By: Nyima Sillah
NPP stalwart Baboucarr Jeng has asserted that the UDP is a party with potential but that the personalities in the party could not be predicted.
Mr. Jeng told The Voice in an exclusive interview that the Gambia’s largest opposition party has a prospect but the unpredictability of its members and the absence of a structure to optimize the potential always lead to chaos in the party, rat race and lack of cooperation. He added that the durability of every political party rests on the effective and efficient management of its human capital, saying even with fine brains in the party, the UDP could not optimally utilize the opportunity.
According to Jeng, who expressed his desire to run on an NPP ticket in the last mayoral elections, things might work for the UDP if the party has a clear vision and puts The Gambia first.
“Issues are everywhere and it takes maturity to manage internal cases. If the party [UDP] puts the country first and country over party with a clear vision and the right people in the right places, it might work out for them,”he stated.
Jeng contended that UDP is rocked by an internal crisis that the majority of people cannot detect.
“Externally, they look okay whilst they’re facing internal issues,” he explained, adding that he was not taken off-guard by Sabally’s defection.
“I don’t do politics for politics’s sake. I have a different perspective on things. Sabally is a man of knowledge. The way he sees things is different from many people. What he did was the right thing. He made the right move. He is patriotic. Let him serve the nation. If every individual out there does what Sabally did, the country would move to another level,” Mr. Jeng asserted.
He admonished Gambians to unite in hearts and minds and put the prosperity of the country uppermost on their priority.
“It is about a country that is bigger than all of us. Uniformity is not unity. People unite in hearts and minds and Gambians should learn to unite in the same way, forget about cheap politics, and put prosperity in front of us,” he stated.