Wednesday, 23 August 2017

HOME GROWN SOLUTIONS FOR HOME GROWN PROBLEMS. IS GAMBIAN INTELLIGENTSIA ENDANGERED?

For honour, for country, for pride. That's how great patriots honour and work for their country. A country cannot thrive without its intelligentsia and it is the intellectual class of this great nation called the Gambia who will propel the new ideas and ideology that will usher in the dawn of a new day of our beloved country, the Gambia.

I am disheartened and saddened by the fact that our government, your government prefers to work with non Gambians to profer solutions to Gambian ailments. I have great respect and admiration for Mr. Moubarack Lô a renowned and eminent Senegalese economist of great standing but as intelligent as he is, he doesn't have the solutions to our economic woes. Where is the dignity? Where is the pride that we the people must have in developing our country? Gambia will be developed by Gambians and Gambians alone. Our development can't be outsourced to outsiders to come and fix this nation of ours. This great nation of ours boast of credible sons and daughters who can be flag bearers, pacesetters and becons of hope to usher in the dispensation we called the #NewGambia. If the drivers of the New Gambia don't have hope and confidence in the intellectual class of Gambians then this society is doomed to fail.

Once again my fellow compatriots I wish and do hope that our government will have a revisit on such a stance of not promoting our intelligentsia. Yes people do make mistakes, yes people often take decisions that are haphazard and I do hope this was one of those few mistakes taken by this administration. To err is human therefore reflecting and changing such a decision should be of utmost importance to this administration if they feel like Gambian intelligentsia are worth their grain of salt. What I am seeing and what is being manifested in terms of down grading Gambian intelligentsia shows utter disregard for our aptitude, our knowhow and our determination to build a new Gambia collectively with the political class. We the intelligentsia cannot direct or shape policy without the endorsement and collaboration of our politicians.

Our national mantra should be "Gambian solutions to Gambian ailments". Has thou forsaken us to the point that we hardly see good in ourselves? Gambians are celebrated the world over both in the international development arena and in foras yet still we can't see the lustre and value in our own kin and kindred. Our case is one of pity and I do hope we wake up from our slumber and complex we suffer from. We are good enough to be rated as global development practitioners. Why can't our government see that in US. Yes familiarity often times breeds contempt but this is becoming excessive. 

1 comment:

  1. Bro, you are perfectly right. And what is worst is that we forget that those outsiders have one thing as a priority when offering their services: their pockets. We have competent nationals who can serve diligently and with proper knowledge of our institutional realities (This is mostly not actually present when it comes to outsiders). Furthermore, once the national is given the opportunity the learning wheel keeps grinding for that particular person (institution) and other nationals who would, one way or the other) get involved in any particular service.
    One more issue that needs to be underlined is that whatever funds are paid to nationals would remain in the country or at least go further than otherwise in strengthening our struggling economy.
    Thanks again, Bro, for your beautiful insight.

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