By: Momodou Justice Darboe
The NPP chief strategist Lamin Cham has made a clarion call on Gambians to eschew divisive politics and unite under the banner of national developmentand peace, adding that President Adama Barrow would never be forced into retirement by the current crop of opposition politicians.
The NPP campaign manager emphasized that President Barrow has recognized the fact that he is the leader of all Gambians, saying the president’s development trajectory cuts across party divides, gender, and region.
“Adama has the consciousness that he is the leader of all Gambians and this awareness informs how he rules. This is why when you observe his development trend, it goes beyond political lines, gender, or region. He does not discriminate whether a particular area voted for him or not when it comes to development,” Mr. Cham underlined as he addressed an association of former members of the UDP called Manding Kaaba, who went to the Presidency recently, to declare their allegiance to the NPP.
The NPP’s chief propagandist advised Gambians to embrace each other as, according to him, The Gambia is too tiny for citizens to be disunited.
“President Barrow has an open-door policy for all be it UDP or GDC. That’s how a good leader behaves. Let’s promote cohesion and healthy social intercourse. The Gambia is too tiny for us to be perpetually locked in discord. President Barrow has nothing for The Gambia, except peace. He’s armed with the knowledge that anything good or bad that comes to this country will be attributed to him. He wants us to consider each other as members of one family and forget about issues that tend to divide us,” CM Cham stressed.
“Even if you are not a member of the NPP, you can feel free to offer wise counsel to the President about the country’s direction and he appreciates this,” he added.
Mr. Cham pointed out that politics and socialinteractions should be separated to enable Gambians to live in unity. He continued: “Currently, our body politics is infested by character assassination and lots of undesirable things but that’s not what humanity is all about. Politics should not divide us. A line should be drawn between politics and how we relate to each other because they are different things. Even if we don’t share similar political beliefs, we should always strive to ensure that our positive interactions are sustained. Despite our political differences, let’s always be there for each other in times of happiness and sadness. We should be able to go to each other’s funerals and naming ceremonies because if anyone allows politics to tear your relationship with the human family, you will surely regret it. We have seen people of the same father and mother divided because of politics. We’ve seen sons and fathers, who do not talk to each other because of politics and our leader [President Barrow] eschews that.”
The NPP CM advised Gambian women to work collectively for the common good, stressing that President Barrow has the Gambian women at heart.
“Women are carers of children despite men being household heads. Consult each other and work together. President Barrow has created a standalone Ministry for women and he appointed a woman to lead that Ministry. How many of our youths are dying in the sea and most of the time, they are forced to embark on sea journeys to Europe because they couldn’t bear the sufferings of their mothers? So Gambian women, unite and embrace the government,” he stated.
According to CM Cham, the Government of President Barrow has a lot in store for The Gambia.
“But people don’t know. Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) is here to empower youths and their family. Women Enterprise Development initiative also offers women the opportunity to access funds for their empowerment but if you don’t know about them, you cannot go there. All these are happening, womenfolk. Let us have faith in our country. As the griot says some are successful at home but unsuccessful outside and vice versa. What matters is to make efforts wherever you may be and you will certainly make it. We have people here with more than 20 compounds and they never traveled out of The Gambia. Let us have faith in our country and what we have. If we work and unite as one family, we will achieve our goals,” stated Mr. Cham.
He asserted that President Barrow is the chosen one.
“You may be spiteful of someone who can help you and be loyal to someone who cannot do anything for you till death. Allah said He is the one who chooses leaders and Adama is our leader whether you deny it or not. Allah never makes mistakes in his choices and the way He does things. He knows that Adama is the right person for The Gambia and that’s why he chose him to lead us,” said Mr. Cham.
“Only one person can be a leader at a time. Popularity, family background, education, and crowds cannot give you leadership but it’s through Allah’s choice. I always say President Barrow is the one to leave the stage voluntarily but leadership will never desert him. All those aspiring to become president should relax. Allah has made his judgment and no one can undo that. That person is not here. He will never be defeated through the ballot box,” he concluded.