Liberal Democracy And Where Lies Our Choice -By Eric Teniola

EX-Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. John Oluwakayode Fayemi (58), CON, from Isan Ekiti has admitted what we knew all along: that liberal democracy is not working in this country.

He has previously served as governor of Ekiti State between 2010 and 2014 and also served as Minister of Solid Minerals Development under President Muhammadu Buhari from November 11, 2015 to May 30, 2018 before he resigned to contest for a second term as Governor of Ekiti State. He handed over as governor to his chosen successor, Mr. Abiodun Abayomi Oyebanji(55) on October 16 last year.

At present, he is a lecturer at Kings College, University of London, his former school. After completing his studies at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, he joined THE GUARDIAN newspaper, before venturing into academics and later into politics.

On Tuesday September 5, this year, he made the admission on liberal democracy while delivering a key note address at a national dialogue organised to celebrate the 60th birthday of Professor Udenta Udenta, founding national secretary of Alliance for Democracy, AD.

While speaking at the event, the ex-governor criticised the “winner-takes-all” nature of Nigeria’s democracy, stating that the nation’s current challenges could not be effectively addressed without adopting proportional representation, where election rewards are distributed among contestants based on their share of the vote.

“Today, I read former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s interview in The Cable, saying our liberal democracy is not working and we need to revisit it, and I agree with him. We must move from the political alternatives. I think we are almost on a dead end of that.

“What we need is alternative politics, and my own notion of alternative politics is that you can’t have 35 per cent of the vote and take 100 per cent. It won’t work! We must look at proportional representation so that the party that is said to have won 21 per cent of the votes will have 21 per cent of the government. Adversary politics bring division and enmity,” he said.

On a personal note, while I was working at the Ibadan secretariat in the Ministry of Works and Transport, Western State, his father’s office was opposite mine, the then Ministry of Information. When I switched to Journalism in early 1972, while working in the Nigerian Tribune, I used to visit his father, who took me like a junior brother.

His father was then working under Chief Festus Oladipo Shadare from Akure, who was then the Chief Information Officer in Western State. His dad’s colleagues at that time included my late friend, Femi Olurin from Ilaro in Ogun State, Chief Adewole Atandeyi (84), from Akure who retired as Chief Information officer in Ondo State, Mr. John Fademi (82) from Ijebu Ijesha in the present day Osun State and others.

General Yakubu Gowon (88) appointed Brigadier General Christopher Oluwole Rotimi(88), governor of Western State on April 1, 1971; likewise Brigadier Rotimi appointed Chief Samuel Kolawole Babalola(1931-2020) from Ipoti Ekiti as Commissioner for Health.

Dr. Fayemi’s father, Chief John Fadeyi Fayemi served as Information Officer under the late Chief S.K Babalola. Dr Fayemi’s parents were then living at Agodi in Ibadan.

Chief Fayemi retired as a zonal information officer when Ekiti State was created. He died in 2009 at 86, just before his son became governor.

My keen interest in Dr. Fayemi grew when he went into politics in this republic and fortunately enough he has had his own share in serving the people, both at the national level and the state level. No one can predict his political future. What he has said deserved some commentary. The question I will like to ask is: who gave us this liberal democracy we are practising?

Out of office, if these two men (Dr. Kayode Fayemi and former President Olusegun Obasanjo) are today questioning the validity of our liberal democracy, we should be worried.

To be concluded