\n\nA Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, in this interview with Chuks Okocha, tackles the nation’s escalating security crisis, the state of the economy, and what the recent FCT Area Council poll signals for 2027.
‘The Magnitude of Killings Would Trigger a UN Meeting If It Happened in Europe’
Q: The country is being held down by insecurity. Terrorists seem to be getting closer to Abuja. Where do we go from here?
Olawepo-Hashim: I’m from the North Central zone. These issues are personal to me. When they kill people in those communities, they attack places where I have family ties—from Kebbi to Kwara.
When they attacked Woro in Kwara, I grew up in New Bussa. I know the people there. I briefed higher authorities about these threats three years ago.
The truth is, the magnitude of killing going on in Nigeria—if one-tenth of it had happened in Europe, there would have been a UN Security Council meeting specifically to discuss it.
We have to take this seriously. But the APC government is more interested in managing information and diplomats to create an impression that they are doing something. They are doing nothing to stop the killing.
‘Terrorists Are Collecting Taxes. Nigerian Authorities Are Not Fighting’
Q: The crisis has been internationalized. The Americans are involved. Where is Nigeria’s sovereignty?
Olawepo-Hashim: After 9/11, fighting international terror is no longer a domestic affair. Terrorist funding and arms flow are international. So international cooperation is necessary.
But we cannot raise the issue of sovereignty when the terrorists themselves are already undermining it. The terrorists are collecting taxes in Sokoto, in parts of Zamfara. Only a few states truly collect taxes now.
If terrorists are collecting taxes, your sovereignty is already eroded.
The Nigerian authorities are not fighting terrorism. They are on the defensive. People come, kill, and the government goes to condole. They try to scare terrorists away. That is not fighting.
Fighting means taking the battle to terrorist camps—making arrests, destroying camps, seizing weapons. Have you seen Nigerian authorities doing that? They are not.
This government is not willing to fight.
‘The Naira Should Be N500 to a Dollar by Now’
Q: Some say prices are gradually coming down.
Olawepo-Hashim: Prices are coming down because the exchange rate is dropping. But I’ve been saying since October last year: they over-devalued the Naira.
Under Buhari, with 900,000 barrels per day, the Naira exchanged at ₦700 to a dollar. Now we produce about 1.8 million barrels per day. Under reasonable circumstances, the Naira should be exchanging at ₦500–₦600 to a dollar.
Even at ₦1,300 now, there’s still arbitrage. Prices should drop more drastically if the Naira reaches its true market value.
By my measurement, the actual value should be ₦500–₦600 to a dollar.
‘FCT Poll Shows Grassroots Still Solidly PDP’
Q: The FCT Area Council election is over. What next for PDP?
Olawepo-Hashim: The election shows the grassroots voters are still with PDP, despite elite defections and infighting.
In Bwari, where the candidate was pressured to defect to APC just three days to the election, the people still voted PDP. We won five out of ten councillors there.
PDP won Kuje too, though results were manipulated. In one polling unit, they declared 1,200 votes when only 300 were accredited.
Abuja is a microcosm of Nigeria. APC threw everything into this election—governors deployed, money spent, pressure on security agencies. And they still could not win convincingly.
If things had gone normally, PDP would have taken four councils.
‘Every Devil in PDP Will Go Out’
Q: Can PDP reinvent itself?
Olawepo-Hashim: There is strong commitment for PDP to reinvent itself. The party was never dead. I was one of its founders in 1998. We brought 13 political organizations together.
There is no polling unit in Nigeria where you won’t find PDP members. APC, after years in power, still cannot say that.
Yes, PDP is bedevilled by crisis. But by the grace of God, every devil inside it will go out.
Q: Will PDP be on the ballot in 2027?
Olawepo-Hashim: Some people thought we wouldn’t be on the ballot for this FCT election. We were.
Court cases will be resolved by April. Nomination starts in July. There’s ample time.
‘Nobody Can Stop Me from Running for President’
Q: Governors from Oyo and Bauchi are scheming for tickets. Where does Gbenga fit in?
Olawepo-Hashim: All that talk about zoning is advisory. Nobody can impose it.
Nobody can stop Gbenga Hashim from running for president on the PDP platform. When it’s time, I will buy my form. The Electoral Act and the Constitution are clear on that.
Q: Do you have a Plan B?
Olawepo-Hashim: My priority is to fix PDP. But one thing I assure you: by the grace of God, I will be on the ballot in 2027 for the presidential election.
With or without PDP? I hope it will still be with PDP. We are working hard to make it so.
