Olawale Rhodes-Vivour, father of the Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has said his son will bring character and solutions to governance in the state, saying that he is an activist and not a politician.
Olawale said this while speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Wednesday.
He described the 40-year-old politician as solution-driven and a go-getter, who is always trying to challenge the status quo and bring changes.
He said, “I want to speak a little about Gbadebo. I know that definitely I’m biased, but I’ll stick with facts. I’m not talking about opinions, but facts. Gbadebo is not a politician, he’s an activist. That’s the core character of Gbadebo.
“When he came back after school, he was leading matches to the legislature, he was debating with the Minister of Agriculture. Just the same way an activist is rebutted by injustice, by anything that’s unfair; immediately, he reacts. And he begins to lead processions and matches and goes on TV. That’s Gbadebo for you.
“So, Gbadebo at heart, is somebody that’s just good. It’s as simple as that. He’s just a good man, because he will react to anything negative. And he reacts violently to anything negative. He goes on matches and anything within the law to ensure that he’s able to change the status quo.
“During his activism, he recognized that it would be difficult to change things. So as an activist, he just decided to go back to school. He did a Masters in Political Science. And then he decided to go into politics.
“Now, prior to this, he started school here at Chrisland and then he went on to ISL, that’s University of Lagos Secondary School. He didn’t finish there, but in Paris. This is where I noticed it myself: that this boy was different.
“There was this graduation ceremony I was there. The Valedictorian was making his speech. He said that ‘There is somebody here in this class — and you know that it was a wide classroom of French boys while he (Gbadebo) is black — who is responsible for both who I am today.’ And then he began to tell us about Gbadebo.
“This valedictorian was into chemistry and physics, but then Gbadebo took time whether in winter or whatever to go SBD teach him. And then now he’s what he’s. You can imagine how I felt. I was sitting there. Gbadebo wasn’t the valedictorian but the valedictorian was admitting that this is the person who made him what he’s.
“So you find that Gbadebo has this spirit of love. He can easily go into any situation and understand the situation and sit down with you and find a solution. And that’s what he brings to government.”
