Former presidential candidate, Gbenga Hashim, has declared that he is not intimidated by what he described as legal and political manoeuvres aimed at weakening the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that Nigeria’s multiparty democracy is too deeply rooted to be destroyed.
In a strongly worded statement, Hashim said the alleged legal and political subterfuges being sponsored by the ruling All Progressives Congress would not succeed, stressing that no individual or political party could monopolise power in Nigeria.
According to him, Nigeria has historically embraced pluralism as a deliberate tool for managing its diversity, noting that the country’s founding fathers consciously adopted a multiparty system at independence.
“Nigeria has always been committed to multiparty democracy,” Hashim said. “Even in the First Republic, political power was never concentrated in the hands of one man or one party.”
Founding Fathers Rejected One-party Dominance
Hashim recalled that despite the towering influence of Sir Ahmadu Bello as leader of the Northern People’s Congress, other political forces such as Aminu Kano’s Northern Elements Progressive Union, J.S. Tarka’s Middle Belt Congress and Sir Kashim Ibrahim’s Borno People’s Union coexisted with significant influence and representation.
He added that similar political diversity thrived in the South West, where the Action Group competed with the National Council of Nigerian Citizens, alongside regional platforms such as the Ibadan People’s Party.
“Our democracy has never been a democracy of one star flying in its firmament,” he said. “In our sky are thousands of stars.”
Abacha’s Failed Plot A Warning
Drawing lessons from history, Hashim likened the current political climate to the failed self-succession agenda of the late military ruler, Gen Sani Abacha, who attempted to impose himself as the sole presidential candidate of all five registered political parties at the time.
“We are living witnesses to the failure of that plot,” he said, warning that although the present situation carries “a more sinister twist,” the outcome would be no different.
Expressing confidence that such efforts would collapse, Hashim added, “Just as the Abacha plot ended unrealised, this infantile machination will end in disaster for its authors, by the grace of God.”
The former presidential candidate also recalled his personal involvement in the struggle against military rule, emphasising that the resistance was led from within Nigeria and not from exile.
“We fought the self-succession plot here at home, not as self-styled exiled democrats sipping expensive drinks in foreign embassies,” he said.
He revealed that he was part of the internal resistance delegation present at Fort IBB on June 8, 1998, during a critical moment in Nigeria’s history, even as heavy military movements threatened the nation’s democratic future.
Concluding, Hashim expressed firm belief that history would repeat itself in Nigeria’s favour.
“The same God who granted us the grace to witness the collapse of the Abacha plot will also help us see the end of the APC-or-no-other-party agenda,” he said.