Learning Yoruba Won’t Erase Rhodes-Vivour’s Cultural Questions – APC

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has said Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour’s decision to learn Yoruba will not erase questions about his understanding of the state’s culture, history and people.

The party’s spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, stated this on Thursday in a response to a recent intervention by columnist Abimbola Adelakun on the controversy surrounding Rhodes-Vivour, the African Democratic Congress candidate for the 2027 Lagos State governorship election.

Oladejo said there was nothing wrong with the ADC candidate learning Yoruba, describing the decision as commendable, but questioned why Rhodes-Vivour only came to the realisation during his political journey that developing a deeper connection with the language and culture of a substantial section of Lagos residents was important.

He said the issue was not whether Yoruba proficiency should be a constitutional requirement for anyone seeking to govern Lagos.

“Lagos is a cosmopolitan state and its diversity is one of its greatest assets,” Oladejo said, adding that nobody should be denied public office because they did not speak Yoruba fluently.

According to him, the concern was whether an aspiring governor possessed sufficient cultural understanding of the society he sought to lead.

Oladejo argued that language was more than a means of communication, as it carried history, culture, values, traditions, humour, idioms and worldview.

He said understanding the indigenous history and cultural foundations of Lagos should be considered an asset for anyone seeking to govern the state.

The APC spokesman also criticised what he described as attempts to use public relations to make the issue disappear, saying Rhodes-Vivour’s own admission that he had engaged a Yoruba teacher had generated legitimate questions.

“No amount of sympathetic public relations whitewash will make the albatross disappear overnight,” he said.

Oladejo maintained that learning Yoruba was a positive step but did not automatically amount to cultural immersion, arguing that understanding Lagos required more than language lessons.

He said candidates seeking to govern the state should understand its complex history and peculiarities, including its indigenous communities, traditional institutions, markets, industries, religious communities and diverse population.

According to him, such knowledge could not be acquired solely through campaign consultants or social media but required immersion, listening, engagement, experience and genuine connection with the people.

Oladejo stressed that the question was not whether Rhodes-Vivour was “Yoruba enough”, describing such a standard as unacceptable.

Rather, he said the issue was how deeply an aspiring governor understood the people, history, culture and peculiarities of Lagos.

He added that the same standard should apply to every candidate seeking the state’s top political office, irrespective of ethnic background.

The APC spokesman urged Rhodes-Vivour and his supporters to engage with the questions rather than portray them as ethnic persecution.

He said the ADC candidate should be allowed to demonstrate through sustained interaction that he understood the people and environment he sought to govern.

“If Rhodes-Vivour is genuinely committed to learning Yoruba and deepening his understanding of Lagos, good for him,” Oladejo said.

“But let nobody pretend that a few lessons automatically erase years of questions.”

He added that the 2027 governorship election would ultimately provide an opportunity for voters to assess the candidates and their preparedness to lead Lagos.

Oladejo said the debate should remain part of the broader conversation about leadership, identity, cultural understanding and preparedness.

He maintained that candidates should welcome scrutiny, while voters deserved the opportunity to ask questions about their experience, policies and understanding of the state.