John Kayode Fayemi

Dr John Kayode Fayemi is a Visiting Professor at the African Leadership Centre, King’s College London. He holds a PhD in War Studies from King’s College London (1994), with earlier degrees in History, Politics, and International Relations from the Universities of Lagos and Ife, Nigeria.

• Key Roles: Former Governor of Ekiti State (Nigeria, until 2022), Chairman of Nigeria Governors' Forum, and Minister of Mines and Steel Development (2015–2018).
• Advisory Expertise: Specializes in security sector governance, democratization, and constitutionalism. Advised governments of Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Uganda, Rwanda, and Ghana on transitional justice, regional integration, and civil-military relations.

His research focuses on global power shifts, African agency, and structural challenges in UK-Africa relations. He has authored influential books on governance, security, and Nigeria’s political trajectory, including Unfinished Greatness: Envisioning a New Nigeria (2022) and Mercenaries: The African Security Dilemma (2000).

He has held adjunct roles at the African Centre for Strategic Studies (USA) and Northwestern University (USA). Recent engagements include keynote lectures at King’s College on global power dynamics and Africa’s UN Summit priorities.