Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, Governorship candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in Lagos State says whipping up tribal sentiment and pitting ethnic groups against each other during election have become the hallmark of some politicians in the state.
Speaking while featuring on Channels Television Programme on Thursday, the LP candidate declared that politicians are trying to create division among residents of the state.
He also chastised politicians claiming that the state belongs to Yoruba people
Some persons believed to be supporters of the All Progressives Congress, APC had challenged Rhodes-Vivour’s citizenship of the state.
Contrary to insinuations that Lagos is a no man’s land, some APC stakeholders including the former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode had insisted that Lagos belongs to the Yoruba people only.
Rhodes-Vivour who is half Igbo is gaining acceptance among non-Yoruba residents of Lagos State ahead of the March 18 governorship poll.
But according to the LP candidate, politicians make such claims only during elections.
He opined that when social activists including the Yoruba nation’s agitator, Sunday Igboho were battling with herders who invaded the region some months ago, the politicians were not heard.
He said, “Lagos State has been in harmony for a long time. What happens is politicians try to divide us. Let us be wary of politicians who remember that they are Yoruba when it is time for politics.
“When Fulani herdsmen were making incursions into Oyo and people like Sunday Igboho, and Rotimi Akeredolu stood up, a lot of politicians in Lagos were quiet. They played politics with it.
“When it was time for Amotekun, they were quiet.
“They were quiet on so many interests of the Yoruba people because they wanted an alliance with the north. So, they put their political interest above the interest of their people. And all of a sudden, it is election time and they are reminding you that this person does not speak Yoruba.”
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