Two scores and fourteen years ago a nation was born. The birth of this nation didn't come through bloodshed but a political negotiation that left many doubting her ability to survive independently. This notion was conceived by the nay sayers who lacked hope and confidence on the newly established elongated speck of land with narrow river banks on both the North and South banks. Its geographic shape made her a thorn that literally pricks big brother Senegal.
Notwithstanding the negative prognosis, our founding fathers went ahead to establish the independent nation called The Gambia. An agrarian society that supported trade was the hallmark of her economy. Groundnut was her major export earner. The politics of the day was consumed by non nationalistic ideologies that served no ones interest. The people of the protectorate were made to believe that they need to galvanize their resolve for good representation. Another party called Muslim Congress fragmented itself to religious lines. The good old Reverend JC Faye equally had a party that centered around religion. The Wollofs had their king maker and fiefdom in athe United Party of PS Njie. Well these impediments were the building blocks of the #NewGambia of 1965. Politics there after fashioned itself on the interest groups listed above and that brought about the death of #Nationalism before it even got a chance to sprawl. The agitators of Independence brought forth the excess baggage of the colonial era by dwelling on the very divisive parameters of colonial Gambia which which drew its strength on a divide and rule strategy.
The euphoria of independence waned off after 18 February 1965 and the daunting task of nation building was entrusted on a bunch sho had noble and genuine love live for their new found country but sincerely as a collective lacked the no withal to build a of Gambians. In 1981 a rag tag militia headed by a delusional Gambian attempted to upset the realative tranquility enjoyed by Gambia. My choice of employing the cliché relative "tranquility" is very deliberate in the sense that peace is just not the absence of war. Gambia started on a poor focal contract that saw the widening of the income gap and opportunities for socioeconomic upward mobility. This amplified the chatter and contempt held by many in mainstream society and gave rise to #J22, 1994. The underwriters of July 22 Rebellion cited corruption as the basis for their disruption of civilian rule. This notion was later debunked by the Junta's position and subsequent utterances.
Gambia and Gambians were engulfed in a hellish nightmare that lasted for 22 years. This period brought about the worst in the Gambian psyche in the form of opportunism and ill will towards each other.
December 1st 2016 was a verdict that entrenched the will 9f the silent majority of Gambians who were frustrated by the inhumane Reign of the brutal brute of Kanilai. 54 years of nation hood for the Gambia didn't register major tangible for the people of the Gambia. This failure is largely due to poor leadership and lack of a national identity. The new breed of Gambian is intolerant to bad leadership and a rude awakening is inevitable if the status quo continues. Happy independence and I do hope we collectively have a somber reflection of what we want and what is expected from us all. Happy Gambia day. May we all take a stock of our actions and muster the resolve to build a better Gambia for all.
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