By Omar Bah
President Adama Barrow has called on the people of Foni to always consider themselves as Gambians and to note that the area is part and parcel of The Gambia.
Foni is the birthplace of former President Yahya Jammeh where feelings about his loss of power are widely felt.
Addressing a meeting of traditional and community leaders in Sibanor, Barrow said it is crucial for everyone to recognize that one cannot have everything the way you desire and whereas it has happened that he is the president today, another person will take the position some day.
Barrow added: “I have always thought of uniting the whole country in the wake of the changes; my mind is on the people of Foni. You cannot have it all in life, I am the president today but tomorrow it can be anyone of you. That’s how it is everywhere in the world. ”
Barrow said the lesson learnt from the impasse of last year should not divide, “instead it should teach us that if we all unite our leaders will only do what we desire and not to perpetuate themselves in power.
“The peaceful resolution of the impasse is a credit to all Gambians and we must seize that opportunity to remain united,” he said.
He assured that his government is committed to reforms to ensure that a president would not be able to spend more than ten years again. This, he added, is in their strive to cement democracy and rule of law in the country.
“We believe if that happens whosoever is the president will know that he/she cannot take the people who elected him/her to office for granted. But all this can only happen if we are united,” he added.
He said his government’s decision to ask all village heads to avoid partisan politics was because they (village heads) are judges within villages, “Because if you are APRC there is no way you can judge problem that involves the APRC and UDP, and so on and so forth.”
