ADC's Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour Pressured to Speak Yoruba

During the 2026 Independence Day edition of The Platform, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress, was challenged by an audience member to respond to a question about Yoruba culture in the Yoruba language. The attendee referenced a previous interview Rhodes-Vivour had with Seun Okinbaloye on Channels, where Yoruba culture was discussed.

When Rhodes-Vivour began his response in English, sections of the audience demanded he answer in Yoruba, which briefly unsettled the event. He eventually calmed the crowd and delivered part of his response in Yoruba, emphasizing the importance of language in preserving culture and heritage.

Rhodes-Vivour criticized the treatment of the Yoruba language in Lagos schools, claiming that students had been punished for speaking it, which teachers referred to as vernacular. He encouraged the questioner to address these concerns with representatives of the Lagos State Government present at the event.