Babatunde Gbadamosi has revealed why he accepted the nomination to serve as the deputy governorship candidate to a younger candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Lagos State.
Explaining his decision on Wednesday, Gbadamosi stated that many people thought he was more experienced and mature, among other qualities, and should therefore be the candidate, with Rhodes-Vivour as his deputy.
“I have decided to explain this only once. For decades, those in the corridors of power have repeated the sentence ‘the youths are the leaders of tomorrow’, but have refused, consistently, to leave the scene,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
He described the sentence “the youths are the leaders of tomorrow” as a “big fat lie”, noting that the youths had always been the leaders of their time.
Gbadamosi recalled that in the 1950s, the colonialists carried out an experiment by allowing regional self-rule in Nigeria.
He noted that Western Nigeria was led by the Action Group, a party led by Obafemi Awolowo, who was in his early 40s.
“Many of his colleagues were in their 30s, and some were even in their 20s, like Anthony Enahoro, who demanded independence for Nigeria on the floor of parliament at the grand old age of 23!
“That government of mostly young men was easily the most impactful government in Africa, if not the world, at that time,” he said.
Gbadamosi stressed that by the 1960s, many of these men had moved into their 50s and had become so used to the trappings of power that they forgot they were in power to serve the people, not themselves.
He also mentioned that a crisis erupted, eventually resulting in a military coup led by young soldiers in their 20s. He emphasised that a counter-coup followed six months later, led again by young soldiers in their 20s and 30s.
While affirming that another coup happened in 1976, he stated that the two governments that emerged from the second coup were again among the most impactful governments in Africa, with their influence stretching as far as Britain and South Africa.
Gbadamosi recounted that General Olusegun Obasanjo, as he was then known, handed over to much older civilians in 1979, and they promptly began to destroy the vibrant nation he and his colleagues had built through what he described as their selfish and gratuitous politicking.
“Again, another coup, and yet another, and Babangida took over, in his 40s, completing projects abandoned by the older civilians, like the 3rd Mainland Bridge and the Shiroro Dam.
“Coming to Lagos State, Mobolaji Johnson was appointed founding governor at the grand old age of 31, and decided to appoint men like Chiefs Adeniran Ogunsanya, S L Edu and Ganiyu Olawale Dawodu, all in their 50s, into his cabinet,” he recalled.
He argued that the government, led by a much younger man, was probably the most impactful Lagos State has seen since, besides the government of the late Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande.
According to him, he was somewhat instrumental in ensuring that Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour got the Labour Party governorship ticket in 2022, partly because he was a younger man and also because of the unique skill set he brought to the table.
This, he acknowledged, he still considers to be the best fit for Lagos State right now, following what he described as “the 27 years of blight, wrought by the greedy, incompetent and wicked Tinubu criminal gang.”
“I refuse to join those who repeatedly lied to my generation that ‘the youths are the leaders of tomorrow’, when in fact, they led us in their youth,” Gbadamosi maintained.
He affirmed that Rhodes-Vivour is in his early 40s, describing it as a perfect time when the energy of youth meets the wisdom of experience.
He reiterated that the time for the youths to lead is now,l, not tomorrow, and that Nigerians need to revert to what they did before to get the results they desire for their children and their children’s children.
“If you want to Make Èkó Great Again, and build a better Lagos than the one we have all endured for the last 27 years, please join Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and I, and help us to chase away the locusts that want to feed on your children’s future, while telling you to your face that their youths will be your leaders tomorrow,” he added.
