By Alh. Suntou Touray
All the big players in Senegalese politics lined up behind the Imam in the holy city of Touba. All of them, including the Senegal diasporan darling Ousman Sonko, prayed threw away their differences and served their Lord with clean heart. They have clearly demonstrates that politics shouldn’t be an art of who has the power to humiliate his opponents. These politicians understand that no matter what Senegal is bigger than all of them. Its interest supercedes everything.
When it comes to politics the previlege class suffers nothing, they neither fight nor abuse one another. Why should ordinary people then hate each other to the extent of fermenting self hate and never-ending animosity?
It is true that democracy sometimes can be messy since it goes beyond breeding moments of excitements, debates and fine combing of issues of the day but it also creates tussles and war of words. In most cases, there is no joy of the battle. Without excitability in national issues, your conscience is not modern. It is good to bear in mind that the baby and the bathwater are not the same! The Gambia is the baby and its citizens’ difference of opinions is the bathwater.
Let us apply maturity, respect and due consideration in the realisation that, you can only convince people towards your point of view with rationality, not by redicule or malice. This is a modern democratic era. It is a lesson or take home our Senegalese brothers have just taught us. Who thinks former President Abdoulaye Wade will settle his differences with President Macky Sall just two days after the former’s supporters baricaded the latter in New York? Let us therefore keep in mind that what unites us is far greater than what divides us. Nothing — not even politics or religion — must divide us.
Ends