Whatever President Adama Barrow does or says will be interpreted differently – positively or negatively. His silence becomes another talking point of its own on the social media. Complaints of his failure to address national issues of concern pollute the air. Born Again Activist warriors point daggers at President Barrow, castigating him for failing his citizens. Should a President dedicate his invaluable time to clear issues of national interest or concern when he has the Information Minister and Director of Press at State House? Not at all! Presidents are so busy with their daily engagements that they barely have time to talk to the media. President Barrow is no exception. How can he rest when he inherited a mess-riddled country? Despite his busy schedule, President Barrow spares time for the media and Gambians in general. He has become the most accessible President in living memory. We doubt if he sleeps at all which can have adverse negative effect on his health. President Barrow is a fast learner who must master the psychic of his difficult-to-satisfy citizens if he wants to accomplish his mission with success. Former Presidents Jawara and Jammeh excelled because they knew how Gambians think. They fed them with big bones (narratives). And by the time citizens finished chewing the bones, these leaders moved fast with their policy agenda. Mr. President, the two leaders lectured you the art of effective citizen engagement. Continue to engage your citizens. Don’t budge, spark off controversy where necessary. Throw your citizens bones of narrative otherwise they will use their tongues to frustrate you, blaming you for being less concerned about even their bedroom matters. Fly high with your citizen engagement agenda because this is the only surviving tactic for a leader whose defenders (information Minister and Press Director) watch like zombies while people heap dirt on him. We expect Demba Jawo to explain the government’s policies to those who raise questions on them. Amie Bojang-Sissoho must not keep silent while insults rain on the President. She can learn a lot from Sarah Huckabee-Sanders (Press Secretary to US President) who vigorously defends cuckoo Donald Trump’s controversial policies. It’s not the President’s duty to defend his government’s policy or image. Gambians will reap the benefits of President Barrow’s success. Let’s therefore help ourselves. That’s the only way forward for a country that has just emerged from one of the worst dictatorship governments in the world.
Ends
Great, stupendous write up! Isn’t it?; “Should a president dedicate his invaluable time to clear national issues of interest when he has the information minister and director of press at the statehouse?”. Then it continues, ” Not at all”. My questions therefore are; who appointed the statehouse Press Director and the minister of information and, what other issues are the president clearing that are invaluable than national issues of interest/concern?? Should the statehouse Press Director and minister of information completely relieve the president of all press engagements? Talking of other countries …why I’m I always seeing presidents frequently interviewed in One on Ones by small and major news channels? I think all those who are of the notion that, the people themselves make the monsters out of their leaders in African countries cannot be mistaken beliefs. Do we really need squealers in the Gambia at this point in time? That is where I will say, “Not at all”. I shouldn’t be mad enough to try to change ‘black’ into ‘green’ or vice versa as I’m not hoping to walk back into the farm where milk and honey will be good for just for the calculating capacity of Barrow and the ‘born again’ sycophants and praise singers.
During the bloody dictatorship of Yaya Jammeh, there were people who have in plain day light staked their lives in moves that literally were an overture in sending the bloodthirsty dictator and his killer squads racing across the borders through land and air but that credit shouldn’t belong to Barrow as it shouldn’t belong to people in the diaspora or even everyone on the ground. People who went to the polls to vote for the coalition however, some of them mothers with their sucklings, cannot be over commended for their bravery.
In that line of facts, Barrow has to be cautious not of those who criticise him for opening up an SIS unit in the statehouse or those who advise him to take austerity measures and maximum care in the spending of the meagre public funds but indeed, of those who have started squealing for him, giving him the illusion that his critics are enemies out to see his failure. If his Press Director, Mrs. Amie ….. should learn something from the whitehouse press secretary Mrs. Sarah ……, then why won’t Barrow learn his skills from the World War Making tweets of Trump? Gambia should be proud buying from the good examples of other countries politicking and not from the misguided leaderships and policies of foreign countries, no matter which foreign country they may be. The fact that Gambia has emerged from one of the worst dictatorship governments in the world, is all the reason why we should be cautious of when and how we inspire the new Barrow and his administration. Wayward partisanship is not the wisest way we should be inspiring a new administration some of whose officer holders are recycled ones. Gambians definitely will reap the benefits of good governance of the country but I can bet that ‘squealer’ will only help to make that dream a farfetched one.
Thanks to God, I fully believe that, not all but many critics considered enemies of Barrow and his administration, have learned to strive to help themselves out and far from public offices but yet, these people see every threat of failure of a government of the Gambia equally as a threat to the well being of their private citizenship because Gambia is what we all share in common irrespective of her people’s different walks of life. Folks have said a lot during the reign of dictatorship, pertaining to what helped to build a monster like Yaya and the ills of the Gambian society that have badly affected our ability to properly and progressively govern ourselves as a country and I think this is a right time to revisit those memories.
May God Almighty shed his light in the hearts of all of us Gambians and residents.