OP

  Author weighs-in on the legality of Barrow’s iron gripped to power, and the self-perpetuating rule  By Alagie Saidy-Barrow    You would often hear Barrow supporters and the Eaters say that legally, Barrow has every right to self-perpetuate in power and begin that process by running for a third term in 2026. Even Barrow’s detractors and those who do not support him concede that he has a legal right to continue the self-perpetuation. Some of Barrow’s “againsers” (as we say in Badibu) caveat their legal concession by insisting that while he has the legal right to contest, it is still morally wrong. For a nation enmeshed in syncretism, I shudder at the thought of mixing politics and morality, but I guess there is a reason why we have a political party called Gambia Moral Congress.    Some of the "againsers" are quick to remind us that Barrow himself spoke out against the very act of self-perpetuation that he is championing today. Of course, everyone who stan...

By Alagie Saidy-Barrow  I have argued, at various times that as a people, unless the foundations we stand on are dismantled, Gambia will never rise. I still stand by that position. And when I say dismantled, people assume it’s destruction but that is not the case here. Dismantling means systematically taking apart every single piece of the columns we stand on and examining them to see if they are fit for purpose. For instance, why do we feel the need to give prime land to the President or public and civil servants? You’ll hardly ever hear such prime lands being given to some poor woman in the backwaters of Badibu? How fair is this land allocation system? We seldom ask these types of questions because those who are supposed to play the drum and sitting comfortably on it.  Gambia is not where it is today because Gambians are stupid or lazy, no, we are where we are because we insist on colonial foundations that have never worked for any African country! And these foundations were...

By Alagie Saidy-Barrow  Mr Speaker, I greet you. Mr Speaker, before proceeding, let me say that you look very healthy. Mr Speaker you look very well now that you can afford to travel outside the country for your medical needs. All credit goes to Yaya Jammeh and me. And Mr Speaker, I understand that you and your colleagues are about to give yourselves a lot more money in salary and benefit increases. We thank God for your foresight.  Honorable members of parliament; I hope those of you who went to Egypt made a lot of money in per diems. More importantly, I hope all of you are enjoying your brand new Prados and all the beautiful allowances you allocated to yourselves. I am also glad to see that your UDP colleagues never go against anything that benefits all members of parliament. That is unity, and we must all unite to ensure we continue to benefit as a united government.  Mr Speaker, there is a reason our brothers and sisters in the judiciary also want beautiful allowances...

             | Writer Shares His Views On Human Need For Survival Over Freedom | By Alagie Saidy-Barrow  I came across a quote by Paulos Tesfagiorgis, an Eritrean human rights campaigner, who was speaking of their President in Eritrea. He said:  “Isaias will be in power for a long time. He lets people fight for their survival so that they do not fight for their freedom.” I found this quote profound on so many levels. Though Tesfagiorgis was speaking specifically about how Isaias Afwerki controls his people to maintain a firm grip on power, he could have been talking about any other dictator, specifically, Yaya Jammeh and those who addressed themselves as his “humble servants.” He could have been talking about the many spineless Gambians who simply prostitute themselves to any paying politician.  How many times have you heard Gambians maintain that they have a family to feed and so they acquiesced to evil or closed their eyes to abuse? A...

  By Pa Louis Sambou   F or most people, the Israel - Palestine question is probably the one conflict whose ugly scenes of horror has regularly appeared before their screens for a period of time spanning their entire lifetime. Although not the only unresolved historic territorial question, it is certainly the only none-frozen one, which fact probably explains why it evokes strenuous opinion from even folks afar, with Gambians not an exception.  Whether pro Israel or pro Palestine, far too many well-meaning people the world over, find themselves holding very strong views on this subject matter, but which position is in most cases predominantly driven and sustained by subjective factors and considerations. A particular news article which I recently came across on a Gambian newspaper, exhibited a spectacular example and presentation of this phenomenon.    Without offering a line by line review of the news article in question, which is definitely not the objective o...

By  Pa Louis Sambou    The premise of thought of most fair-minded people is no doubt that, dialogue is always preferable to anything else to the contrary. So, in principle, the concept of a National Dialogue is commendable. However, ‘a “ National Dialogue Meeting ” to what end?’, is also an equally rational question for any citizen to ask. Well, it is the question for me anyway.    With the exception of one or two whose opening statements touched on public policy subject matters, one would notice that the issues raised by all other opposition party leaders or representatives who spoke during the opening of this National Dialogue Meeting (NDM) are matters which are already within the remit and competence of the Inter Party Committee to address. As the sponsor, President Barrow’s opening remarks and speech was so unhelpfully vague as to the objective, it offered no comforting opening to the enigma at hand. So, with an unclear and undefined objective, one wonders u...

By Philip Saine On Saturday  9  December  2023,  The Diocese of Banjul celebrated the 35 th  Ann ual  pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace  at Kunkujang .  On the eve  of the  pilgrimage,   the Catholic Diocesan Youth Committee held a ‘Walk’ that extended from Tanji  Bridge to Kunkujang Mariama   a distance of 8.1 km .  The theme for the walk was  ‘Journeying with Mary towards a  S y n o da l  Church’ . It was a worthy activity   because Mary  deserve d  every walk to the Shrine      T he 35 th  Ann ual  pilgrimage  was a prayerful all-day celebration  that attracted  an  unmatched   large  crowd  and was  unique  in many ways  because   of the following:  1.  Fr John  (Jackie)  Sharpe CSSp,  a renowned  apostle of The Gambia,  a giant evangelist and  a  pr...