Wednesday 26 August | Kebba Bajo
How can that happen? is that even possible? what will it take? These are the fundamental questions running through everyone’s mind.
We have been struggling for about 50 to 54 years after independence and yet we cannot liberate ourselves from poverty to economic freedom. after all, what is independence when you are not economically free.
I am writing to you, my fellow Gambians, not that I do have the monopoly of the wisdom, but I’m here to cross-fertilize or to cross-pollinate my ideals.
We Gambians we must decolonize our minds if we had to realize our potential.
The number one problem we are facing today as a country is bad leadership and corruption. Corruption undermines our economy. the reason why we don’t have good schools is because of corruption, the reason why we don’t have good healthcare facilities is because of corruption, bad Infrastructure, we have the highest unemployment rate, and the reason why we cannot feed ourselves in agriculture is because of corruption. thief's on an industrial scale to the detriment of our people in The Gambia.
For many years, we have these so-call “leaders” that have been leading us to nothing but poverty and empty promises. Even though we are blessed with natural resources, our leaders are not allowing people to use it to their advantage. We have these so-called “politicians” that are not doing anything but to enrich themselves and their families with our tax money. So, our young men and women have no faith in that country anymore. Some of them are fleeing the country to be enslaved in other countries. This has to stop, right now!
We must now have leadership because political leadership is the most visible thing and leadership and statesmanship are two things apart. The politicians look to the next election and the statesman looks to the next generation, it’s time we brought up in statesmanship for our country to realize its full potential.
I’m sending this message to The Gambian Electra, that we must now stop voting men and women into our public office just because we have the same ethnic identity, or just because they have been in politics for too long. We must now listen to their agendas, because the politics of the 21st century is about ideas and competition of ideas...
We must now stop living in a fairytale and empty promises! We must now start holding our politicians accountable!
Since these Covid-19 emerged into our country, we have no system in place because our health care system has been collapsed.
They told us to stay home but yet they cannot provide us with basic things like electricity, clean water and many more. Sometimes it’s better not to have government than to have one that cannot deliver basic things for their people.
When some of us talk about politics or the critical issues we are facing since we gain our independence some of you think is a waste of time or we should not speak about it. And unity we all come to this realization that we have to address the issues that we are facing from 50 to 54 years of independence up to today we are going nowhere. Remember the freedom and the economic opportunities you are enjoying elsewhere or wherever you are. There’re people Who figured or struggled for the next generation to live in that reality.
And I quote from Marcus Garvey. “Any leadership that teaches you to depend upon another race is a leadership that will enslave you.”
It is important to be both a pessimist and optimistic. Being a pessimist prepares you for the future. I am very optimistic about the future of our country and the entire Africa. But we cannot do it without actions. God save my country The Gambia.
My people, I urge you to take action now!
Editors Note:
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