Independence Day: Hashim Urges Nigerians To Take Ownership Of Nigeria’s Future Ahead Of 2027

The Presidential candidate of the Accord Party, Dr. Gbenga Hashim, has urged Nigerians to reject the notion that the country must remain underdeveloped, calling on citizens to take greater ownership of Nigeria’s future ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Hashim made the call in an Independence Day message issued in Abuja on Tuesday, arguing that Nigeria’s prolonged underdevelopment was not caused by a lack of resources, but by the failure to effectively harness the country’s human, natural and institutional capacities.

He identified poverty, human trafficking, insecurity, institutional weaknesses, a declining civil service and inadequate security infrastructure as some of the challenges limiting Nigeria’s development despite its enormous potential.

“Nigeria is not a poor country. We have behaved like a poor country because we have consistently underutilised the enormous capacity available to us,” he said.

Hashim stressed that the country’s large and youthful population should be transformed from a development challenge into an economic advantage through investment in education, skills acquisition, employment and productive opportunities.

He said poor governance had consequences beyond economic indicators, affecting the security, dignity and future of ordinary Nigerians.

According to him, human trafficking, unemployment and insecurity are more likely to thrive where citizens lack economic opportunities and institutions are unable to adequately protect vulnerable people.

“You cannot permanently defeat trafficking without defeating the conditions that make human beings vulnerable to trafficking,” he said.

The Accord presidential candidate said the 2027 general election should provide Nigerians with an opportunity to demand greater accountability and determine the direction of the country.

He urged voters to demand clear policy visions, measurable targets and accountability from political candidates rather than allowing elections to be dominated by personality, ethnicity, religion or political slogans.

“Nigeria belongs to Nigerians. We must stop behaving as spectators in the affairs of our own country,” Hashim said.

He said an Accord administration would target the transformation of Nigeria into a $4 trillion economy within eight years, driven by increased production, manufacturing, agriculture, energy, technology and services.

Hashim said Nigeria must move away from an economy largely dependent on the distribution of resource revenues to one that creates wealth through production, value addition and industrialisation.

He also reiterated his proposal to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production to at least four million barrels per day within 24 months of an Accord administration.

According to him, the target would be pursued through the recovery of commercially viable shut-in oil wells, improved security, investment in production infrastructure, efficient crude evacuation and reforms aimed at reducing petroleum production costs.

He stressed, however, that increased crude production should serve as a foundation for domestic industrialisation.

“Four million barrels a day cannot simply mean four million barrels exported. Nigerian crude must power Nigerian industry,” he said.

Hashim also reaffirmed his proposal for a starting sustainable petrol price of ₦605 per litre, with a long-term objective of reducing the price to between ₦200 and ₦300 per litre.

He said the proposal would be based on reducing the actual cost of producing and delivering energy rather than returning to what he described as an opaque subsidy regime.

The Accord candidate further proposed an expansion of crude oil production, refining, petrochemicals, gas processing, electricity generation, pipelines, storage and other critical energy infrastructure.

“Nigeria must stop exporting the raw material and importing the finished value. We must capture the value chain here,” he said.

Hashim argued that affordable and reliable energy would be critical to reviving Nigeria’s manufacturing sector and reducing production costs across the economy.

On foreign policy, he proposed making West African integration a central pillar of Nigeria’s economic strategy, arguing that the region presents significant opportunities for Nigerian businesses.

He said Nigerian manufacturers, farmers, energy companies, financial institutions and technology firms should be positioned to serve a larger and more integrated West African market.

“Our neighbourhood is not a burden; we are one family. West Africa is Nigeria’s strategic economic space,” Hashim said.

He also stressed the need for deliberate investment in technical education, professional skills and productive employment to harness Nigeria’s growing youth population.

“Our young population should be Nigeria’s greatest economic asset. We must give them the skills and opportunities to turn their energy into wealth,” he said.

Hashim said reforming the civil service and strengthening public institutions would also be critical to achieving ambitious economic targets, stressing that Nigeria needed a competent and accountable state.

“We cannot build a $4 trillion economy with institutions that cannot perform. The Nigerian state itself must be rebuilt,” he said.

The Accord presidential candidate said Independence Day should remind Nigerians that political independence must ultimately be matched by economic and institutional independence.

“The Nigeria we want cannot be outsourced. It cannot be imported. It must be built by Nigerians,” he said.

Hashim added that the 2027 election would give Nigerians an opportunity to determine not only who governs the country but also the direction in which it should move.

“We are offering the vision. We are offering the leadership. But the ultimate power belongs to Nigerians,” he said.

He concluded that Nigeria’s independence had given citizens ownership of the country, urging them to exercise that responsibility by actively participating in shaping its future.