“BARROW WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING HAPENNING IN DECEMBER”

July 22, 2019

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Hon. Madi Ceesay Freshly Declares:

“BARROW WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING HAPENNING IN DECEMBER”

By Ebrima Papa Colley (Gambiano)

With an either-or tense situation in The Gambia about the Barrow administration’s time clock, the UDP’s apparent samurai, Hon. Madi Ceesay, Monday spoke to forGambia about what he termed as “principle,” and “betrayal.”

The legislator was quick to reiterate his call for an adherence to the three-year schedule, a promise he argued Barrow used as a mantra to get Gambians rally behind him in the run up to the December 2016 ouster of Yahya A.J.J Jammeh.

“My position is, the coalition went around the country, telling people to vote for them for a three-year mandate. This is a betrayal. I’m standing by principle. Come three years, the writings are very clear on the wall. They are just playing politics of betrayal and deception,” Ceesay posited.

Quizzed about his concerns for peace and stability in West Africa’s tiniest nation of slightly above two million, the Serrekunda West National Assembly member stated, “To avoid any chaos or conflict, Barrow should engage Gambians. Peace is in the hands of Barrow. They should go around Bantabas and explain their position,” about the three agreement.

On the latest position of UDP’s Ousainou Darboe, whose earlier philosophy was to legally pursue any caller for Barrow’s withdrawal, Hon. Ceesay replied, I’ve not heard anything from him yet. UDP has an executive. The party, as a whole, hasn’t spoken yet,” he marked.

Asked about the general air in Gambia’s legislature about either the three or five years, Hon. Ceesay furthered that albeit he couldn’t speak for the party as a whole, “about 95% of UDP” NAMs “share the same opinion” as his. He mentioned Almamy Fanding Taal, the UDP spokesperson as the go-to-resource for the party’s official position.

On why Barrow, who truly campaigned on a three-year ticket suddenly morphed into a different creature, Hon. Ceesay blamed two close presidential advisers in the persons of Dodou Sano and Lamin Cham—the duo he called civil servants who shouldn’t be politicking. Civil servants, by rule, shouldn’t engage in politics, he argued. And presidential advisers at the office of the president are all civil servants according to Ceesay.

“Dodou Sano, who isn’t even educated is one of them. They are civil servants, paid by taxpayer money,” Ceesay put forward, maintaining that both Sano and Cham are the ones “promoting the agenda of President Barrow. “I won’t blame Barrow, personally [for the U-turn]. You had to resign from your party. For that person to turn around is really political,” he stressed.

According to Hon. Ceesay, former Vice President Fatoumata Tambajang is still sitting on the fence about the three-year agreement. However, “Halifa’s position is three years,” he mentioned. Soliciting his response to views that there might be some powerful undercurrents and financiers behind the “Three Years Jotna” movement, the legislator quickly retorts, “I disagree with that. This is just like the beginning of the fate of the Jammeh regime,” he said.

It was Barrow who spoke of losing his son to a cause as intransigent as maintaining a Gambian utilitarianism. At some point, the same Barrow challenged others with his, “Where were you” sermon, touting his individual architecture of his ascension to the Banjul chair only two predecessors shared in fifty-one years.

If it is about who did what and how long—all in a bid to watchdog Yahya Jammeh, Hon. Madi Ceesay’s transcript is public knowledge. He had also lost a son to the same cause, not even remotely.

Editor’s Note: As was mentioned, we are here for Gambia, political colors and views irrespective. We will love to hear the Barrow Government’s unequivocal response—not mere aspersions. In developed and well-meaning governments, a national debate would have erupted in both the media and legislative spheres about an issue as peace-threatening as this.

But to the Barrow administration, surrounding oneself with many a dimwit and purchasing water-canon trucks at the expense of seminal national issues take priority. We pray for a continued peace in the motherland.

Let justice guide our actions.