DR. JOHN KAYODE FAYEMI

John Olukayode Fayemi Fayemi was born on 9th February 1965 in Ibadan, Oyo State however, he grew up in Ado Ekiti. Born to Chief Francis Falade Fayemi. of Isan-Ekiti in Oye Local Government of Ekiti State, Nigeria. His late father was a retired Ondo state Civil Servant in 1977 having served in the Western Region, Western State and Ondo State respectively for over twenty-five years. In retirement, he later served as Councilor and Chairman of the old Ekiti North Local Government between 1977 and 1979, and subsequently, President, Customary Court covering parts of the Oye Division of old Ekiti North Local government. Kayode Fayemi happened to be last child in a family of six. 

Dr. John Kayode Fayemi is a Nigerian politician who served as Governor of Ekiti State from 2018 to 2022.  He previously served in office between 2010 and 2014. He was also the Minister of Solid Minerals Development in President Muhammadu Buhari's cabinet from 11 November 2015 to 30 May 2018, when he resigned to contest for a second term as Governor of Ekiti State. He is the pioneer president of the Forum of Regions of Africa (FORAF) since 9 September 2022. 

Early Life & Education

Dr. John Kayode Fayemi attended ICC Primary School for his primary education in Agodi, Ibadan, Oyo State between 1970 and 1975. From 1975 until 1980, Fayemi attended Christ’s School in Ado Ekiti. Later, he further earned degrees in history, politics, and international relations from the University of Lagos and the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), respectively. He completed a doctorate program in War Studies at King’s College London from 1989 to 1992, majoring in civil-military relations. 

Career life

After his first degree in 1984, he proceeded on the mandatory one-year National Youth service Corps from 1985 to 1986, during which he was a lecturer at the Nigeria-Police Training College in Sokoto. After his service year, he served as a Research Officer at Development & Management Consultants in Ikeja between 1987-1989. When he moved to the UK to pursue his doctoral studies between 1991 to 1993 he worked as a Research Officer at the African Research and Information Bureau in London. In 1992, he was a Tutorial Fellow at the War Studies Department at Kings College, London during his doctoral studies. Later between 1993 to 1995, he was the Strategy Development Adviser of Deptford City Challenge in London and later served as the Secretary General of the Media Empowerment for Africa (The Radio Foundation) in London between 1995-1997. He was also a journalist with The Guardian and City Tempo; and the Editor of Nigeria-Now, a defunct political monthly magazine. In 1997, Fayemi returned to Nigeria where he established the Centre for Democracy and Development 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, where he served as Director from 1997 to 2006. 

Kayode Fayemi has taught 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 The Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (Oputa Panel), which investigated past abuses and served on the Presidential Implementation Committees on Security Sector Reform, NEPAD and the Millennium Development Goals. He was technical expert to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on small arms and light weapons and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa on governance issues. 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.

On September 9, 2022, Fayemi emerged as the first elected President of the Forum of Regions of Africa (FORAF), a forum which is organised by United Cities and Local Governments of Africa, UCLG Africa in collaboration with the Association of Moroccan Regions (ARM), the Council of the Oriental Region (CRO) and the Directorate General of Territorial Collectivities (DGCT) of the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom of Morocco. This Forum brought together for the first time the Presidents of regions, counties and federal states of more than 20 African countries that have a second level of decentralized territorial government, including Nigeria, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, etc.

Groundbreaking Achievements

• He is the pioneer president of the Forum of Regions of Africa (FORAF) since 9 September 2022.
• During his first term, Ekiti came second in the country for budget transparency for the first time.
• Ekiti State won awards of best private secondary school in Nigeria, best public secondary school, best SUBEB nursery and primary school and the best teacher in Nigeria.
• Ekiti came first in International Arts and Craft Expo 2020 and came second National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) 2020.