As Nigeria marks Democracy Day, former Ekiti State governor Kayode Fayemi delivered a sobering reflection on the nation’s political journey, stating that while civilian rule was restored in 1999, the essence of true democracy remains elusive.
Speaking on Thursday, Fayemi acknowledged the symbolic victory of reclaiming the ballot box but argued that electoral participation alone does not equate to genuine democratic governance. “We regained the right to choose our leaders, yes—but that is only the starting point,” he said. “Real democracy goes deeper—it demands accountability, justice, inclusion, and the protection of civil liberties.”
His remarks underscore a growing national conversation: that two decades after the end of military rule, Nigeria must now move beyond the surface rituals of democracy toward a system that fully reflects its principles.
Fayemi stated this during a Channels Television special June 12 event tagged ‘Nigeria’s Democratic Journey: An Inter-Generational Conversation On Building A Better Nation’..
“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.
The former minister said he and other pro-democracy activists operated Radio Kudirat during the struggle for democracy to propagate their activities and other democracy campaigns under the regime of former military dictator, the late Sani Abacha.
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But speaking on the programme, he disclosed that he and his colleagues who ran Radio Kudirat were lucky not to be killed by the military government at the time.
Fayemi recounted that he had once transported transmitters for Radio Kudirat aboard an Air France flight bound for Cotonou, Benin Republic, which had diverted to Lagos at the height of the political crisis. He reflected that he could easily have been apprehended during that flight and, like many others, might not have survived. Recalling testimonies from the Oputa Panel Commission, he noted that some individuals tasked with eliminating pro-democracy leaders had later shared their accounts.
He emphasized that the events of that era should not be taken lightly and clarified that their survival was not due to invincibility, but rather fortune. Those who died, he stressed, were not reckless but acted out of conviction.
Fayemi went on to commend President Tinubu for recognizing some figures from the democracy struggle with national awards, while also urging that more individuals, including the Radio Kudirat operators, should receive similar recognition.