By Omar Bah
President Adama Barrow said he dedicated his African Prize for Promoting Peace 2024 Award to the Gambian people.
The Select Committee of the African Conference for Promoting Peace, based in Mauritania, in association with the Abu Dhabi Peace Forum in the United Arab Emirates, announced on 29 December 2023, that the Gambian head of state won the prize, which was formally presented to him on 9 January 2024 in Nouakchott.
On Sunday, members of the government, NPP supporters, and people from around the country gathered at the Tallinding ‘Buffer Zone’ Recreational Park to celebrate the president.
Addressing them moments after the award was conferred on him for the second time by the Speaker of the National Assembly, President Barrow said the prize belongs to the Gambian people.
“I have genuine reasons for saying this because before December 1 or September 1, 2016, those who knew me in politics were not many. I was jostling with some of you in traffic, but you would not recognise me, but today I got this medal thanks to the Gambian people. Before 2016, you didn’t know me, but I campaigned and sold you my agenda, and you voted for me even though I was unknown to you. I cannot pay you, and I will be grateful to you for the rest of my life,” he said.
An emotional President Barrow said Gambians chose him from among two million people to lead them and that he could not have asked for more.
“That is enough to be grateful to you, but when I was elected, it never appeared to me that I would be able to win such an award within seven years of my presidency, so I should be grateful to God and the Gambians. Therefore, this medal is not for the NPP alone but for the Gambian people,” he added.
He said all the countries and presidents around the world are yearning to win such a wards because, without peace, nothing is possible.
“The medal should serve as a challenge to all of us to jealously guide the peace and stability in this country. Gambians must safeguard the interests of the country.
All the work I am doing in this country, I am doing for the Gambian people,” he said.
He urged the NPP to open its arms to the Gambian people and embrace all and sundry.
Citation
Reading the citation for the award, Deputy Speaker Seedy Njie, stated: “President Barrow’s commitment to the principles of democracy and good governance has laid the groundwork for a more just and equitable society. By upholding the rule of law and championing human rights, he has created an environment where citizens feel secure and empowered to actively participate in the nation’s progress.”
The deputy national president of the NPP, Agriculture Minister Demba Sabally, said when the president talks about democracy, he means it, and that has been recognised by Gambians and the world at large.
“[He] is the only president you will eat with and chat with without being scared,” he said.
He urged Gambians to be champions of peace, stop encouraging violence in the country, and “stop fighting about everything”.
NPP national youth president, Kebba Madi Bojang, urged the president to continue exercising patience so that he would be able to nurture the democracy he brought to the country.
“I want to urge the young people to come forward and be ready to work to develop this country. We cannot wait for the government all the time. We should be able to create things for ourselves, and we should always remember those who are underprivileged. That is the only way we will be able to ensure peace, stability, and cohesion in this country,” he said.
NPP national women mobiliser, Maimuna Baldeh, said the award has not come as a surprise to the NPP because President Barrow has “demonstrated throughout his presidency that he is a peaceful man who cannot even hurt a fly”. She said the president has given Gambians democracy and advanced it to another level.
