UDP notes with grave concern that President Barrow perpetually dwells on tribal sentiments exposing his mindset that thrives on division and sees elected public office as an entitlement.
As a political party, and as citizens, UDP is duty-bound to remind the President that it is out of place to single out a community or class of citizens for castigation based on their political choices.
Even more egregious is the singling out of the Mandinka community of LRR and labelling them as personal enemies, exposing them to hate, vilification, and political ostracization.
The presidency is the highest position of honour and privilege, and all citizens expect that the incumbent president will conduct himself with humility as a servant of the people.
The disgraced and exiled former President Jammeh employed the same disgusting tactics and went even further to threaten the Mandinka community with expulsion from their homeland and death.
The Gambian people rejected dictator Jammeh’s bigotry then, and they rejected this despicable attempt by the President and any future leader.
UDP believes that our linguistic diversity is a source of strength for our homeland. Gambians are not blinded by political sycophancy and personal greed for power and wealth to know that tribal acrimony will be disastrous for the country.
Nothing is a greater threat to national security than attacking citizens for who they are.
It is noteworthy that history teaches that all failed leaders employ the same divisive tactics. Because they have nothing to offer to the people. President Barrow has little to show for the improvements he has made to people’s lives or explain the plans he has to improve the lives of the people of LRR, the only thing he can rely on to stay in power is by pitting citizens against each other.
In all his stops across the country, the president not once was heard talking about or defending his extortionist 2025 budget.
But that is not surprising, he sees the constitutionally mandated tour as an extension of his political activities and so conducts himself accordingly.
As a party, the UDP is squarely focused on policies that impact the lives of poor struggling Gambians and at this critical stage, when the executive has proposed a wasteful budget, we will not be distracted by utterances that further attest to a flawed character trait and clear manifestation for Gambians to come to terms with the fact that the man tasked with the role of improving their lives is not up to the task.
That fact should be clear to all. After seven years in power, he has failed to improve himself, speaks with the same demeanour, and lacks a grasp of the most fundamental issues. If governments demand and receive tax revenue from citizens, which The Gambia government does, it is obligated to cater to the needs of those citizens without considering such obligation as a favour bestowed through political allegiance.
The president’s utterances in LRR threatening the citizens that without their political support, their needs would not be addressed is shameful and shows a lack of touch with reality. The president is obligated to serve the needs of the people whether such people voted for him or not because the funds come directly from the people, or indirectly through grants and loans secured in the name of the people and not from the president’s pocket. This conflation of the personal with the state is a manifest threat to democratic norms and unfortunately, this president has proven that democracy is an inconvenience.
As diverse people, we call on all Gambians to embrace our diversity and reject the politics of division and all politicians who trade in such.
UDP MEDIA TEAM