By Landing Ceesay
Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, Party Leader for the Citizens’ Alliance (CA), said politicians that refused to join President Barrow’s government after he won the last elections and invited them to work with him “are only thinking of themselves”
The CA leader made these remarks at his Party’s nonelective congress held at a local hotel today, reiterating that they (CA) will be supporting the president in any way they could.
“For us, President Barrow is the one we are supporting. He is the President until 2026. Our knowledge, our ideas, and anything that we can help him with, we will give to him and we will not be afraid of anything. Allah said we should help one another and develop the country. If President Barrow said anyone who is a citizen of this country, to come, join him and develop the country, If you don’t join him, then you are only thinking of yourself. You are exhibiting the attitude that it is either you or no one else. We should stop political hypocrisy. We should love one another. We should love our country, and we should see the Gambia,” Dr. Ceesay said at his Party’s National Congress on Friday.
The CA leader said that all the Political Parties toured the country to sell their agenda to the Gambian electorate in the 2021 Presidential elections and that is the best they could do. In the final analysis, he surmised, it is Allah who chooses and he chose President Barrow ahead of the other candidates.
Dr. Ceesay posited that since Allah gave the position to President Barrow everyone should join him to develop the Gambia. Furthermore, the CA leader reasoned that since they told the electorate during the campaign that they will help the eventual winner, they have resolved to follow suit on that promise.
Dr. Ceesay takes issue with people he describes as not wanting to join President Barrow but wanting to dissuade others from joining him as well. This, he asserted will not be CA’s stance.
“We all watch football, and when a coach picks a team, that’s the team he has the hope of winning the match for him. If he put you on the bench, sit there until your time comes. Gambian citizens are the coach. Gambian citizens are the ones who selected President Barrow and his Government. We should be on the bench and support the team to win for everybody. But you are sitting on the bench, and you said the game will not end and will interfere with the game because you are not playing, then you are not there for the team. You are there for yourself. We should love one another and pray for peace in the country,” he asserted.
The political science lecturer and CA party leader called for the reconciliation of political parties in the best interest of the country., saying what binds them together (The Gambia) is greater than what divides them.
“Opposition parties and the government are not enemies. They should be development partners. Let us see the Gambia, and see ourselves as Gambians. We should not see ourselves as APRC, PPP, NCP, or CA. We should not see ourselves as Wolofs and Mandinkas or Jolas. We should not see ourselves as Christians and Muslims. Let’s see ourselves as Gambians. That’s the most important thing and that’s the only thing that can take the country forward,” Dr. Ceesay said.
Dr. Ceesay further called on his fellow Politicians to form an alliance called “Alliance Gambia” and stop forming a small alliance that will make them start attacking and insulting one another. He also touches on the issue of economic hardship within the country and what coming together could help ameliorate that situation.
“Let’s come together and develop the country. Let’s come and put our ideas together and works towards the development of the country. Let’s come together and help the government. We (CA) are ready to work with NPP in a coalition. So that in the coming local government election we can take all the seats, from the councils to chairpersons, and Mayors,” he said.
The Citizens’ Alliance (CA) on Friday, December 31, 2022, held a nonelective congress at a local hotel in Senegambia