Kayode Fayemi
Tribute
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi is 51 today. Shola Oyeyipo recognises a man, who embodies inspiring leadership and political uprightness
Exactly 51 year ago today, the former Ekiti State governor, who is now the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. ‘Kayode Fayemi (CON), was born and within the period, he has written his name on the sand of time with a dint of hard work and concious commitment to excellence.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi is 51 today. Shola Oyeyipo recognises a man, who embodies inspiring leadership and political uprightness
Exactly 51 year ago today, the former Ekiti State governor, who is now the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. ‘Kayode Fayemi (CON), was born and within the period, he has written his name on the sand of time with a dint of hard work and concious commitment to excellence.
Although the Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole is fondly referred to as the ‘Comrade Governor’, not many people knew that Fayemi himself is also a renowned comrade, who became chief executive of a state and governed his state with the quintessential skills of a comrade, eschewing the ways of the career politicians.
Born in Ibadan, Oyo State on February 9, 1965, Fayemi, who hails from Isan-Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State, was the governor of the state from October 16, 2010 to October 2014. But before then, he was the Director, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), a research and training institution dedicated to the study and promotion of democratic development, peace-building and human security in Africa.
For those close to Fayemi, who is currently saddled with the responsibility of annexing Nigeria’s huge potential in the solid mineral sector – where Nigeria hopes to consolidate its drive for non-oil income and accelerate its development – he is a thoroughbred intelligentsia, highly cerebral and exudes such confidence that he could be tagged a ‘perfectionist’ and a good model for the Nigerian youth population.
He attended the popular Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti for his secondary education, Federal School of Arts and Science, Ondo for his Higher School Certificate and received degrees in History, Politics and International Relations from the Universities of Lagos and Ife in Nigeria. His Doctorate in War Studies was from King’s College, University of London, England, where he specialised in civil-military relations.
A strong advocate of true federalism as the antidote to the legion of problems confronting Nigeria, he has researched extensively in the areas of democratisation, constitutionalism, security sector governance, and regionalism in the global context.
Although he abided by the position of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), which disagreed with the 2014 constitutional conference convoked by the immediate past administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, he personally loved the idea of the constitution conference and wished the conference could be a veritable tool to addressing Nigeria’s woes.
Before he became the director of CDD, 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 and Information Bureau in London, UK, reporter with the newspapers, The Guardian and City Tempo, editor of the political monthly, Nigeria Now and management consultant at Development and Management Consultants.
Fayemi joined other Nigerians to put up a very fierce opposition to military rule and had to go on exile when his life was on the line. He was responsible for the founding and management of the opposition radio – Radio Freedom, Radio Democracy International and Radio Kudirat and played a central role in the opposition’s diplomatic engagements while in exile.
Fayemi served as an adviser on transitional justice, regional integration, constitutionalism, security sector reform and civil-military relations issues to the governments of Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Uganda, Rwanda and Ghana. He was the main technical adviser to Nigeria’s Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (Oputa Panel), and also served on the Presidential Implementation Committees on Security Sector Reform, on NEPAD and on the Millennium Development Goals during the Obasanjo administration.
He was a technical expert to ECOWAS on small arms and light weapons and to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa on governance issues. He was 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.
Fayemi is also a Visiting Scholar in the Political Science Department, University of Ibadan and Fellow of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Ibadan. He was an Adjunct Professor of Security Studies at the African Centre for Strategic Studies, National Defence University, USA and a Scholar-in-Residence in the African Studies Programme at Northwestern University, Evanston, USA in 2004.
He has served 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 as well as on the Management Culture Board of the ECOWAS Secretariat.
A good example of ‘politics without bitterness,’ Fayemi’s gentle mien was reflected when uncharacteristically to Nigerian politics, he conceded defeat to Governor Ayodele Fayose after the controversial 2014 governorship in Ekiti State. Even when there were attempts to rubbish some of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees on the grounds of corruption, he challenged his successor to genuinely prove that he mismanaged the state’s funds while at the helm of affairs in the state.
Aside the fact that he possesses requisite curriculum vitae to becoming a member of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), it was expected that he would have a significant role to play in the Buhari administration because he made significant developmental progress in Ekiti State while he was governor and as a party man, he contributed to the success of the APC in Nigeria.
Fayemi midwifed the APC December 2014 national convention that it was adjudged the best organised party primaries in the history of the country and became the head, Directorate for Policy and Strategy for the APC presidential campaign organisation.
Not a few people are looking up to him to bring his wealth of experience and maturity to bear in complimenting the President Buhari administration’s quest to fast track Nigeria’s development by turning around the Solid Mineral Ministry to become a cash cow in the country. And that he has started doing.
For the first time in the history of the sector, the ministry under Fayemi has declared that states could also exploit the mineral resources in their domain in line with the law. He urged the states to partner local and foreign investors, set up joint ventures. To, him the approach is a win-win situation for both state and the federal government as the state would still pay royalties and taxes to the federal government, while also making good money exploring resources on their lands.
The minister has also declared his readiness to fully apply the use or lose clause in the mining law. To this end, any one with mining license which has remained unused within a certain time frame would start losing them beginning from March.
During a State of the Solid Minerals Sector and Way Forward presented by Fayemi at the inaugural media briefing of the ministry on Monday, December 21, 2015, he stated thus: “Based on presidential promise to build a more diversified economy, our task as a ministry is therefore to remove any and all obstacles to such growth. From working with the National Assembly to receiving the right budgetary provisions to ensuring expansion in bulk handling terminals at multiple river and ocean ports, our role is to ensure that things work as intended.”
He said if the country sets the right tone and creates a structure for long term success, the sector would generate gainful employment opportunities and revenue to Nigeria’s coffer as well as spark industrialisation and bring about the much needed sustainable growth.
“If we deliver on this vision, then we can build a mining sector that Nigerians can be proud of 30 years or more from now. This sector should deliver double digit growth over the next decade, with important direct and indirect economic impacts on household,” Fayemi assured Nigerians.
“If we deliver on this vision, then we can build a mining sector that Nigerians can be proud of 30 years or more from now. This sector should deliver double digit growth over the next decade, with important direct and indirect economic impacts on household,” Fayemi assured Nigerians.
There is no doubting that his tenure at the Solid Mineral ministry would be impactful as it was as governor of Ekiti State and other places he had worked. When commissioning legacy projects between September 22 and October 15, 2014 shortly before handing over to Fayose, many people in the state knew they made a wrong choice in booting out quality for quantity.
In fact, African Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka was dismayed while commissioning the brand new state of the art Government House on the hilltop. Fayemi commissioned not fewer than 65 local government projects across the state during his last days in office and his period as governor was peaceful and calm because he did not give room for political sycophancy and brigandage.
Though he lost his second term bid on the altar of ‘stomach infrastructure,’ Fayemi’s new job description places him far ahead of such myopic consideration for immediate gratification of his people and offers him a greater opportunity to provide the entire country with not only ‘stomach infrastructure’ but many other infrastructure needed to place Nigeria amongst the fast developing nations on the world map.
As an inspiring leader, Fayemi believes the transactional politics of yesteryears should be jettisoned for transformational leadership. His emphasis has always been on how institutional framework could be strengthened to ensure effective service delivery; how leaders and the led can work together to achieve common goals; and what mechanism and processes should be put in place for genuine and effective empowerment of the citizens towards the attainment of the good life for all.
This and many other unique qualities he brandishes are what Nigerians will be looking out for as he administers his ministry under the President Buhari administration.
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