Rhodes-Vivour Yoruba debate intensifies as Lagos APC urges the ADC candidate to demonstrate deeper knowledge of the state ahead of the 2027 election
Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, African Democratic Congress governorship candidate for Lagos State, and Seye Oladejo, Lagos State All Progressives Congress publicity secretary, became the latest figures in the 2027 Lagos political contest to debate the importance of Yoruba language and a broader understanding of the state on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
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The exchange followed Rhodes-Vivour’s disclosure that he had engaged a Yoruba teacher and could now campaign in the language ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The ADC candidate made the disclosure during an Arise TV interview, where he said language and culture were important but argued that issues such as flooding, housing and traffic affected Lagos residents irrespective of ethnic or linguistic background.
Rhodes-Vivour also demonstrated his progress during the interview. After a presenter greeted him in Yoruba, he responded, “Mo ki gbogbo yin,” meaning “I greet all of you”.
Oladejo welcomed the effort but said learning Yoruba should be accompanied by a deeper understanding of Lagos, including its history, culture, institutions and governance challenges.
“Language is one of the gateways to understanding people. It carries history, humour, values, idioms, traditions and ways of seeing the world,” Oladejo said in his response.
The APC spokesman’s intervention turns the language discussion into a wider argument about what candidates should demonstrate before seeking to govern Lagos.
Oladejo said Rhodes-Vivour could learn the language while also developing a more detailed understanding of the city’s political institutions, infrastructure needs and socioeconomic realities.
The exchange has its roots in the 2023 Lagos governorship election, when Rhodes-Vivour’s Yoruba proficiency and background became subjects of political discussion.
Rhodes-Vivour contested that election on the platform of the Labour Party and finished second to APC candidate Babajide Sanwo-Olu, according to contemporary reports.
Rhodes-Vivour’s latest comments suggest that he has sought to address the language issue ahead of another attempt at the Lagos governorship.
During the Arise TV interview, Rhodes-Vivour said his decision to learn Yoruba was not intended to make language or ethnicity the centre of his campaign.
He instead pointed to what he described as problems experienced across the state.
“My passionate interest is to ensure that we have a Lagos that no longer stinks,” Rhodes-Vivour said, while identifying flooding, housing and traffic among the issues he wants to address.
Rhodes-Vivour also argued that such problems connect Lagos residents regardless of language.
The position provides an important counterpoint to the APC’s response. While Oladejo has framed language as one component of understanding a community, Rhodes-Vivour has emphasised policy problems that he says cut across ethnic and linguistic lines.
The disagreement has also extended to the APC’s governorship candidate, Obafemi Hamzat.
Oladejo defended Hamzat’s record of public service after Rhodes-Vivour questioned the value of Hamzat’s experience against the backdrop of Lagos’ continuing challenges.
Hamzat has held several public offices in Lagos, including commissioner and deputy governor. Oladejo argued that criticism of Hamzat’s record was legitimate in an election campaign but should not be used to suggest that previous public-sector experience had no value.
“Rhodes-Vivour may argue that the administration has not done enough. He may identify areas where he believes Hamzat’s record should have been better. That is politics,” Oladejo said.
“But to suggest that experience has no value simply because Lagos still has challenges is a rather curious argument,” he added.
The APC spokesman also challenged Rhodes-Vivour to move from criticism of Lagos traffic to specific proposals for addressing it.
Oladejo asked the ADC candidate to explain the proposed road infrastructure, funding arrangements, mass-transit strategy, implementation framework, timelines and measurable targets behind his approach to congestion.
His argument was that the scale of Lagos requires detailed policy planning rather than campaign rhetoric.
“Lagos is not a village road network. It is one of Africa’s largest urban and economic centres, with enormous population pressure, intense commercial activity and rapidly expanding transportation demands,” Oladejo said.
The language debate therefore sits within a much broader contest over how the 2027 Lagos election should be framed.
Rhodes-Vivour is seeking to present flooding, housing, transportation and the quality of urban life as central campaign issues. The APC, through Oladejo, is challenging him to provide greater detail about how those problems would be addressed while defending Hamzat’s public-service experience.
Oladejo said the election should allow Lagos residents to assess each candidate’s record, policy proposals and capacity rather than concentrating primarily on political exchanges between candidates.
“Lagos is not governed by Instagram posts, television appearances or campaign slogans,” Oladejo said, pointing instead to institutions, budgets, planning, infrastructure, security coordination and transportation systems as components of effective administration.
He concluded that the 2027 contest should be treated as a discussion about the state’s future.
“2027 is not an audition for television. It is a conversation about the future of Lagos,” Oladejo said.
The latest exchange reflects the early shape of a contest in which identity, language, governance experience and policy proposals are likely to feature change from the language debate surrounding his previous campaign.
For the APC, however, Oladejo’s response makes clear that the party intends to press him on issues beyond cultural familiarity, particularly his understanding of Lagos’ institutions and his proposed solutions to the state’s alongside the practical concerns of Lagos residents.
For Rhodes-Vivour, learning Yoruba represents a notable change from the language debate surrounding his previous campaign.
For the APC, however, Oladejo’s response makes clear that the party intends to press him on issues beyond cultural familiarity, particularly his understanding of Lagos’ institutions and his proposed solutions to the state’s infrastructure and urban challenges.
With the 2027 governorship election still ahead, the competing positions remain campaign arguments rather than settled assessments of either candidate’s record or plans.
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The eventual political debate will provide voters with an opportunity to compare those claims, policies and qualifications for themselves.
