By Landing Ceesay
The Leader of the Gambia Moral Congress (GMC) has preached peace and stability ahead of the December 4 Presidential election.
“No ethnicity can claim an inch of Gambian soil over and above any other ethnicity in this country. We are bound to live together because no ethnicity can drive another out of this country and no ethnicity can claim supreme over another ethnicity. That is why our fore fathers created a social system of homogeneity and we the current generation of leaders are the beneficiaries of this homogeneity. So we have a historic responsibility to perpetuate this enviable system. The extended family system is one of those. So each of us belongs to the Gambia extended family.
“I have married outside my ethnicity; my children have their uncles from other tribes from other communities that are in the Gambia we have. So the personal political ambition of no one deserves the blood of a single Gambian. So we are going to march on together as challenging as it may be; but on December 5th The Gambia will be one sovereign nation at peace with each other in one piece. I am assuring you on our part we will do so to ensure that what we enjoy is multiplied multiple forces for the Gambia to continue to be a beckon of peace, of stability and hope in the region, something that Africa can learn from. So we have a lot of very positive stories to sing,” Mai Ahmed Fatty said.
The former Interior Minister said Gambia’s history of its coexistence and peaceful nature is a lesson for the continent.
“The Gambia’s history, The Gambia’s social system and social fabric with all our imperfection is a lesson for Africa and will keep it that way. I urge all of us to keep that spirit. We will differ, we will argue, we will disagree but every family is characteristic of this. What is important is that there will be limitations and we will observe those barriers. The peace we are talking about today is nothing, but a real statement of what The Gambia is all about,” he said.
The GMC leader made these remarks on Tuesday at the National stakeholders’ Forum in Support of Peaceful and Credible Elections in The Gambia.
Speaking about the importance of the forum, especially to the Gambia’s democracy, Fatty described the gathering as a consolidation of the country’s democracy.
“The Gambia is in transition. The Gambia is moving. The event that is unfolding here today is a reflection of a consolidation of our democracy. It shows a new nation is building up. It shows a new consciousness is gathering momentum. It shows that the Gambia will never be the same again. We are gathered here in order to renew our conviction, in order to affirm faith in our national anthem that The Gambia is one; that we share a common destiny and together we shall march hand in hand to deliver the goods of prosperity for our generation and generations yet to be born.
“We are reflecting some total of the values that our nation represents. These values are respect for each other, respect for the dignity of labour, the propagation of peace and stability, and the building of a culture of tolerance and inclusiveness. These are the guiding values; the principles that we inherited from our fore fathers of all descriptions from all ethnicities. Our forefathers have always valued the idea of consensus of peacebuilding, that’s the Gambia we know and that’s the Gambia we intend to bequeath to the next generation of leaders,” he said.
The National Stakeholders’ Forum in Support of Peaceful and Credible Elections in the Gambia took place at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara Conference Centre on Tuesday
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