Dr. Kayode Fayemi is the Governor of Ekiti State and current Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. He attended Christ’s School, Ado-Ekiti, and received his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, History and Politics from the University of Lagos and a Master of Science degree in International Relations from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife). Fayemi holds a Doctorate in War Studies from the King’s College, University of London, England, specializing in civil-military relations.
Before venturing into full time partisan politics in 2005, he was the pioneer Executive Director of the Centre for Democracy & Development (CDD), 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, and research fellow at the African Research & Information Bureau in London, UK. He worked as a reporter with some British newspapers like the Guardian and City Tempo and was the editor of the political monthly, Nigeria Now, as well as a management consultant and lecturer at the Police College in Sokoto, Nigeria.
Dr Fayemi played key roles 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’.
He 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 human rights abuses. He also served on the Presidential Implementation Committees on Security Sector Reform, NEPAD and the Millennium Development Goals under President Olusegun Obasanjo.
As Governor between 2010 – 2014, he was reputed for his pioneering social investment programmes that were targeted at lifting the vulnerable out of poverty. He was appointed Minister of Mines and Steel Development in 2015. In 2019, he was elected Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, a non-partisan association of Nigeria’s thirty-six State governors.
Dr. Kayode Fayemi is a holder of the national award, Commander of the Order of Niger, (CON). He is a scholar, author, researcher, a sought-after speaker, thought-leader, security sector governance expert and one of the most influential Nigerian politicians. His hobby is reading, and his passion is developing a new crop of young, creative and knowledgeable young men and women as a successor generation of leaders.
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