The National Assembly Member for Brikama South, a former close ally of President Barrow in the UDP, who was instrumental in the building of Coalition 2016 which brought the president to power, has said the president must learn to be humble about his coming to power and stop calling himself the ‘Elephant killer” and mocking UDP leader Ousainu Darboe.
Addressing a UDP rally in Brikama South, Alagie said the president often sidelined the contributions of the opposition leaders who backed his candidacy in the first place.
President Adama Barrow recently used an elephant-and-chicken analogy while responding to UDP leader Ousainu Darboe’s remarks that access to Central Bank money would not guarantee his re-election by saying “can a knife that killed an elephant, failed to slaughter a chicken”.
But Alagie Darboe reminded the president about that he has forgotten even the order of the day and the process that led to his selection as candidate for Coalition 2016.
He went on to ask Barrow whether he could remember an incident at a meeting in Essau when supporters kept on chanting Ousainu Darboe’s name until coalition party leaders had to explain to them that Mr Barrow was the chosen candidate.
“It was the echoes of the name of Darboe that sold you to Gambians. Darboe made you who you are today so you cannot call him a chicken,” he advised Barrow..
NAM Darboe said those who deserved to be called “Elephant killers”.are people like Mariam B Secka, Omar Amadou Jallow, Sidia Jatta, Halifa Sallah and he Alagie Darboe himself, among others.
“We killed the elephant and gave you the knife to butcher it but you are not an elephant killer,” he said.
NAM Darboe argued that although Ousainu Darboe was in prison during the coalition’s formation, his name and political influence helped build support for President Barrow’s candidacy.
