I’ve learnt Yoruba, can now campaign in language — Rhodes-Vivour

The Lagos State governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has said he has learnt Yoruba and can now campaign in the language as he seeks to govern the state.

Rhodes-Vivour, who spoke during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday, said he had engaged a Yoruba teacher and had developed his ability to speak the language.

He said culture and language were important but stressed that his major concern was addressing the challenges facing Lagos residents.

“Culture and language is very, very important, and I’ve gotten a Yoruba teacher, and I’ve learned Yoruba, and I can campaign in Yoruba, and that is wonderful,” he said.

During the interview, Rhodes-Vivour also responded in Yoruba after one of the presenters greeted him in the language.

After a presenter said he would greet the candidate in Yoruba and translate the greeting, Rhodes-Vivour laughed and responded, “Mo ki gbogbo yin,” meaning “I greet all of you.”

Rhodes-Vivour said the challenges confronting Lagos, including flooding, the housing crisis and traffic congestion, affected residents irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds.

“My passionate interest is to ensure that we have a Lagos that no longer stinks.

“All of us are going to, when you translate it, all of us are going to hear the smell, right? Everybody is going to experience the failure, is experiencing the failure of our flooding, of our housing crisis, of the traffic, of the loss of dignity of Lagosians. And that connects all of us,” he said.

The latest comments come against the backdrop of the controversy over Rhodes-Vivour’s Yoruba fluency during the 2023 Lagos governorship election.

During the 2023 campaign, his mixed Yoruba and Igbo heritage and his ability to speak Yoruba became subjects of political debate.

Rhodes-Vivour, whose father is Yoruba and mother is Igbo, had acknowledged during a Channels Television interview in March 2023 that although he understood and could speak Yoruba, he was not fluent.

He attributed his limited fluency to his upbringing and education, including periods spent outside Nigeria.

The comment, particularly his statement that he did not “think in Yoruba,” subsequently became a subject of criticism during the campaign.

Rhodes-Vivour later said he had hired a Yoruba teacher and was learning the language, adding that he believed greater fluency would help him connect with the people.

His supporters, including Afenifere and Eko Forum, had also defended his Lagos heritage during the controversy, rejecting attempts to question his belonging to the state on the basis of his maternal ancestry and language proficiency.

Rhodes-Vivour contested the 2023 Lagos governorship election on the platform of the Labour Party, finishing third behind the incumbent, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress, and the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, popularly known as Jandor.

He is now seeking the Lagos governorship ticket of the ADC ahead of the 2027 election.