The former gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, may have found himself in an uncomfortable situation as a result of a post he shared on his social media handle.
A few days ago, Rhodes-Vivour acknowledged a peaceful walk for peace and progress by the Isale Eko youths in which he participated. He even showered praise on the youths for a well-organised walk and massive turnout.
“Earlier today, I joined the youth of Isale Eko for the walk for peace and progress. Proud of the youth of Isale Eko for how well-organised the walk was, the turnout was massive and underscores the desire of our youth for peace and progress. I look forward to more programs to further build our community and our youth,” he wrote.
Probably spurred by the euphoria, he was encouraged to add more content to back up his earlier statement, and that was where the problem reared its head.
The former gubernatorial candidate reposted his earlier tweet and added two more videos to back up the claim of a huge turnout.
“Seeing the huge turnout of youth yesterday filled me with both excitement and fear. Excitement that we can come together to express our aspirations for peace and progress. Fear that the govt MUST provide and create opportunities for our teeming youth to avoid a volatile future,” he wrote excitedly.
But there was a problem with that.
Sharp-eyed social media FBIs fished out that the post was a big pot of misinformation. The videos Rhodes-Vivour used were actually not from the peace walk of February 25, 2024.
In fact, according to @QueenAbeeke, the videos were from 2023, an annual community walk of the Isale Eko people, and accused the politician of trying to politicise the gesture by misinforming the masses.
“Dude, this is fake news. The procession is an Isale Eko procession of last year. All this shows is that to be obedient, you must first be an idiot and liar,” she wrote.
Was it just a small fry? Let’s have your opinion in the comment section.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
