The CEO of Kerr Fatou, Fatou Touray Receiving the Banjul Declaration from KairaCLO
By Fatou Sillah
The Kairaba Conservation and Leadership Organization (KairaCLO) formally presented the Banjul Declaration to Kerr Fatou Media on Wednesday. The presentation was made by the Chairman and Executive Director of KairaCLO, along with the Trustee Technical Adviser, to the CEO of Kerr Fatou.
During the ceremony, Prof. Sidat Yaffa, Trustee Technical Adviser of KairaCLO, highlighted the global significance of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, describing him as a visionary leader not only for The Gambia and Africa but for the entire world. He emphasized the importance of the Banjul Declaration in shaping international policy on climate change and biodiversity conservation.
“Sir Dawda was a great visionary not only for The Gambia, Africa or West Africa but globally,” said Prof. Yaffa. “He foresaw the coming of this climate change, he foresaw the Destruction of our Bio adversity. That is why he established the Banjul Declaration in 1977, because of this Banjul Declaration the international community came up with the idea to establish the United Nations Convention on Bio adversity and because of this Banjul Declaration, the international community came up with the idea of establishing the United Nations frame of convention on climate in 1992. So he saw this idea about climate change and protecting our Bio Adversity 14 to 15 years before the international community saw it coming,” he said.
Almami Fanding Taal, Chairman and Executive Director of KairaCLO, also reflected on the lasting legacy of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, noting that the organization was founded in November 2022 to continue his work. He shared that, soon after the organization’s registration, ECOWAS acknowledged Sir Dawda’s pivotal role in promoting democracy and preventing genocide during the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
“We are very pleased to be here today, because this is Sir Dawda’s Centenary. We started celebrating it and calling the whole nation to participate in memorializing Sir Dawda’s very rich leadership legacy. We form the Kairaba Conservation and Leadership Organization in November 2022. We were very encouraged that the week after registration of the organization, ECOWAS recognized Sir Dawda’s Seminal contributions to institutionalizing democracy and to averting what would have been the first case of genocide in West Africa, In Liberia and Sierra Leone during their civil wars. It was his chairmanship of the ECOWAS commission that save these two countries,” Taal said.
Fatou Touray, CEO of Kerr Fatou, expressed her gratitude for the presentation of the Banjul Declaration and reflected on her personal encounter with the late Sir Dawda.
“We really appreciate the Banjul Declaration. We really feel honored for us to be chosen among the few lucky ones who will be able to have this great declaration in our office. I promise we will hang it out in the studio so that whoever comes in will see it. I was one of the few people who spoke to Sir Dawda last. I interviewed him when I was doing the independent series in 2019 when we visited him. I said to myself, my biggest dream will be to interview Sir Dawda; I interviewed President Jammeh and President Barrow as a journalist. I was lucky to interview him, and he sounded so current, and he remembers every single thing,” she said.
Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, born on May 16, 1924, in Barajally, McCarthy Island Division, is remembered for his outstanding leadership from his time as Prime Minister (1962-1970) to his presidency (1970-1994). Renowned for his dedication to democracy, human rights, and peace, Sir Dawda’s legacy continues to inspire leaders across the globe.