The 2023 governorship election had come and gone. It was a battle of Titans between the 3 major governorship candidates in Lagos. The Labour party candidate, Chinedu Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour and the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, popularly called Jandor, put up a good fight to defeat the incumbent governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.
From time memorial, the core Lagosians aren’t fully in support of the APC government in Lagos. They feel, the government hasn’t done enough for them. Some of these them can be called the real Lagosians. But in the last few weeks, majority of them have turned back and have suddenly back Mr Sanwo-Olu second term bid.
When City People asked them. Of them responded that, they had no choice but to support who they know can deliver. “With the ongoing ethnicity tissue in the state, we have no choice but to back the candidate we trust. Why will somebody says Lagos is no man’s land? That’s is an insult, a big one. We would vote enmasse for him. We have mobilised ourselves and we would protect our heritage against encroachment. Though, many of us voted against APC during the presidential but we won’t do that this time. We know better and we want to make a statement that this state belong to us”, he concludes.
Another reason is that, many Lagos weren’t too comfortable about Mr Gbadebo’s past. Many people believed he has link with IPOB and could set Lagos on fire if voted in as governor. This has been seen as a political game to distract voters of their choice but his Twitter page also confirms (although deleted) his allegiance with IPOB.
Many Lagosians who voted aggressively against the president-elect had a rethink of their action after the presidential election. Majority if them went back to APC. Another reason why Lagosians feel he can’t govern them is that, his inability to communicate effectively In Yoruba. People have questioned the LP candidate that, how does it want to communicate with the people of Lagos especially the market women, traders, and other illiterate who can’t speak or understand English language. This has been condemned in many quarters and when the former Ekiti Governor, Ayo Fayose was on TVC last week, he also spoke about it. He said, “The Candidate of LP we understand was born in Lagos but he can’t speak Yoruba, are we going to get an interpreter for him when he’s speaking to Lagosians? No experience too. And some people say Lagos is Cosmopolitan, can I go to the SE or SS or go to Kano or Kaduna and say because the states are Cosmopolitan and I was born there, I should be the governor? Common. Stop this. Don’t insult people’s sensibility…
In his response to this, the Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos tate, Gbadebo, said he schooled abroad for long, hence his inability to speak Yoruba fluently, Gbadebo said this during an interview with Arise TV March 12, while he responded to those who troll him for not being able to speak fluent Yoruba language.
He further said that though he understands Yoruba, he has hired a Yoruba language teacher to help him get better.
Another big reason why many Lagosians voted massively against him is that, there was a big treat from the Igbos community to hijack sensitive institutions in Lagos. Some of them brag that they want to have their own king. They want to be governed by an Igbo knowing fully well it’s a Yoruba state. They even want to be more in the governance in Lagos. That was why Obas in Lagos State came together a few weeks back to reassure the incumbent of their support. Some of them are worried at the level of ethnicity being played across the state.
A few weeks back, traditional rulers in the 62 communities in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State have assured Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of re-election ahead of the governorship election.
Speaking during a news conference at Ikota, the Chairman of Eti-Osa Baale Forum, Chief Wasiu Ali-Balogun, said that Sanwo-Olu had been fulfilling his promises to residents of Lagos State, hence, their support for his re-election.
Ali-Balogun said that there were lots of irregularities during the February 25 presidential election, adding that security would be beefed up to ensure safety during the governorship election.
He, therefore, urged residents of Eti-Osa to put behind the outcome of the presidential election and come out en masse to vote the All Progressives Congress candidates in the forthcoming polls. Your incumbent governor is the governor of all the people, anointed governor, reliable and responsible, hardworking, a listening governor. We are solidly behind the governor, the present administration up to the federal level.
“With what happened during the presidential election, there are a lot of irregularities but we just need to come and correct the impression. Elections will come and elections will go, but Eti-Osa Baale Forum will remain one. “Our governor has done a lot of marvelous jobs that we can easily point to. When we have anything that concerns us particularly the Baales, I can say that he gives good recognition to the Baales in the whole of Lagos State.
Also speaking, the Baale of Ikota, Nasiru Laguda said that the Eti-Osa traditional rulers and residents were solidly behind Sanwo-Olu’s re-election and would ensure his victory. “There is no place that you don’t have friends, neighbours and colleagues. I am appealing to all my Baales to go back home and work out their strategies for everyone of us. “It is not a matter of fighting; we have to call our neighbours, children, community members and everyone to come out en-masse and vote for Sanwo-Olu.
“If we come out en-masse, we will be able to deliver the community. Let’s make our families available to vote en-masse for Sanwo-Olu. We should come out on time and deliver our votes for Sanwo-Olu’s re-election,” Laguda said.
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