By: Hatab Fadera
Mr. President, when you made that major pronouncement in April 2023 during a meeting with Muslim elders about life beyond presidency, I believe you were sincere. I believe you spoke from your heart about your true intentions of relinquishing power at some point, presumably at the end of your current second term. In that speech, you revealed that plans were afoot to set up your foundation through which you would continue to support the country. In fact, you said a land – which allocation became controversial – had been identified and that staff for the foundation were being recruited. Mr. President, those remarks demonstrate that you had carefully thought about leaving office.
However, no sooner had you made that announcement than we saw several of your acolytes jumping to pin a different narrative. They insisted that you didn’t mean what you said, or you said it in a different context only your adherents understood. The reality, though, Mr. President, is that you spoke from heart. In fact, just this week, during an interview with Journalist Alieu Ceesay of QTV, you said you wanted to leave office, but your adherents prevailed on you to stay for the interest of the governing National People’s Party (NPP). I will get to the issue of NPP vs national interests later. But let’s address what your acolytes want versus what the nation wants.
Mr. President, those who are trumpeting your longevity in power are either grossly insincere or do not wish you and the country well. It takes a fleeting litigation of their past to arrive at this conclusion. These are political “junglers” who aided and abetted one of the worst dictatorships in Africa. Even when Gambians voted out the tinpot, some of these people seized the national airwaves, projecting the Big Lie that the election was rigged in your favor. They vowed that you would never be sworn into the office. Through their callous actions, you had to seek refuge in neighboring Senegal. Their unpardonable actions plunged the country into one of its gravest crises, forcing tens of thousands of our compatriots across borders as refugees. Mr. President, Gambians have not forgotten about that dark chapter even though you continue to grant these political “junglers” some of the highest responsibilities of our land.
Mr. President, have you ever asked yourself what the true intentions of these people are? Has it ever occurred to you that these people have no modicum of loyalty and that they are loyal only to their souls? Have you, out of curiosity, ever wondered why these people dumped Jammeh the minute he was dethroned? What guarantees are that these “junglers” wouldn’t dump you the minute you left power? What is clear is that these low-hanging fruits are married to their selfish interests. Self-serving is what they know. For them, survival means lining their pockets and riding along with every new dispensation, good or bad.
Mr. President, it may not be fair to blame just those who aided and abetted Jammeh. Over the last nine years that you have been in power, we have seen many of your critics bent the knee. Some ditched the party that made them to join yours. Others coined the term “alliance” to be at the center of power. A good chunk of these transactional politicians would go on to become ministers and senior government officials. Some of these people had said the worst about you. Mr. President, today, they made a 360-degree switch to sing your praise, “Kairo Barrow.” They have gone to the extent they are advocating your longevity in power. Again, have you, out of curiosity, questioned their true intentions?
Mr. President, the buck stops with you. Your long spell in the opposition under a brutal dictatorship should serve as sufficient reference for you to make an independent decision about your political future. Have you ever wondered why both Jawara and Jammeh ended up the way they did? It is simply self-perpetuation in power. Jawara, with all his rich democratic and human rights scorecards, was overthrown in a nasty coup, while Jammeh was humiliated at polls he tried to steal. Have you reflected on what became of your predecessors after leaving office? They both went into self-exile. Would you want a similar fate to befall you once you have left power no matter how long that takes?
Mr. President, while our constitution currently has no term limits, the moral and ethical obligations fall on you to do the needful – give Gambians a fresh start. Mr. President, you have always spoken about your legacy. I figured that keeping a good legacy is important for you since you’ve never missed an opportunity to mention it. What better legacy could you possibly leave behind than laying the democratic foundations for The Gambia, not least the TERM LIMIT. A lot of your political “junglers” would tell you that it is your right to seek a third mandate, probably drawing comparisons from other countries. But Mr. President, The Gambian story is unique. Our success in decisively defeating tyranny through the ballot box is what makes our story unique, different, and powerful. DON’T FALL FOR IT!
During your party’s recent congress in Mansa Konko, you stated that you never wanted to become President and that it was only Allah’s will that it happened. Mr. President, if that was the case, wouldn’t you have been grateful to a nation that chose you twice over more competent presidential hopefuls? Or are you trying to “force Allah’s hand,” as your now political bedfellow Mai Ahmed Fatty put it during a presser reacting to the scuttling of the popular 2020 draft constitution by a handful of your lawmakers in the parliament?
Mr. President, you told Journalist Alieu Ceesay of QTV that you wanted to leave power, but that you are hanging on because “My party is a very young party. I don’t want my party to die at the infant stage [sic].” Mr. President, successful leaders are those who create a competent bench of potential successors. Despite it being a young party, NPP boasts of highly competent young leaders who have the wherewithal to succeed. It is upsetting that your only reason of denying Gambians a chance at term limits is because you want NPP’s longevity in power.
Mr. President, the reality is that you are being seized by a dangerous cabal that does not wish the country well and wants your longevity in power for their selfish interests. I hope that you will do the needful by stepping down at the end of your term and become a loving statesman who can continue to live in the country with dignity and contribute to its development. Don’t allow the Macky Sall fate to befall you. Jummah Mubarak!
