A young political influencer, Giwa Murtala Omotola-Moore has highlighted the indecision of the Labour Party's Governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, to maintain an aspect of his name instead of going through his given names as they suit his current purpose.
In a long media rant on Monday, March 12, 2023, Giwa highlighted that Gbadebo does not even understand the Yoruba language, yet he's clamouring to govern a Yoruba state.
In his words; “It's sound so funny watching the Gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party during an interview session on Arise TV’s Morning show on Sunday where he made it known that he has hired a Yoruba teacher because he was interested in learning how to speak Yoruba and also understand the deep history of Yoruba language. Why is it now that he is interested in learning how to speak the language of those he wants to govern?
“The candidate of the Labour party in Lagos state is having a serious identity crisis, INEC and Lagosians need to be very vigilant about his identity, from Chinedu to Patrick, he said his tribal name is Gbadebo, the name he can't defend, this is a man that wants to be Governor of a State dominated by a particular ethnic group and he can't speak the language of the ethnic group that dominates such state. It's abysmally abysmal.
“On his MIT certificate, we can only see the Patrick Rhodes-Vivour boldly written on it. The Gbadebo he called himself is not even appearing on his certificate. Whenever he wants to contest he comes up with different names and different identities;
Patrick Rhodes-Vivour - 2008
Gbadebo Chinedu Rhodes-Vivour - 2019
Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour - 2017/2023
“Why all the lies just for the sake of politics, Chinedu is only good to be used to deceive the Igbos while Gbadebo is only good to be used to deceive the Yorubas, he couldn’t even use any of the names on his MIT certificate. Such a fraud, and inconsistent fellow, claiming where he is not from and can't even speak the language people from the state understand, it's a big slap on the culture and traditions of the people within that territory.
“How will he interact with the market women (Iya Olojas), if eventually, he emerges as Governor of the state, majority of these women hardly interact in another language except Yoruba. He was unable to speak Yoruba when he was called for an interview, he said it himself that people often laugh at him if he wants to speak Yoruba. This is the first time in history we will see such a person with questionable identity contesting for the post of Governor in Lagos state.
“It's understandable if an Igbo man speaks Yoruba fluently, at least you will know that he learnt it as a second language. He will never tell you that he is a Yoruba man. Where is the identity of a Yoruba man who can't speak his language and who would like to govern a Yoruba state? How will he communicate with the indigenous Yorubas as a Yoruba man?
“His certificate should carry the same name with all his verifiable names. I checked Wikipedia, the Patrick on his certificate is not appearing on the site. His MIT certificate is the only certificate that shows Patrick Rhodes-Vivour, not Patrick Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour. In the midst of Yorubas, he calls himself Gbadebo, in the midst of Igbos he calls himself Chinedu, his identity is questionable.
“He used the name Patrick abroad, used Chinedu while contesting in Lagos West Senatorial district in 2019 because of the heavy presence of Igbos in the district. In 2023, he switched to Gbadebo just to appear indigenous and to deceive the Yorubas. If am to recruit him for a job, I would never consider him with the MIT certificate. There is a huge disparity between his name and the certificate. He should let us see his birth certificate, International passport, NIN, or the name on his BVN in public.
“The exponential potential for consolidated growth in Lagos, potentially the third largest economy in Africa, cannot be subjected to gambling. The seat of the Lagos Governor is not an experimental platform for any random person without any credible track record in governance or anybody with a questionable identity. Lagosians will never vote for someone that can't boldly identify with his ethnic group.”
