LAGOS STATE – a state in the South Western Region of Nigeria, is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. Lagos is a major financial centre in Africa, and the sub-national with the highest GDP in sub-Saharan Africa. Home to one of the largest and busiest ports on the continent, Lagos initially emerged as a port city which originated from a collection of islands, in the present day Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Lagos Island, Eti-Osa, Amuwo-Odofin and Apapa, separated by creeks, fringing the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon.

Due to rapid urbanization, the city expanded to the west of the lagoon, spreading to areas in the present day Lagos Mainland, Ajeromi-Ifelodun and Surulere. This led to the classification of Lagos into two main areas: Island and Mainland. This city area was governed directly by the Federal Government through the Lagos City Council, until the creation of Lagos State in 1967.
Lagos was originally inhabited by the AWORI, a subgroup of the YORUBA people in the 15th century, who called it “Oko”. Under the leadership of the OLOYE OLOFIN, the Awori moved to an island now called Iddo, and subsequently to the larger Island in Lagos. Lagos is a civilized hub of trade, founded on the rich foundational principles of Yoruba integrity, dignity, culture and respect for elders.

In recent times, I engaged in a keen research on the three major gubernatorial candidates of the leading political parties in Lagos State. I started with the incumbent governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his responsible style of governance, that leave no stones unturned. I also paid attention to the campaign of Azeez Olajide Jandor, who has forgotten his roots, to chase political shadows, with his dramatic partner. Lagosians should make Lagos work for themselves is a slogan he has been using to make Lagosians feel inferior in their own lands.
What caught my attention more is the new kid on the political block; Chinedu “Gbadebo” Rhodes-Vivour, who has shown his readiness to use all forms of aggression, banditry – online and offline, to snatch political powers in Lagos State for the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB). He has publicly showed his hatred for the Yorubas by expressing his happiness on Twitter when the palace of the Oba of Lagos was invaded during the unfortunate ENDSARS insurrection Chinedu Coordinated with his goons.

Chinedu Rhodes Vivour also portrayed himself as the lover of youths, a generation committed to bullying their parents and grandparents. He also vowed to use Lagos’ resources and wealth to honour the Biafra people. Chinedu Rhodes Vivour has nuisance value and does not respect anyone that doesn’t buy into his political mantra, he displayed this by subtly calling well-respected Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, an opportunist in a Twitter post because the latter was welcoming the governor of Kaduna state.
The way the Lagos State gubernatorial candidate of the Labour party found his lost voice after the presidential election that saw to the woeful failure of his principal Peter Obi, who came a distant third in the presidential election, is suspicious and calls for questioning. How people from a particular tribe are the ones pushing for Chinedu to hijack Lagos also needs investigation.
Chinedu, as popularly called by his IPOB cohorts, has long coveted the resources of Lagos. The alignment of his personal vision with the greed of the IPOB mob made them fuel the unfortunate insurrection that nearly brought Lagos to her knees, if not for the crisis management skill of Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu.
The identity-crisis victim swinging between between Chinedu and Gbadebo is riding on the emotions of innocent Nigerian youths to campaign for his greed. I took it upon myself to conduct a deep research into the credibility of Chinedu “Gbadebo” Rhodes Vivour and I was shocked by my discoveries. He runs a questionable company, with no verifiable address in Lagos State. There are many unanswered questions about this Yahoo boy IPOB posing as a messiah to our youths.
For how long did Chinedu Rhodes Vivour work at SISSA and Cliff? What are Chinedu Gbadebo’s role and assignments in that company? How did he stop working there? Sacked or resigned? How has he been earning a living as a politician within the past 5 years? What accomplishment can he boast of in his line of work as an Architect and a Politician? These are critical questions to ask.
For someone who has enjoyed the ahead-of-others in Nigeria’s Lagos system, his role in the insurrection and arson that burnt landmark infrastructure and facilities including BRT buses is ignoble. All evidence suggested that Chinedu was actively pushing the IPOB agenda physically during the crisis, as he also used his social media pages to encourage the arsonists to burn more public infrastructure and facilities in Lagos State. His admiration of the Biafra map is another pointer to his secessionist plans being well thought-out. If Lagosians slumber and allow Chinedu to win Lagos, the indigenous Lagosians will dance to a drum they do not hear its tune.
Fellow Lagosians, it is time to look at the track records of the major gubernatorial contenders in Lagos. We must use our gumption before allowing nincompoops that will rubbish our record of Excellence in Lagos State. We should not allow them to learn to drive with the progressive vehicle of Lagos. Let us avoid an unnecessary accident. Lagos is on a growth trajectory, we cannot afford a regression. We need to come together to protect our pride and treasure. The real revolution is protecting the pride of the Yorubas from IPOB intruders.
Mo wí tèmi o!
Moshood A. Abiola