25 years of active politics with great milestones to be proud of, is no mean feat. Indeed the Wolof proverb is right “Luyaa degga la.” (Whatever endures, must be the truth).
So as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of our party, we must commend and congratulate our party leader and Secretary General and the entire leadership and membership of the party. We commend and remember our fallen heroes along the way and we assure their families that the goal of their departed relatives who started this journey will surely be attained inshaa Allah.
Special salutations and commendations for His Excellency the Party Leader, Secretary General and Presidential candidate of the UDP, Lawyer Darboe. We salute him and his family for their sacrifice and exemplary leadership.
The UDP would not have reached this milestone today without the golden vision and exemplary character of our party leader. We know that this new age era does try to reduce the importance of the individual but this is a serious fallacy. What the great sage said is indeed true, the history of any era or nation can be found in the biography of its great men and women. So we celebrate our leader and his qualities as we encourage the young members of our party to emulate his character.
One such trait is Lawyer Darboe’s lenience and affability, a quality well touted by the Quran, as succinctly explained in verse 159 of Surah Ali Imran; where Allah speaks about our Holy Prophet (SAWS):
“Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you; so pardon them therefore and ask pardon for them, and take counsel with them in the affair; so when you have decided, then place your trust in Allah; surely Allah loves those who put their trust in him.”
Without doubt none of us is close to the Prophet (SAWS) in character but we do learn from him as our ultimate role model. As the Quran teaches us in verse 21 of Surah Ahzaab, “Certainly you have in the Messenger of Allah an excellent exemplar for him who hopes in Allah and the latter day and remembers Allah much.”
So we try to emulate our Prophet even as we know the truth of the poet’s wisdom: “Muhammad is a man, but not like other men. He is like a ruby amongst common stones.”
We thank and praise Allah for giving us a party leader with qualities that are well recommended and touted by the Holy scriptures. Among the admirable qualities of Lawyer Darboe are the following five I have identified:
Purpose:
Well focused on his major goal. He never drifted from the mission of fostering change in the leadership and governance of The Gambia with a view to entrench a system based on rule of law, freedom, human rights and dignity.
Patience:
He is well endowed with this sublime quality that is well praised by the Holy books. It is indeed a worthy attribute if the words of American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson are anything to go by: “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” In verse 153 of Surah Baqarah, Allah tell us “surely Allah is with those who patiently persevere.”
Persistence:
Of all the keys to success documented by the gurus of success literature, none has been better touted than the golden key, #persistence. After half a century of struggle to attain his purpose, Darboe remains rock solid in pursuit of the objectives set out by his party the UDP, 25 years ago.
Pragmatism:
There are a thousand ways to go about the business of politics but most don’t work in our part of the world. Well attuned with high theory as a learned man, Darboe has always been the most pragmatic in taking the path that resonates best with the real people who matter in this country. No wonder he is envied by most of his contemporaries because his method has worked, and is working even better today.
Peacefulness:
Nothing in this world is worth achieving without peace. And nothing is worth keeping if it deprives you of the hallmark of the inhabitants of paradise, #peace. In heaven the lucky ones to become the inhabitants shall be welcomed with one word, peace, as taught in verse 58 of Surah Yasin:”Peace!” – a word (of salutation) from a Lord Most Merciful!
Despite provocations of all types during his career as a politician, Darboe has always opted for the peaceful way. What a trait!
God bless our party leader and Secretary General.
#YellowNation
