Olawepo-Hashim: How My Hausa Identity was Concealed from Me for About Three Decades
The presidential candidate of Accord Party, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, narrates how his Hausa origin was concealed from him for 27 years by his father who was an ex- Commissioner of Police,
Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, a presidential candidate of the Accord Party, has revealed how his Hausa identity was kept hidden from him for nearly three decades. The son of ex-COMPLE Commissioner of Police, late Hashim Abdullahi Yauri, disclosed that his father deliberately concealed his royal heritage from him as a child, following a warning from an Islamic cleric.
The cleric advised his father against revealing the child's identity prematurely, prompting him to keep the secret in order to protect his son. As a result, Olawepo-Hashim grew up in a Yoruba cultural environment, unaware of his Hausa and royal origins. He was named Abdulmalik at birth and lived with his stepfather, Julius Bamidele Olawepo, for almost 27 years before discovering his true identity.
The presidential candidate paid tribute to his late father, who was a highly respected police officer known as "Zaki" the Lion, and his grandfather, Seriki Abdullahi Jibril, a prominent traditional ruler of Northern Nigeria. Olawepo-Hashim's discovery of his heritage has given him a deeper understanding of the different cultural and historical strands that shaped his identity, emphasizing the complex nature of his family history and the importance of heritage.
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