Presidential hopeful, Dr. Gbenga Hashim, has declared that neither legal nor political pressures will weaken the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that Nigeria’s democratic foundation is too solid to be undermined by any attempt at imposing a one-party agenda.
In a strongly worded statement, Hashim said he remained resolute in the face of what he described as “legal and political subterfuges sponsored by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),” stressing that no individual or political party can monopolise power in Nigeria.
According to him, Nigeria’s history is firmly rooted in pluralism, which has served as a key mechanism for managing the country’s diversity since independence. He noted that the nation’s founding fathers deliberately adopted a multiparty system to prevent the concentration of power.
“Nigeria has always been committed to multiparty democracy. Even in the First Republic, political power was never concentrated in the hands of one man or one party,” Hashim said.
He recalled that despite the dominant influence of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello as leader of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), other political movements such as Aminu Kano’s Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), J.S. Tarka’s Middle Belt Congress, and Sir Kashim Ibrahim’s Borno People’s Union played significant roles in national politics.
Hashim added that political diversity also flourished in the South West, where the Action Group competed alongside the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) and other regional parties, including the Ibadan People’s Party.
“Our democracy has never been one where a single star dominates the firmament. In our political sky, there are thousands of stars,” he said.
Drawing parallels with Nigeria’s past, Hashim likened the current political climate to the failed self-succession bid of late military ruler, General Sani Abacha, who attempted to emerge 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 while the present situation carries what he described as “a more sinister twist,” its outcome would be no different.
“While Abacha sought to impose himself as the sole candidate of all parties, the current agenda is to ensure that no major opposition party is strong enough to field a credible candidate,” Hashim stated.
Expressing confidence that such efforts would ultimately collapse, he added that, “Just as the Abacha plot ended unrealised, this immature machination will also end in disaster for its authors, by the grace of God.”
Hashim also recalled his role in the struggle against military dictatorship, stressing that the resistance was fought from within Nigeria rather than from exile.
“We confronted the self-succession agenda at home, not as self-styled exiled democrats enjoying comfort abroad,” he said.
He disclosed that he was part of the internal resistance delegation present at Fort IBB on June 8, 1998, during a tense period marked by heavy military movements and uncertainty over the nation’s future.
Concluding, Hashim expressed optimism that history would repeat itself.
“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.
