ADC candidate accuses ruling party of using Yoruba controversy to divert attention from roads, flooding, housing, traffic and waste crisis
By Our Correspondent
African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of deliberately turning the controversy over his Yoruba proficiency into a political distraction from the worsening challenges confronting Lagos residents.
Rhodes-Vivour, reacting to the mockery directed at his Yoruba language ability, said those attacking him should instead explain how more than two decades of APC administration had improved the lives of ordinary Lagosians.
He said the APC's focus on his Yoruba was an attempt to make Lagosians “major on the minor” rather than confront the realities of life in the state.
“As usual, the APC has resorted to its familiar strategy of distraction. Its loudest voices are not talking about the impact of their government on the people of Lagos.”
According to him, the issues demanding urgent attention include deteriorating roads, worsening flooding, a housing crisis, unreliable public water supply, crippling traffic and growing environmental degradation.
“They are not telling Lagosians how they have made their lives better. They are not talking about the state of our roads, the worsening flooding, the housing crisis, the lack of reliable public water, the traffic crisis or the growing filth across our city.”
Rhodes-Vivour said the same pattern of distraction was deployed during the 2023 election, when, according to him, political thuggery, intimidation and violence were used to force the APC's way into office.
He accused the ruling party of maintaining a political culture in which violence and intimidation are used to compensate for the inability to win public confidence through governance and performance.
“Why won’t the APC confront this problem? Because they depend on the same thugs and the same culture of political violence to force their way into power.”
He argued that a government confident in its record should be willing to defend that record before the people rather than shift public attention to peripheral controversies.
‘Lagos Traffic Is Not a Lifestyle’
Rhodes-Vivour also criticised the government's handling of transportation, housing, infrastructure and water supply.
He said roads have deteriorated, flooding has become more widespread, rents have continued to rise and affordable housing remains grossly inadequate.
On traffic, he accused the government of abandoning the search for lasting solutions and attempting instead to normalise congestion as an inevitable feature of Lagos.
“They have effectively given up on solving the traffic crisis. Now, instead of admitting failure and fixing the problem, they tell us that traffic is a ‘lifestyle.’”
He also questioned the state of public water supply, saying many Lagos communities continue to live without dependable access to government-provided water.
‘That Is Why Lagos Stinks’
The ADC candidate reserved some of his strongest criticism for waste management.
Rhodes-Vivour said Lagos operated more than 1,000 Private Sector Participation (PSP) waste trucks under former Governor Babatunde Fashola, but that the number has fallen to roughly 200 despite more than 12 years of APC administration.
He questioned how a rapidly expanding megacity could experience such a drastic reduction in waste collection capacity.
According to him, the problem is not simply the number of trucks but a waste management system undermined by corruption, poor management and what he described as racketeering around diesel, truck leasing and waste collection.
“The problem is not simply a lack of trucks. It is a system that has been weakened by corruption, poor management and alleged racketeering around diesel, truck leasing and waste collection.”
Rhodes-Vivour said the consequence is increasingly visible in communities across Lagos.
“That is why Lagos stinks.”
For him, the waste crisis is a governance failure, not merely a question of residents keeping their immediate surroundings clean.
‘We Must Stop Allowing Them to Change the Subject’
Rhodes-Vivour said his criticism of the APC does not diminish the importance he attaches to Yoruba language, culture and heritage.
Rather, he argued that cultural identity should not be weaponised to distract Lagosians from demanding accountability on governance.
He challenged the APC to stop changing the subject and answer the fundamental question confronting the state after years in power.
“The question is not who can shout the loudest. The question is, after all these years in power, have they made Lagos better for the ordinary Lagosian?”
He urged Lagosians to keep their attention on the issues that directly affect their lives.
“That is the conversation we should be having. That is the conversation they want us to avoid. And that is exactly the conversation we must continue to have.”
For Rhodes-Vivour, the central issue is therefore not whether he can satisfy his political opponents in a Yoruba language exchange, but whether those who have governed Lagos for years can demonstrate that their policies have delivered a better, cleaner, safer and more affordable city for ordinary Lagosians.
The message from the ADC candidate is unmistakable: Lagosians should not allow a debate over language to displace the bigger debate over governance, accountability and the quality of life in Lagos.
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