Africa-Press – Gambia. The past few fortnight has been interesting in The Gambia’s political scene. In an audio message played to an audience in his home village of Kanilai, exiled former president Yahya Jammeh boldly declared that he is returning to The Gambia and that “no one can stop him”.
President Adama Barrow and his minions responded that Jammeh could return but would be prosecuted and could even face arrest at the airport. In reaction Jammeh swore that he would return and then it would be know between him and the president “who owns The Gambia.”
The Gambia does not belong to either former president Yahya Jammeh or sitting president Adama Barrow or anyone else for that matter. The British and other colonialist European monarchs lorded it over The Gambia for centuries but their suzerainty. Jawara was here for thirty-odd years but his power was washed away in a drizzle one foggy Friday morning. Jammeh was the alpha and the omega for twenty-two years but his imperial presidency was eclipsed by a little know former security guard and realtor and he had to fly into exile.
So it’s banally false and pretentious for anyone to claim that they own The Gambia. This land is a sovereign republic. It is not a kingdom, or sultanate or an autocracy like Saudi Arabia, Eswatini or North Korea where one man’s word is law and or sovereignty is dynastic.
It should be known to Jammeh and anyone who harbours such pretensions that The Gambia has changed and that Gambians would rather die than go back to what obtained in the past. The young people of this country would not allow that and the signs are crystal evident in the agitations of Gala and other youth movements.
Given what we have all been seeing, what the country needs now are strong institutions; a dedicated and visionary leadership that is itself uncorrupt and ready to end the rampant corruption in the country; empathetic to the plight of Gambians and not shackle the country with more debt; make healthcare affordable and effective; help farmers to make the country food self-sufficient; invest in education to develop the youths; and restore the dignity of the country.
Gambians must not allow divisive and bellicose rhetoric to reopen old wounds. The country’s fragile democracy still needs nurturing. For this reason, political leaders – whether from the ruling party or the opposition – must place national interest above partisan loyalty.
The time has come for citizens of The Gambia to move beyond the politics of ownership and embrace the politics of service. The Gambia belongs to no man; it belongs to all its people. Everyone in this country must fully understand that this is a sovereign republic which means that it belongs to all its people, equally.
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