He was the guest of veteran broadcaster, Obiora Ilo on his programme, FRONTLINE. The former Minister shared his childhood in Ibadan, his experience of the first coup in Nigeria and the manner his late dad, then Deputy Premier of the Western Region, was whisked away by the coup plotters. In the no-holds barred interview he spoke more on the issue of drugs that has trailed as long as his foray into public service. Femi was born October 16, 1960.
Speaking about his history of drug use, Fani-Kayode said, “I will not sit in front of you and tell you lies; I would never do that. I wouldn’t want to go into the nature of these things and I will not talk deeply about it because these are things that you must never encourage other people to do. When you talk about wild parties; no way am I referring to drug parties or things like that; I’m simply talking about the healthy things young people do…certainly, that has nothing to do with drugs; it’s just about going out to have a good time and there’s nothing wrong with that,” he stated.
Speaking further, the gap-toothed politician said, “The truth of the matter is that we have all had various experiences as young people. I drink very rarely now, and when I do, I take champagne. If I’ve ever taken any drugs, then it was certainly when I was very young. Most people of my generation, and my friends have done the same thing. The most important thing is not to encourage other people to do such things because they can be very destructive. Another thing is to ensure that you get close to God and ensure that such things do not overwhelm you. The reason why I don’t speak about such things comfortably. You talked about insinuations, but I’ve spoken about this on many occasions because I use it as a reference point for other people that are going through challenges. Things that happened to me in the mid 80s, I would not want other people to go through them. I am a Christian; I became a Pentecostal Christian, and went to the seminary around 1993 after my secular education finished, and I came back to settle in Nigeria.”
Maintaining that it’s all in the past, Fani-Kayode went on, “The thing about it is that this is part of my testimony. I spoke about it at the Ministerial screening at the Senate, and on a number of other occasions on TV. No matter what it is that you’re going through in life; even if you’re going down a self-destructive path, all you need to do is to get close to God because he can deliver you. If God could deliver me from things like that thirty years ago, then God can deliver anybody from anything. That is my testimony and it’s a powerful one. God not only delivered me, but he also made me to prosper, excel and contribute to the growth of my nation. George W. Bush, a former President of the United States had criminal problems in his youth and he also spoke about the fact that he has been changed into a different person. From the time when I went to the Bible Seminar for two years; and I also went through pastoral training, I became a completely different person. The old things of my youth passed away, and as a matter of fact, what I do now is to counsel people; encouraging young people to get close to God and to avoid the pit-falls of life. The most important thing is to scale through these things and make a contribution to your family, nation, and generation,” he concluded.
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