referred to as his "jewel of inestimable value". She played an active role in the politics of Western Nigeria, standing in for her husband in the alliance formed between the NCNC and the AG, called the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA), while he was tried and jailed. She also campaigned with him for his presidential bid in the Second Republic, and coordinated the women's wing of the party. She was a successful businesswoman, becoming the first Nigerian distributor for the Nigerian Tobacco Company (NTC) in 1957, and the first to import lace materials and other textiles into Nigeria. She held various chieftaincy titles, including the Yeye Oodua of Yorubaland. She died in her sleep at the age of 99, just over two months short of her 100th birthday. She was buried beside her husband in Ikenne. She is the grandmother of the current Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo.