GDC Leader Mama Kandeh Urges President Barrow to Embrace Opposition Input
By Buba Gagigo
Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC) leader Mama Kandeh extended a call to President Adama Barrow, urging him to actively engage with the opposition and consider their perspectives.
Speaking to his party faithful in Latriyaa Village on Tuesday, Kandeh emphasized his lack of personal animosity towards President Barrow. “I don’t hate Ousainou Darboe or Adama Barrow,” he declared. “I don’t want Barrow to fail. I am not a politician who wants to capitalize on his failure.”
Instead, Kandeh positioned himself as a constructive critic, offering guidance for the betterment of the nation. “Any criticism of him is to show him the right direction,” he explained. “If he has the brain, he will listen and know that I say a particular thing for a reason, and he should act on it.”
Kandeh acknowledged the inherent limitations of leadership, arguing that even presidents cannot possess complete knowledge of all system intricacies. “He can be president, but he cannot know everything about the system because 90 percent of the things happening in the system are not known to him. They are not telling him the truth,” he asserted. “We outside get more information than him.”
Therefore, Kandeh advocated for a collaborative approach to governance. “If you are a wise president, you should listen to the opposition,” he advised. “I am not telling you to do all that the opposition is saying, but listen to them and find out the reason they are saying that.”
He further addressed concerns about potential misinterpretations of dissent. “But for them, they think if you say anything about them, you don’t like them. No! That is the mindset of a lost person,” Kandeh countered. “This is how I see politics, not dirty politics.”