After more than two decades in exile, worthy sons and daughters of the Gambia are visiting their country of birth. Some came home unnoticed but family, friends and associates of Bakary Bunja Dabo (alias BB) filled the Banjul International Airport on Thursday when news of his arrival filled the air. For them, Dumbuto Jalango (a nickname given to Bakary) is too important to sneak into the country. They are filled with smiles and thanked Allah for re-uniting them with a man who served his country with clean heart, uprightness and determination.
Bakary Dabo was a former Vice President, Ministers of Finance, Education, Tourism and Information. A career linguist diplomat is a qualified lawyer who lives in the United Kingdom. Like any patriotic Gambian, Bakary’s lone heart desire is to see the downfall of Yahya Jammeh, the man who destroyed the Gambia’s government structures and system BB Dabo and colleagues had built. Jammeh’s destruction has no boundary.
Now that the monster is gone, Bakary’s next heart desire is to re-unite with his people and culture hence the historic homecoming visit.
Upon arrival at the airport, Mr. Dabo’s body language displayed joy. He described the rousing welcome as “very touching. This is a very unique experience and a lot of feelings all over me, as I am very happy to be back to my own country which I have not been able to visit for quite a long time now. I am also looking forward to seeing friends, family and associates.”
It is not only enough for Gambians to swim into a change that guarantees freedoms, human rights and normalcy. Which is why Mr. Dabo advised them to support the Barrow government to accelerate the country’s social-economic development.
Dabo explained his take on a change that offered him a homecoming visit. “What I feel about the change is that it is something that is historic and of great importance to our country. But what makes me more proud is particularly the efforts of Gambians coming together to make this happen, and they sacrificed tremendously as they did everything possible to see that it happened.”
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