June 12: The Most Dangerous Experience I Had As Radio Kudirat’s Top Official-Former Gov Fayemi

Former governor of Ekiti State, Dr  Kayode Fayemi, has talked about his experience during the struggle for actualization of the June 12, 1993, mandate of late Chief MKO Abiola, noting that he is only lucky to be alive.

 Team@orientactualmags.com learned that Dr Fayemi, who made this disclosure while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s special June 12 event programme called ‘Nigeria’s Democratic Journey: An Inter-Generational Conversation On Building A Better Nation’, added that although the country has enjoyed democracy since 1999, it is yet to attain true democracy.

‘What we mustn’t do is to conflate elections with democracy. What we got was to reestablish the right to vote for our leaders into office in 1999; what we are yet to get is real democracy, in my view.

 We got civilian rule, we are proudly on the journey — we now have a semi-democracy, but now we don’t have full democracy. The effort that the previous president and now President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has put into it, we all must build on that’ he said.

Dr Fayemi, a one-time Minister for Solid Minerals Development, also submitted that those who were responsible for the establishment of Radio Kudirat, a radio station established to serve as a voice for pro-democracy groups during the late General Sani Abacha administration, were only lucky to be alive.

‘It’s not that we were not afraid or we were aimlessly bold, we just didn’t fully think of the enormity of the threat it constituted beyond wanting to do the right thing.

I mean, I carried the transmitters of Radio Kudirat on an Air France flight that was to go to Cotonou in Benin Republic and made a detour to Lagos in the heat of the crisis.

I could have been picked up on that flight, I would have been history by now, as many have found themselves to be. During the Oputa Panel Commission, some of the characters who were mandated to eliminate leaders of the struggle came up with their stories.

So, we shouldn’t make light of what happened, and I don’t by any stretch of imagination want to create the impression that we were invincible in what we did. I think some of us are just fortunate that we are still alive. Those who lost their lives were not stupid in what they did; they were following their convictions’ he said.

While hailing President Tinubu for recognizing Nigerians who played important roles during the ‘June 12 struggle’ on Thursday, and bestowing national honours on them, he however noted that more people, including the Radio Kudirat officials, should also be made to enjoy such a privilege-Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you