By Ikeddy Isiguzo, Chairman Editorial Board

IT is not for nothing that Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who was declared winner of the Ekiti governorship election by the Court of Appeal on Friday, majored in War Studies for his doctorate at King’s College, University of London.His tortuous journey to Government House Ado Ekiti is the type of war that many history books never foresaw, yet Fayemi, as he is popularly called, fought peacefully, preached peace and trained his eyes on the prize, the governorship of Ekiti, easily one of the most educated States in Nigeria per capita.

There have been series of disappointments. There were times the best advice he got was to forget the cases in court and prepare for the 2011 elections, when, those who gave the advice said, he would be able to beat his opponent again. Fayemi held a contrary view.

He doggedly pursued his case on court, suffering several denials of justice. Each time he appeared to be near victory, something knocked the prize off his gaze. He seemed to have no chance at victory.

Governor Fayemi taking his oath of office in Ado-Ekiti, Saturday .

Fayemi is a lesson on dedication to a cause and the preparations that they entailed. He used technology, legal prowess, facts, figures, and deductions from these to prove that he won the elections. He was equally a study on calmness as he went about his daily retinue of lectures, talks and various discussions on the future of Nigeria, as if the election loss never existed.

In a unanimous judgment the Court of Appeal held that Fayemi won both the 24 April 2007 election and the re-run election of 25 April 2009 with highest lawful votes cast at the polls. It ruled: “Fayemi scored majority of lawful votes cast in the election held on April 14, 2007 and April 25, 2009, while (Segun) Oni has not been duly elected with the majority votes cast. “Having satisfied the constitutional requirements, as duly elected governor of Ekiti State, Fayemi is hereby declared as duly elected governor as should be sworn in immediately.” Fayemi won with 105, 631 votes to Oni’s 95, 176 after deduction of the controversial votes from the disputed wards that were subject of the re-run last year.

Most of Fayemi’s speeches to his supporters appealing to them to embrace the peaceful path to victory were a journey through wars in Yoruba land. The war expert refused to be on the war path, using every peaceful means to achieve his goal.

“I do not know if you know the history of Ekiti people and the values that they have always fought for all their lives. Surely, you may have read about the ‘Ekiti Parapo’ war history. It was a struggle for the liberation of Ekiti people, a struggle for freedom from oppression and you could call what we are going through as Phase two of the ‘Kiriji’ war; a resistant movement against oppression of the ‘Ajeles’ who wanted to impose interlopers in our environment,” he said at the heat of the controversies over the unreleased results of the 2009 re-run polls.

Hundreds of half-naked women had to protest on the streets of Ado Ekiti asking for the release of the results.

“It is not about Kayode Fayemi and I do not want people to make that mistake. The people who are out resisting this imposition in Ekiti don’t have the opportunities that I have had in my life and the least I could do is to sit with them, work with them to ensure the realisation of their votes.”I could walk away, I could chicken out. Many politicians have chickened out in this kind of situation. I could be bought over. I could accept the post of a commissioner, Secretary to the State Government (SSG) or even take a big contract and becomes a fat cat in the system and be called a big boy, but what does that really mean to me? What does it do to those people who have been fighting? It is for them that I am still in the race. It is for them that I have not resulted to self-help by going to court. And as you have seen with the victory in our senatorial race, we know that lies can go on for 20 years but one day truth will catch up with it.

The Ekiti politics is not do- or-die for me. I did not come into politics out of joblessness.” This was in response to those who accused him of being desperate.”We are now taking back what rightfully belong to us as far back as 2007.It has taken a long time for us to get to this point, but it is also about the message of resilience, of doggedness, of commitment through genuine transformation in this country. It is not about just becoming governor; it is not about going into the Government House. People would be missing the point if they saw it in that narrow contest.

It is about making the fundamental difference in the lives of our people. It is about standing up for truth, justice and commitment to change,” he had said as victory appeared nearer.”What is important for people to know is that we are bit players in a wide template of history and we have an agenda for change. We have been involved in a long struggle. I think we will appreciate it more when we get to office. You can see an example in Lagos. That is the only governor we can show you now, but I am sure that you will agree with me that Governor Babatunde Fashola has made a fundamental difference in the lives of the people in Lagos.”

It took 40 months for Fayemi to achieve victory. There are still other cases in court that have not much progress, all related to the 2007 elections.

Born 9 February 1965, Fayemi is the immediate past Director of the Centre for Democracy & Development (CDD), a research and training institution dedicated to the study and promotion of democratic development, peace-building and human security in Africa. He attended Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti and received degrees in History, Politics and International Relations from the Universities of Lagos and Ife in Nigeria and his Doctorate in War Studies from the prestigious King’s College, University of London.

He has worked as a lecturer, journalist, researcher and Strategy Development adviser in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. As a prominent leader of the Nigerian opposition to military rule in exile, he was responsible for the founding and management of the opposition radios – Radio Freedom, Radio Democracy International & Radio Kudirat and played a central role in the opposition’s diplomatic engagements in exile.