Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who was a June 12 activist, recalls the establishment and operation of Radio Kudirat during the campaign to actualise the mandate of the late Chief M.K.O Abiola.
Gov Fayemi, one of the heroes of June 12
I reflect on the June 12 election with a mixture of pain and a sense of hope. Eighteen years ago, I never imagined we would be marking the end of military dictatorship without some of the key actors in the democratic struggle of the early 1990s.
I never imagined that Chief Moshood Abiola, believed to have won the June 12 election would die in detention. I never imagined that Alhaja Kudirat Abiola would die in such a tragic manner: She was shot on the street of Lagos. Many more, armed and defenseless people alike, men, women and children, died in the collective struggle for freedom. Today as we mark the 18th anniversary of the annulment of the June 12 election, I hereby salute the sacrifices of Nigerians that were killed. They gave their yesterday for our today.
The road to democratic rule was further intensified after the annulment of the June 12 election by the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. It was a turbulent but heroic struggle; there were moments of anguish; moments that we stood face-to-face with death in the campaign to edge out one of history’s most vicious regimes, a cruel leadership that presided over one of Africa’s most powerful nations. There were also periods of melancholy, having been excommunicated from my parents and my ancestral home, which suddenly became a no-go area, courtesy of the draconian regime that kept Nigerians under the jackboots of repression.
Today, I am proud to say that I am one of those that stood against tyranny. I am proud that at a critical moment in my country’s history, I did not sit on the fence; neither did I retreat. We demonstrated iron-cast determination in the struggle to enthrone justice and uphold the dignity of man. It was a struggle that took the lives of loved ones and friends, it was a struggle that could have taken my life. It was a struggle during which I fought side by side with my wife. It was a struggle that could have led two of us to untimely grave. It was a struggle for all Nigerians, for humanity and for the democracy and liberty that all of us, including even those that fuelled the embers of evil, now enjoy and cherish.
In 1993 when the election was annulled, I was 28 years old, the age that man usually faces the future with fear and uncertainty, in the search for means that would guarantee survival. For some people, it is the age fully ripe to explore the perks of social life to the fullest.
For me, the annulment of the June 12 election was too monumental that we had to rise up, with full determination, putting aside all other considerations, to fight the injustice, and enthrone a peoples’ government. As the tempo of the struggle peaked at the home front, some of us took the decision that there was the need to establish an international aspect of the campaign against military rule.
One of the major steps we took was the establishment of Freedom Radio Frequency as a potent weapon for pursuing the goal of removing the military despots from power. Across the World, radio is potent. The message, like sweet music hits, and when it does, it leaves no pain. In embarking on this risky adventure against an infinitely brutal regime, we took many things into consideration. First is the fact that many people can listen to radio at the same time; radio is affordable, even nomads have radio; due to the problem of electricity, many Nigerians rely on battery. At the time we were establishing the radio, there was an approximate 40million radio sets in Nigeria, with an estimated audience of 80million listeners.
As I stated in my book Out of the Shadows our goal in establishing the radio was to raise the voice of our people among world nations and make their yearning known; their yearning for a genuine, civilized democratic atmosphere where individual freedom of opinion and aspiration, respect for human dignity, and the right to decent livelihood are upheld.
In doing this, we do not equate democratic reformation with economic nirvana, but we see the freedom of our people in all its ramifications as a pre-requisite for it……Nigerians are a naturally dignified people, but the labour of our past heroes and the sources and foundations of our dignity and pride have been consistently undermined by the praetorian guard. In the past, Nigeria had no need for image making advertisements abroad. We stood tall. But the June 12 annulment which was the anticlimax of military misadventure further ruined the pride of generations.
By setting up the radio, we also wanted to achieve three broad objectives: provide an alternative to the heavy dose of propaganda of the then military regime, empower the people and also reach the military class by promoting dialogue as the most viable option out of the political quagmire.
The radio was a huge clog in the wheel of repression orchestrated by the military. The military regime was humiliated, hunted and put on the cliff by the activities of the Radio Freedom Frequency launched in June 1995. But the FM reach was not impressive enough. We discovered we could go on Short Wave, without being on the ground in Nigeria, but that was expensive. Prof Soyinka showed keen interest in the radio. Eventually when Prof Soyinka launched National Liberation Council of Nigeria (NALICON), the radio project was top consideration. He wanted me to come on board as Director of Communications and work with him to secure the short wave option. By 2pm on June 11, we were inside the studio for the pilot text transmission. We had settled for Radio Democrat International. On June 12, 1996, Chief Anthony Enahoro’s maiden statement was broadcast after the old National Anthem, "Nigeria we hail thee" was aired. The short wave had a nation-wide reach and became an unseen traumatising spirit that hunted the military regime.
We started the radio with a two half-hour broadcast but reports back from Nigeria indicated that the 7125khz,41-meter was not clear and that the half-hour be converted to one single hour broadcast. The World Radio Network was able to assist us in obtaining 6205 kilohert on the 49-meter band. Time of broadcast was 8pm Nigerian time. I was responsible for driving the operations. We used a foundation as a front, the Media Empowerment for Africa Foundation with late Chief Anthony Enahoro as the chairman of the board, Professor Wole Soyinka as a member, Mr Johnson as Editor of Radio Kudirat Nigeria and myself as Secretary-General of the Foundation, which was registered in Norway. We recruited two people in Nigeria, set up one office in each of the geo-political zones, maintained secret operations in Benin Republic and Ghana. The involvement of Prof Soyinka was a huge advantage in attracting sympathizers for the project.
Days before we launched the radio, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola was gunned down on the street of Lagos. Her assassination came as a shock. This made us to change the name to Radio Kudirat to bestow honour on Alhaja Kudirat. The honour also covered the victims of the junta: Chief Alfred Rewane, Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 8 and several unarmed civilians that were killed in cold blood. The goodwill of the Nigerian people was a huge advantage. We got life-saving information from Nigerians. One of such was the information received on December 30, 1996 that there were plans to "sweep off both Chief Micheal Adekunle Ajasin and Chief Abraham Adesanya." The plot was hatched in Abuja and at the Second Infantry Division of the Nigerian Army, said our informant. When I received the information, I passed it on to Gen Alani Akinrinade and we agreed to air the news on Radio Kudirat. We were concerned that the same regime was responsible for the murder of Pa Rewane, Alhaja Suliat Adedeji and Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. As if to confirm our fears, on Tuesday, January 14, 1997, Adesanya was on his way to court in Otta, when armed gangs rained bullets on him.
The Radio Kudirat broadcast in 14 Nigerian languages. We had a Jumat broadcast on Fridays and one for Christians on Sundays. The Hot-Seat was for special interviews. When we returned to Nigeria, we had made attempts to register Radio Kudirat, but the National Broadcasting Corporation was reluctant in issuing the license. Today, the enthronement of democracy has shown that our struggle was not in vain, though we must admit that the road to total freedom and the lifting of Nigeria, our dear country, from the impact of the stupor of yesteryears, is yet to be totally won, but we have certainly taken giant steps forward.
Source: The Nation
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