Seeing
the multitude of Gambians that thronged the streets; old and young, men and
women, all visibly elated at the return of President Adama Barrow’s from
Senegal is further testament to the relief the Gambians felt at seeing Yahya
Jammeh’s back. Just as it obtained
during the campaign season leading up the elections of December 1st
2016; Barrow out and about sees the largest convergence of Gambians for one
cause. At first it was HOPE, now it is hope laced with CERTAINTY; certainty
that they will finally live in peace and have the peace of mind that two
decades of tyranny denied them. The welcoming crowd was arguably the largest ever
recorded in recent Gambian political history. Onlookers and reporters alike
were amazed at how much Adama Barrow means for The Gambia. The degree of love,
hope, and expectations directed at him can only be matched by the love and support
shown him by the average man, woman, and child. Watching from afar, one cannot
help but be emotional and wish to have been there to be witness to history.
Adama
Barrow; the unity candidate indeed has the support of a unified nation behind
him. A nation, that up to his ascendance was divided and was growing further
apart through the schemes of Yahya Jammeh.
Yahya’s
politics has always been divisive on every front imaginable; political
ideology, region, faith/religion, and most devastatingly; ethnic. Yahya drove a
wedge between some hardliners in his Jola ethnic group especially and the rest
of the Gambia, but more so between those blind tribal loyalists and the
Mandinka that he openly branded as his enemies and enemies on to the other
tribes as well. In fact his politics was everyone against the Mandinka ethnic
group; a group that constitute over 40% of the Gambian population. Every
opponent of substance that Yahya faced emerged from the Mandinka tribe, beyond
that, Yahya dabbled in the oracle and strongly believes in ancient African
religions. It is claimed that the oracle prophesized that his successor would
be from the Mandinka tribe and understandably so since they are the largest
constituency in the country and are active in politics and seeking political
office.
The
Gambian people never attached so much importance to their ethnic groupings or
tribe that they’d shun others. The relationships have always been cordial and
mutually respectful. In fact, between the tribes of the Gambia, there exist
joking relations, akin to the Dozens where sentiments expressed are
taken jokingly to promote social cohesion. Inter-marriage was prevalent and as
a result, every single Gambian has some familial relationship to at least one
other tribe. But to Yahya, there was too much political capital to let pass,
and for a novice like him in politics, anything goes since force will not
always work. He has effectively driven a wedge between sections of his native
Jola and the Mandinka especially just for personal gains.
But the
Gambian people are better than that and they rose above it overwhelmingly, even
his kinsmen rejected his stance. Fear of reprisals kept some at his side and
unfortunately, he convinced others among his kinsmen that it’s them against
everyone else.
Every
major security outfit has a Jola as its head or second in command. The army, the
Republican Guards, National Intelligence Agency, the Prison Services, and a
host of other government departments and parastatals are all headed by his
kinsmen. Qualified and competent individuals are sidelined, especially if they
are Mandinka. With such divisiveness being strengthened, especially in public
where he, as a sitting president verbally attacks and threatens the Mandinka
with extermination, the nation rose in unity and repelled such poisonous
utterances and alien philosophy. What emerged was a true representation of
Gambian diversity, a prove of Gambian brotherhood as attested to in the
national anthem; … And Join Our Diverse
People To Prove Man’s Brotherhood... Born to a Fula mother, a Mandinka father,
with Sarahule ancestry and Wolof upbringing, Adama Barrow is the convergence of
The Gambia in one man and he will deliver The Gambia from the oppressive and divisive
rule of Yahya Jammeh.
When
Adama Barrow emerged on the political scene by stepping into the leadership
fold of the United Democratic Party (UDP) after Lawyer Ousainou Darboe and the
rest of the executive were jailed, Yahya knew that he faces a challenge that he
has never faced in his two decades of tyranny. So close to the election, so
unexpected, and with so much angst about recent events; he was at a loss as to
how to contain this new threat. Adama Barrow was hardly known outside of the
executive circle of the UDP and he was a man Yahya never saw coming. With his
emergence, ordinary citizens and politicians alike saw an opportunity to, in a
way, return the favor to Lawyer Ousainou Darboe for his years of sacrifice and
to declare Solo Sandeng, without any ambiguity; a martyr for The Gambian cause whose
death would not be in vain. It would never be business as usual for Yahya and
the APRC. And so it was that a revolution was born. Here is a movement that
will send a tyrant scampering and frantically looking for life lines to no
avail; a movement that in the end sent him into exile to live under another
dictatorship in Equatorial Guinea.
Gambians
reclaimed their country for good. The sub-region, the continent of Africa, and
the world stand with the Gambians to see their mandate upheld. With Adama
Barrow and the coalition, A NEW GAMBIA IS BORN.
A
democratic Gambia;
A unified
Gambia;
A Gambia
of sovereign citizens;
A politically
aware Gambia, and with its birth, the emergence on the political scene of a
generation of young, energetic, determined, fearless, ambitious and informed
youth who will not be silenced, EVER AGAIN.
FORWARD
EVER, BACKWARD NEVER.
God
speed, and may the Divine guide you and your team to a more prosperous and
tolerant Gambia.
Welcome home
Mr. President.
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