Africa-Press – Gambia. President Adama Barrow on Monday signaled he would be willing to seek as many as five terms in office, escalating a war of words with the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) during a “Meet the People Tour” stop in the Kanifing Municipality.
Addressing a joint meeting in Bundung, Mr. Barrow cast the UDP as a fractured and desperate movement, describing its members as “wounded lions” and accusing the party of attempting to undermine his leadership at every turn.
“I would go for a third term, and it would be beneficial to me,” the president said. “Even if you said I should not go for a fourth term, I would go for it—and a fifth term as well. Since they said I should not go for a third term, let them be ready.”
Mr. Barrow also renewed long-standing accusations that the UDP was behind the 2019 “Three Years Jotna” protest, which called on him to honor a campaign pledge to step down after three years in office. He warned the opposition against repeating such efforts. “Let them try again; we are waiting for them,” he said.
The president framed his political decisions as a direct counter to the UDP’s criticism. “What they do not know is that I do not have a marabout. They are my marabout,” he said, using a term for spiritual guides. “What they said I should not do is what I would do.”
Extending the metaphor further, Mr. Barrow said even if the UDP warned him against entering a fire, he would proceed regardless. “That fire would be ice and cold water for President Barrow,” he said. “Even if I do not want to do it, I would do it because I know they are not my well-wishers.”
Turning to criticism from Borry Touray, a Gambian commentator and former civil servant, the president suggested that formal education does not necessarily equate to wisdom. “Someone being educated and having knowledge are different,” he said, adding that “some are educated but have the same horn as that of cows.”
Mr. Barrow’s remarks reflect an increasingly confrontational posture toward the opposition as The Gambia’s political landscape sharpens ahead of future election cycles.
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