A major battle for the soul of the South-West is emerging as former presidential aspirant, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, through the Dr. Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement (GHSM), at the weekend launched a push against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the 2027 Presidency.
Leaders of the group held a large gathering in Osogbo, Osun State capital.
The leaders from the 31 Local Government Areas, as well as party executives, community voices, and the youth declared that the era of the All Progressives Congress (APC) dominance was coming to an end, stating that the person to lead the nation’s rescue is Gbenga Hashim.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Kamaldeen Adebayo, at the gathering, Hashim said: “This heartless government has bled the people enough. Gbenga Hashim’s mission is to restore dignity, justice, and accountability to governance. Nigeria’s democracy cannot breathe under corruption and mediocrity. It is time to take back our country.”
The national coordinator of GHSM, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, spoke in the same vein as he likened Hashim to a Moses for Nigeria’s troubled times.
“Nigerians have been pushed to the wall. Hunger has become a national policy, insecurity a daily horror, and hopelessness a state religion.
“But Gbenga Hashim is ready to lead the crusade out of this wilderness. He is free from corruption, full of ideas, tested in global best practices, and bold enough to crush APC’s state capture,”Hamzat declared.
On his part, the South-West coordinator, Alhaji Abass Olaniyi, placed the blame squarely on the federal administration.
“This administration has failed to deliver. It has reduced governance to the service of a few privileged interests, while the people wallow in poverty. From Osun, this movement will spread like wildfire across the South West. The people are hungry for integrity, principle and vision, and Gbenga Hashim is the answer,” Olaniyi affirmed.
The GHSM, already gaining traction in Lagos, Oyo, Ekiti, and Ondo, welcomed the PDP’s decision to throw open its 2027 presidential ticket, insisting that Hashim now has a straight road to Aso Rock by the Grace of God.
The Osun State coordinator, Honourable Tajudeen Hassan, urged ward and local government coordinators to hit the ground running.
“Take the gospel of Gbenga Hashim to every street, every household, every corner of Osun. Nobody must be left behind. This is the people’s movement, and 2027 is our date with destiny.”
According to some observers, if the momentum is sustained, the South West, long the stronghold of APC, could become the epicentre of the APC’s fall.
With inflation crushing households, unemployment rising, and insecurity spreading, the Osun launch is already seen as the first organized revolt against Tinubu’s grip on the region.
One of the speakers at the event captured the sentiment more appropriately, “the downfall of federal administration begins in the South West. Osun has fired the first shot, and nothing can stop the storm that is coming.”
