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The African Democratic Congress governorship candidate for Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has said President Bola Tinubu has been “completely demystified”, arguing that the political image built around his record in Lagos has been significantly weakened.
Rhodes-Vivour made the assertion in an interview now circulating on social media, where he also alleged that security personnel and political thugs were being deployed to disrupt opposition activities.
“They send the entire police team and thugs literally working hand in hand to stop that from happening,” he said, referring to efforts he claimed were aimed at preventing opposition parties from building momentum.
He further alleged that meetings had been held to disrupt gatherings organised by opposition parties.
“As at the 16th of this month there were meetings that were held where people said that their plan is to ensure that whatever opposition party is meeting they’ll go there and scatter it,” he said.
According to him, such alleged efforts meant the opposition could no longer rely on the element of surprise, although he maintained that young Nigerians remained largely supportive of the opposition.
“So it’s a different game because the opposition no longer has the element of surprise. The youth are with the opposition and it’s a different game because we don’t have the element of surprise. So that stacks in their favour,” he contained.
Rhodes-Vivour, however, identified what he described as a major advantage for the opposition, saying the perception of Tinubu as a political figure capable of transforming Nigeria based on his Lagos record had been eroded.
“What stacks in our favour is the president has been completely demystified,” he said.
He added that the argument that Tinubu built Lagos and could therefore replicate the achievement at the national level had, in his view, lost its appeal.
“The idea that he built Lagos, the idea that if he could build Lagos he would do this to Nigeria has been completely destroyed,” Rhodes-Vivour said.
The ADC candidate also described the current economic experience of Nigerians as extremely difficult, saying many citizens would regard it as one of the worst periods they had experienced in the past two decades.
“If you ask most people, most Nigerians will agree if you were to say this is the worst experience they have in Nigerian last 20 years,” he said.
Rhodes-Vivour also reflected on the country’s economic decline, comparing the value of the naira in earlier years with its present purchasing power.
“I used to say that Nigeria has been nosedive for some time but now I can look back at the good old days,” he said.
He also criticised what he described as the divisive nature of Tinubu’s politics, particularly during his years of political dominance in Lagos.
“Aside that, you know, he was also an extremely divisive, the politics that he played especially in Lagos and actually all over Nigeria was a very, very divisive politics,” Rhodes-Vivour said.
According to him, the political strategy created divisions among Nigerians and contributed to what he described as a “very, very toxic reality” in the country.
He said the opposition had continued to maintain its political presence despite the outcome of previous elections, citing himself and Peter Obi as examples of politicians who did not relent after the election.
