Demba Ali Jawo, Former Information Minister
By D. A. Jawo
Congratulations to President Adama Barrow and his administration for all their efforts in organizing such elaborate Diamond Jubilee celebrations. However, some people have expressed the feeling that some of the activities were either unnecessary or they could have been done differently.
Also, many people are questioning the justification for the huge amount of public funds allocated for all those ceremonies while a majority of Gambians are struggling with the basics of life. Others also felt that some of the episodes during the march-past ceremonies at the MacCarthy Square were not quite appropriate for the occasion. For instance, the so-called comedy by the Bright Stars which gave emphasis to ethnicity should have been avoided. There was hardly anything funny in it.
Another part of the ceremony that many people thought unnecessary was the display by the Turkish band. Apart from anything else, it was not appropriate protocol-wise to allow the Turkish troupe to carry on with their performance after President Barrow had delivered his speech, which was supposed to have been the last item of the ceremony.
Indeed, it was also quite evident in their body language that his two chief guests of honour; Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea Bissau and Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal, were bored and quite eager to see an end to the ceremonies. Therefore, many people felt that instead of allowing such performance to go ahead, the organizers should have rescheduled it as a separate ceremony later, either at State House or anywhere else, to avoid subjecting his honoured guests and other attendees to such a tortuous jamboree. It was quite obvious that with the dusty atmosphere and extreme heat, hardly anyone was enjoying that part of the ceremony.