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By Dr. Assan Jallow
According to Michelle Dean, “crisis forces commonality of purpose on one another.” Is this the case for the Gambia? Absolutely, not! All we are seeing from far and within the Gambian shore is self-driven motives to advance our differences rather than our shared bond of similarities, thus decimating the walls of hope, love, understanding, resolves and resilience to ground zero. However, it seems the Gambia’s crisis is a battle of partisan politics greed, selfishness, pride and arrogance. It’s quite clear that we need steady and measured leadership in The Gambia. And, it would be insane to bury my head in the sand and say that the government of Adama Barrow isn’t making matters worse. Of course, the new administration is! And, in times like these, we need to rally our forces and march together to make a difference, and not sending the ballistic missiles of our frustrations.
Globally, the new decade #2020 has come with numerous challenges to humanity and it is a difficult year for The Gambia – a nation that has been characterized as the ‘birth of the improbable nation’ caught unprepared and unwilling to march in the towers of hope, resilience, independence and creativity where development and economic growth thrives, since independence. The Gambia’s governance infrastructure is faulty, leadership in crisis, partisan politics hijacked the citizens’ conscience, massive administrative ineptitude in the public sector, development programs theorized with no actionable plans, conspiracy theories and propaganda – the weapon to control the thought-processes of the masses is in the rise, nepotism, cronyism, corruption and bribery becomes the pride of a troubled nation and traumatized citizenry, thievery has become the coveted prize and the race everyone is participating in and to be inducted in the chambers of the “Men in Grey Suits”, poverty in the rise, unemployment in the increase, accountability and transparency lacking. It seems the COVID-19 pandemic is being used to score political points.
Let’s rise to the occasion as this moment of our faced national crisis calls for citizen’s resolves to reexamine our policies, focus our creative energies on science and facts to research and make inroad progresses of how to contain this unknown pandemic taking lives within the space of time rather than politics. Our existence is being threatened. Let’s not allow the crisis to tear down the walls of our unity in diversity. This is an opportunity to move out of the crisis victorious or risked doomed in the vicious cycle of a ‘beggars nation’. Time to muster the courage, mature up and take responsibilities rather than playing the victim’s card and using the ‘crab ontology’. May God save the nation from the politicians and those with vested interests.