Mr. Wale Ajetunmobi, the Senior Special Assistant on Media to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday, the 26th of September 2025, deployed a derogatory racial slur targeting the Labour Party’s gubernatorial candidate in the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.
The attack came via Ajetunmobi’s X (formerly Twitter) account and was directed at Rhodes-Vivour, who was in Ibadan alongside other dignitaries for the coronation of the revered Ibadan monarch, the Olubadan.
In a since-deleted post, the Governor’s aide wrote, “Ibadan people don carry monkey go market,” a deeply offensive, racially charged statement often used to cast aspersions on the character and origins of individuals. By deploying this bigotry, Ajetunmobi attempted to mock Rhodes-Vivour’s presence in the city and his political support base.
Ajetunmobi is known on social media for frequently employing divisive rhetoric and bigotry against political opponents. However, this particular attack, which implicated the entire populace of Ibadan, proved to be a line crossed. It triggered a swift and furious backlash from Nigerians, especially those from Ibadan, who decried the language as an alien and destructive form of political campaigning.
Rhodes-Vivour and Ibadan’s Dignified Response
The gubernatorial candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, responded to the insult by elevating the conversation, paying homage to the spirit of Ibadan rather than descending into the gutter of bigotry.
In a poignant message written in Yoruba, he lauded the city’s principled stand:
“IBADAN, IBADAN, IBADAN, mesiogo nílé Oluyole. ?m? a gbeni níjà má b??rù ??t??. Ibadan, ? ?eun, mo dúp??!!
Yesterday, I saw IBADAN take a collective stand against Bigotry, I remember the collective stand they took to support Igboho during the herdsmen crisis, the open stand against RUGA, the creation of Amotekun, I remember how IBADAN and her leaders managed ENDSARS. It is not by accident that you are THE PACE SETTER. ? ?eun, Mo dúp?? o.”
Rhodes-Vivour was gracious, his response positioned the city of Ibadan as a historic and incorruptible “PACE SETTER”—a place that consistently stands against oppression and injustice, from the herdsmen crisis to the management of the #EndSARS protests. His message brilliantly countered the aide’s narrow-minded attack with a broad, historical appreciation for the city’s integrity.
Background of Controversy: A Pattern of Recklessness
This is not the first time Mr. Ajetunmobi’s rhetoric has necessitated official intervention. In 2024, Governor Sanwo-Olu was compelled to suspend him for what the government termed “misrepresentation of facts on his personal X account.”
That 2024 incident involved Ajetunmobi’s now-deleted post concerning the extrajudicial killings of individuals allegedly involved in the 2020 #EndSARS protests, specifically the arson attack on TVC.
- Ajetunmobi had claimed: “The full story of people who burnt down TVC in 2020 will be told one day, with gory clips and images. One thing to note: majority of them have been hunted down and executed.”
- He also suggested that one of the arsonists was “found with AK-47 at the site.”
When challenged on the implication of extrajudicial killings, he attempted to clarify that the individuals were overpowered by soldiers and killed during an exchange of gunfire. However, the initial, chilling statement and his subsequent use of racial slurs underscore a troubling pattern of reckless public commentary and the deployment of inflammatory language in his political engagement.
The latest incident reaffirms the persistent challenge Nigerian politics faces in battling bigotry and hate speech, particularly when it emanates from the offices of high-ranking government officials.
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