Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim reveals concealed Hausa royal identity

Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, the presidential candidate for the Accord Party, has revealed that his Hausa and royal identity was concealed from him for approximately 27 years. The grandson of the 40th Seriki of Yauri stated that his late father, Alhaji Hashim Abdullahi Yauri, a former Police Commissioner, made the decision to hide his heritage to protect him.

According to Olawepo-Hashim, an Islamic cleric warned his father of potential dangers within the royal family, leading his father to prioritize protection over inheritance. Consequently, he was relocated to the Borgu Emirate and raised within a Yoruba cultural environment under a different identity. Although born as Abdulmalik in 1969, he lived for nearly three decades without knowledge of his paternal lineage and Hausa traditions. These details are featured in a chapter of his forthcoming autobiography, ‘Sunrise At Midnight’.