FAYEMI: PROFILE OF A FIGHTER
Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the new governor of Ekiti state was born on February 9, 1965. He is a native of Isan-Ekiti in Oye Local Government of the state. He attended Christ's School, Ado Ekiti and received degrees in History, Politics and International Relations from the Universities of Lagos and Ife in Nigeria.
Fayemi has a Doctorate degree in War Studies from the University of London, England, specializing in civil-military relations.
The new Ekiti governor before he ventured into full time politics was the immediate past Director of the Centre for Democracy & Development, a research and training institution dedicated to the study and promotion of democratic development, peace-building and human security in Africa.
Prior to his establishment of the centre, he worked as a lecturer, journalist, researcher and Strategy Development adviser in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He was Strategy Development Adviser at London's City Challenge; research fellow at the African Research & Information Bureau in London, UK.
He also worked as a reporter with some British newspapers like the Guardian and City Tempo and the editor of the political monthly, 'Nigeria-Now', as well as a management consultant and lecturer at the Police College in Sokoto, Nigeria.
He also played key role in sending the military out of the Nigerian political firmament and was responsible for the founding and management of the opposition radios - 'Radio Freedom', 'Radio Democracy International' & 'Radio Kudirat'. The irrepressible politician played a pivotal role in the opposition's diplomatic engagements in exile.
Amongst his numerous academic and public policy engagements at home and abroad, the new governor has lectured in Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia. He has also served as an adviser on transitional justice, regional integration, constitutionalism, security sector reform and civil-military relations issues to various governments, inter-governmental institutions and development agencies.
He was the main technical adviser to Nigeria's Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (Oputa Panel), which investigated past abuses and currently serves on the Presidential Implementation Committees on Security Sector Reform, NEPAD and the Millennium Development Goals.
Dr. Fayemi was technical expert to ECOWAS on small arms and light weapons and United Nations Economic Commission of Africa on governance issues.
He is also a member, Africa Policy Advisory Panel of the British Government. At other times, he has served as a consultant to the OECD on Security Sector Reform and chaired the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative's Committee of Experts on developing guiding principles and mechanisms of constitution making in Commonwealth Africa.
Kayode Fayemi is a Fellow of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Ibadan, Adjunct Professor of Security Studies at the African Centre for Strategic Studies, National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C., USA.
He was also a Visiting Professor in the African Studies Programme at Northwestern University, Evanston, USA in 2004. Dr Fayemi serves on numerous Boards including the Governing Board of the Open Society Justice Institute, Baobab for Women's Human Rights, African Security Sector Network, and on the Advisory Board of the Global Facilitation Network on Security Sector Reform and on the Management Culture Board of the ECOWAS Secretariat.
On the political front, Fayemi against all odds emerged the flagbearer of the AC in Ekiti.
The Action Congress was an amalgamation of the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) peopled by loyalists of the ex-vice President Abubakar Atiku, a faction of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) led by Chief Bisi Akande, the Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy (MRDD), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).