Congratulations to Hon. Adama Barrow, the coalition flag bearer and entire opposition coalition. This is democracy at work. I must congratulate all leaders who were present at the convention, especially Hon. Sallah, Hon OJ Jallow, Hon Hamat Bah and Dr. Lamin Bolonding Bonjang for their wonderful speeches in putting our country first before their personal and party interest. As Mr Sallah has noted in his speech, this is “the beginning of beginning of bringing democracy, ending impunity and using our collective intelligence to move the affairs of our country forward. As a strong critic of Mr Sallah over the years, today I am indeed very proud of his leadership in his efforts to bring our opposition parties together. I am indeed also proud of the United Democratic Party leadership for listening to minority parties who want the democratization process to prevail.
I call on the Independent Candidate Dr. Isatou Touray to quickly join the opposition coalition without any preconditions. Equally, the Gambia Democratic Congress leadership must also join the coalition bandwagon immediately if they are intetested in the supreme interest of our sinking nation. It is about time we looked for our collective interest in an election that will shape the future of our country. I encourage all Gambians in the disapora to call upon their families , friends and neighbors to vote for the opposition coalition. We must all play our part collectively to salvage our country from military dictatorship which has brought untold sufferings: economic deterioration, political oppression and lawlessness. The opposition unity marks a significant milestone in our country’s political dispensation.
As Gambians, we must be united in our concerted efforts to protect our collective interest in restoring democracy, the rule of law, constitutionalism and economic prosperity in our country. We must encourage our fellow citizens who are supporting the dictatorial regime to abandon the dictator and his cronies for the betterment and collective interest of saving our country from further economic and civil catastrophies. A continuation of Yahya Jammeh rule will only put our country backward. Every Gambian has seen the lawlessness, economic prostitution, disappearances, illegal imprisonment, massive exodus of youths and moral decadence of our country and her citizens have endured for the past 22 years of self-perpetual rule of a tyrant who promised us in the early days of July 22nd 1994 military coup that ”we will never bring dictatorship into our country.” It is now clear to every Gambian that Yahya Jammeh did not only bring dictatorship into our country but he also refused to live up to his promise that “ten years in power is too much for any future president.” We must get rid of him in this election to avoid sliding into a civil war. We have had enough of Jammeh’s lawlessness and impunity.
We must all say no more dictatorship, no more illegal detention, no more disappearances without trace, no more raping of our young, vulnerable girls.
We must put our resources, strength and intellect together to take back our country. The journey has just begun. It therefore beehoves on every patriotic Gambian to fight for opposition victory on December 1st. It is not about voting for Adama Barrow but vote for the liberation of the Gambia. OJ Jallow rightly pointed out when he said, “as citizens we cannot give up our rights to determine how our government should govern.”
Peaceful resolution to our current predicament will only guarantee greater inclusive democracy, justice and better opportunities for all. As the choice of majority of Gambians, including the convention delegates, Adama Barrow needs us on his side in every step of this very crucial journey.
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Ends