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In 2017, my team at YNAG was going to organise our first-ever young and emerging leaders conference, tagged “The Role of Young People in Community Development” on the Obafemi Awolowo University campus. We were looking for young and dynamic Nigerians who embody the leadership qualities that young people can emulate in our society as maiden speakers. We did our research, spoke to a few people for referrals and several names were collated. Amongst them were Seun Fakorede (who became the youngest commissioner in Nigeria in 2019) and Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (who is on his way to becoming the governor of Lagos and the youngest governor in Nigeria). But that is not where I am going.
Prior to inviting GRV to Ile-Ife, I had never met him nor had any interaction with him. In fact, judging by his background and antecedent, and mine (from a relatively small town in Osun); there is no way our paths could have crossed. The first reason I can think of is his humility which makes him approachable. The other reason is his love for Nigeria and Nigerians, which we both share.
My team sent him an email (we got his email through his blog) and he responded in the affirmative. True to his words, he drove several hours from Lagos to Ile-Ife to speak to over 100 young people at the conference. We didn’t have to pay for his transportation or accommodation as he did that willingly. We were all surprised and grateful because as a small organization, there was no way we could have afforded it. From the maiden conference, GRV became our regular speaker and participated as a speaker and supporter in subsequent conferences in Osogbo and Lagos. I remember that in 2018, he travelled all the way from Lagos to Osogbo to speak at our second edition of the conference that was held on the campus of Osun State University. He was also a keynote speaker at the 3rd edition in Lagos in 2019. He did all this at no financial burden to the organization.
Each time I have the opportunity of engaging him to discuss Nigerian issues. I am constantly reminded that this is an intentional man who genuinely loves his country. He once told me how he had the opportunity of taking up citizenship of England but chose to come back to Nigeria to serve. This was before he contested for the chairman of the Ikeja local government in 2017. He has since then been consistent in his service and pursuit of service to his state, Lagos and Nigeria.
I know for a fact that he hired a Yoruba teacher because he was interested in learning the deep history and languages of his heritage (having been away to study in France, England, and the United States previously). This reinforced the reason I consider him a mentor and leader. How many of us have been this deliberate about learning our history?
Also, during one of our trips to Osogbo, sometimes in 2021. We were on our way back to Lagos when he told our driver to head to Ile-Ife instead that he wanted to visit the Yoruba museums at the Ooni’s Palace. I could see the enthusiasm and smiles on his face as the curators took us around to share the stories behind each item of our ancestral history. He was genuinely interested.
Here is a man so passionate and proud of his heritage in Yorubaland that he dedicates a blog to telling the Yoruba and African stories. He has been a great supporter of our initiatives and a positive influence on over 10,000 young people that have been direct and indirect beneficiaries of our initiatives at YNAG. He supported and sponsored the winners of our national governorship essay competition which received over 1,200 applications from young people (18-35 years) from across the country and the top 3 winners came from Enugu, Ondo, and Lagos State.
The GRV that I know is a humble and cerebral pan-Nigerian, with a deep sense of responsibility and empathy for anyone that encounters him.
Adetunji Adeniran is a Lagos-based business leader and entrepreneur. He is the convener and founder of the Young Nigerians and Governance (YNAG) Initiative.
Learn more about YNAG on www.ynag.com.ng/
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