Who are we?

Solitude often triggers reflection and I have been opportune with the luxury of time and experience to ponder at length about our collective national psyche. After reading a brilliant and inspiring commentary by my dear brother and friend counsel Salieu Taal, I was left with no option but to call a spade a spade and scribe a few lines about my perception of who we are collectively.


Progressive societies have a social construct that is merit based were hard work is espoused as the road to success.  As Gambians, we find it hard to have living legends because we cannot see the brilliance in our people nor can we celebrate our finest when they are still alive. I cannot comprehend why our national stadium is not named after Biri Biri for his exploits in football. The late Honorable PS Njie has done so much for this country and his insignia is not scribed on any public edifice in the country. Just cross the river to the land of Terranga and you will be inundated with names such as Lamine Gueye, Demba Diop, Malick Sy, Leopold Senghor, Cheickh Anta Diop, Alboury Ndiaye, Alioune Sutaye Diatta et al. The Senegalese philosophy of gratitude states that "Koufi def lou baah deng koiyee waah" but our mantra is “Suul jeff ju baah” and this is becoming very Gambian. In our short stint of 50 years, we have forgotten about the likes of M.E. Jallow, Paps Touray, Eku Mahoney, Jesbes Ayo Langley, et al. We are quick to hire the services of international consultants to diagnose our social and economic ailments when we have first rated indigenes who can deliver world class exposés. Our current collective mental conscience is a travesty and it is clearly a crab in a barrel syndrome. Moral decadence and the destruction of our social stratification (social order and hierarchy) are pivotal to our current situation. During my granddad’s time, there was ONLY one way to success and its called merit. Fast forward to our generation people make it to the top by boot licking and brown nosing. God bless our generation because our moral yardstick is very flexible and convenient. It is easy to label someone in Gambia as "Dang ñgaam" because they exhibit traits that are not mainstream. Lets dare to be who we are and never allow ourselves to be contained by people who want us to conform. My favorite author Audre Lorde said that "If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive". 

I am not being xenophobic but the convergence of cultures diluted our cultural identity and lowered the bar for our generally accepted social norms. Secondly, materialism and “buga tekki” at all cost has created a layer of Gambians that are highly opportunistic and selfish. Any progressive society should have a social stratification that promulgates merit. One has to earn his or her status in society by toiling for it and there should not be a short cut to the pinnacle of success. People aspiring to climb the social ladder should have personalities within the community that they emulate and look up to but if we demonize our "crème de la crème" then what do we look up to? I am an unapologetic elitist and rightly so because one has to work to achieve and once accomplished, we need to enjoy the perks associated with our hard work. Our new collective attitude is worrisome to say the least and envy is the nucleus of this menacing phenomenon "Pull Him Down" syndrome. I am a keen follower of debates and issues of concern on social media regarding Gambians and the emerging trend I noticed is worrisome to say the least. Any meaningful debate should be issue oriented. The imposition of self in the nucleus of any intellectual discourse discounts the weight and substance of the dialogue. Gambians are generally smart but often find it hard to disassociate issues from personalities. Let’s keep on talking and avoid talking at each other.  John Stuart Mill advocated for the market place of ideas and in that arena, we agree to disagree about issues and the fundamental fact that value judgments are highly proprietary and varies with one's moral convictions, social and intellectual orientation and finally human beings are rationally self interested animals whose world view can be skewed and convoluted based on their expected dividends be it financial or otherwise.


We should celebrate success and advocate for excellence. We need to strive and work hard for the common good of the Gambia our homeland. Love for our home land should not only be manifested with the possession of national paraphernalia but a change in attitude towards the interest of the greater good. My Jamaican brethrens have a national slogan called “likkle but we talawaa” but I guess in our beloved Gambia the opposite applies “likkle but we destructive”.