… Warns Against One-Party Agenda
Former presidential candidate, Dr. Gbenga Hashim, has said he is not intimidated by legal or political moves he believes are aimed at weakening the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that Nigeria’s multiparty democracy is firmly rooted and cannot be dismantled.
In a strongly worded statement, Hashim said he would not be deterred by what he described as legal and political manoeuvres allegedly sponsored by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), stressing that no individual or political party can monopolise power in Nigeria.
According to him, Nigeria has historically embraced pluralism as a means of managing its diversity, noting that the country’s founding fathers deliberately 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.”
He recalled that despite the influence of Sir Ahmadu Bello as leader of the Northern People’s Congress, 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 also wielded significant influence.
Hashim added that similar political diversity existed in the South West, where the Action Group competed alongside the NCNC and other regional parties, including 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.”
Drawing lessons from history, Hashim compared the current political environment to the failed self-succession agenda of the late military ruler, General Sani Abacha, who sought to emerge as the sole presidential candidate of all registered political parties at the time.
“We are living witnesses to the failure of that plot,” he said, warning that while the present situation may appear different, its outcome would be similar.
“While Abacha sought to make himself the sole candidate of all parties, the current agenda appears aimed at ensuring that no major party is strong enough to field a credible candidate,” Hashim stated.
Expressing confidence that such efforts would not succeed, he added that history would once again prove such schemes unworkable.
Hashim also recalled his involvement in the struggle against military rule, noting that the resistance was led from within Nigeria.
“We opposed the self-succession plot here at home,” he said, recalling his participation in the internal resistance delegation at Fort IBB on June 8, 1998, during a tense period in the nation’s history.
He concluded by expressing optimism that Nigeria’s democratic traditions would prevail.
“The same God who granted us the grace to witness the collapse of the Abacha plot will also help us see the end of any attempt to undermine our multiparty democracy,” Hashim said.
The post We are not intimidated by attacks on PDP — Gbenga Hashim declares appeared first on Vanguard News.
