By Buba Gagigo
Ebrima G. Sankareh, the government spokesman, has confirmed that the resignation of Minister of Basic and Secondary Education Haddyjatou Sey and the dismissal of Minister of Communication and Digital Economy Ousman Bah were due to their dual citizenship statuses.
Speaking to West Coast Radio on Tuesday, Sankareh explained that Haddyjatou Sey was born in the Gambia, attended primary school and Gambia High School, and later moved to the United States for further education, eventually becoming a US citizen.
“There are so many variables that would explain why a person would leave here to study and go to England or Jamaica or somewhere and naturalize. We have so many people naturalized in the Gambia because they found Gambia to be very peaceful, and the society is very accommodating and Gambia would be a very good place to invest in business because of its peaceful nature and its hospitality. People will also go to America, England, or Australia and naturalized or Canada,” he said
According to the government spokesman, Gambia has faced significant challenges over the past decades, making it a difficult place to live. He mentioned that this situation prompted many people, including himself, to go to America for education. Many of these individuals eventually transitioned from student visas to pursue naturalization, seeking job security and better educational opportunities. “With the hopeful anticipation that one day you return to your country and serve. And some of us, after we graduated, we went on to establish newspapers to fight the tyrannical status that was here. So we were still Gambians,” Sankareh said.
He continued: “So acquiring American citizens or UK citizenship for me, does not mean you have abdicated your Gambianess or your Gambianity, you remain first and foremost Gambian. Haddyjatou Sey was born here, she went to study in America, she came back, and she was working for the World Bank. Honestly, the government didn’t even know she naturalized in America. They thought it was just one of those cases where people go and study and come back. It was after two months, I think, she was talking to somebody, and only for her to realize that she could not be a minister because he had dual citizenship. She honestly went to the statehouse and told the president . This is my situation. I did not know that the law does not allow dual citizens to be ministers.”
Regarding Ousman Bah, Sankareh stated that Bah had initiated the process to rescind his foreign citizenship and had provided documentation to the State House. However, the process took nearly two years to complete.
“We have evidence of the government based on the paper trail he produced to the state house that he actually attempted or may be applied to rescind. There are memoranda to that effort. However, it took so long, almost two years to get the actual certificate from the State Department that says that finally, he has rescinded his citizenship. So eventually he had to be relieved,” he explained.