Former governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, has expressed displeasure that none of those who championed the ‘Kudirat Radio’ during the June 12 struggle was recognized.
Fayemi specifically stated that he wasn’t particularly happy that those who were the drivers of the Kudirat FM project, which he led, was recognized by President Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu on Thursday announced national honours for dozens of Nigerians as part of events marking the democracy day.
The President made the announcement at the National Assembly during his State of the Nation address.
Among the notable honorees were the late Kudirat Abiola, who received a posthumous Commander of the Federal Republic title, and Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, who was conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, among others.
But while fielding questions on Channels TV’s Politics Today programme on Thursday, the former governor stated that many people who risked their lives were not mentioned by the President.
He said: “Democracy is a journey. Yes, it’s partly paid off. It’s not completely paid off. I wasn’t particularly happy. I mean, and I must say this upfront, that those who were the drivers of that project, yes, I led that project, but none of them was recognized today by the President.
“Late mr Yinka Johnson, who coordinated that effort as our technical director, Bola Olayemi, late Daniel Johnson, George Noah, Shola Adeyeye – the senator, was a fiery voice on that radio. Doctor Tajudine, Abdulrahim, so many of the guys who were really involved.
“Yes, I was the face of radio Kudirat in the sense that I was responsible for its management. But there was so many voices, so many people who risked their lives. But we are not the ones not mentioned today.
“However, one must not undervalue what the president did today. He did the right thing. He built on the legacy that President Buhari already established. And I hope subsequently, this history can be correctly told and those involved, those who sacrifice and those unsung heroes would all be comprehensively recognized, and the National Monument, the National Museum, would hopefully be established somewhere in Abuja.”
