Former presidential candidate, Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has called on Nigerians to rise above political, ethnic, and religious sentiments to rescue the country from what he described as the “economic and moral decay” inflicted by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking in a statement on Monday, Olawepo-Hashim accused the APC of plunging Nigeria into unprecedented economic hardship, rising poverty, and national disunity, stressing that the country’s survival now depends on collective action across divides.
“Nigerians must unite to defeat the evil that the APC has come to represent, regardless of party affiliations, ethnic differences, or religion,” he declared. “The mindless policies of increased poverty, high inflation, and economic decline are ravaging all Nigerians equally, without asking whether you are Christian, Muslim, or animist.”
The former presidential hopeful expressed deep concern over the state of the economy, saying that a decade of APC’s “consistently wrong economic decisions” has reversed Nigeria’s growth and increased the country’s debt burden beyond imagination.
“The APC’s ten years of consistently wrong policies have wrecked our national economy,” he said. “They contracted our GDP from $574 billion in 2014 to less than $259 billion today — a disaster unparalleled in our economic history.”
He alleged that the ruling party’s fiscal recklessness had ballooned Nigeria’s national debt to alarming levels. “The APC ballooned our national debt from ₦12 trillion at the end of 2014 to about ₦198 trillion now — an increase of over 1,500%. That is economic vandalism,” he stated.
Olawepo-Hashim, a businessman and political strategist, also lamented the worsening insecurity across the nation, saying the APC government had failed to secure the lives and property of citizens.
“At the security front, the nation is bleeding profusely. From kidnapping to terrorism, no part of the country is safe. We cannot stop insecurity unless we send the APC out of power,” he warned. “The insecurity crisis has crippled agriculture, discouraged investment, and worsened the already unbearable economic hardship.”
He maintained that hunger and poverty had become national issues that affect every citizen, irrespective of tribe or religion. “Hunger has no tribe. Poverty has no religion. The evil is one, and so must our response be,” he said.
Olawepo-Hashim further urged opposition parties and leaders to close ranks and work towards a shared national vision built on transparency, electoral reform, and economic recovery.
“For my fellow political leaders in the opposition, I call on everyone to unite. We don’t all have to be in one party, but our unity must be built around shared programmes,” he added.
Expressing optimism about the readiness of Nigerians for change, he said the APC would not survive a free and fair election. “It does not matter how many presidential candidates contest against the APC. As long as the election is free and fair, APC will fail by the grace of God, because current polling shows the party performing below 20% in both North and South,” he stated.
He concluded with a passionate call for national renewal, urging citizens to rise and reclaim the country’s future. “Nigeria can no longer survive on borrowed time or borrowed money. The APC has pushed us to the edge; now is the time to stand up and push back,” he said.
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