Political opportunism is a cancerous menace that continues to plague our society.
When the Coalition swept to power in 2017, President Adama Barrow promised Gambians a development blueprint that would serve as a guideline for his development crusade. The idea was wholeheartedly embraced by all well-meaning Gambians who thought the plan would lead towards meaningful and sustainable development for our country, not a replica of Jammeh’s countless Visions. It took the Government some time to come up with the plan but when it did; the move was widely acclaimed.
Yearning for much needed international support to keep the Government afloat and realize its development agenda, the Barrow-led Administration marketed the most touted National Development Plan (NDP)to the country’s so-called development partners, during the donor conference in Brussels, which yielded pledges of up to $1.7 billion over three years.
Down the line, the NDP has been apparently hijacked by greedy sycophants who claim to be supporting the President's agenda. As such, rallies are routinely being held in support of the NDP, as if it did not receive the backing of Gambians. And may I hasten to ask whether the President’s agenda is different from NDP. Those opportunists perceive anyone critical of the President as anti-NDP for they appointed themselves as NDP custodians. I wonder how many of those sycophants have bothered to read, let alone understand it. In a nutshell, the NDP has been hugely politicized.
My concern runs even deeper, which is that the self-appointed NDP custodians are contributing towards creating a wedge between President Barrow and some very clean-hearted Gambians who in reality mean every good for our country despite the stigmatization they continue to face. After all, NDP is for all Gambians and does not belong to a particular segment of the population.
The President needs to pause and look around to sort out who is who.