By Omar Bah
Businessman-cum-political activist Pa Njie ‘Girigara’ has blamed President Adama Barrow for ignoring former President Yahya Jammeh’s continuous interference in Gambian politics.
Jammeh, who ruled The Gambia for 22 years, was ousted after the 2016 presidential election when Adama Barrow secured a surprise victory. Despite initially conceding defeat, Jammeh rejected the results days later, triggering a constitutional crisis. West African leaders, backed by the UN and international community, pressured Jammeh to step down and ultimately facilitated his exile to Equatorial Guinea after Barrow was sworn in as president.
But even after Jammeh’s exile, many Gambians and political observers have continued to voice fears over his ongoing influence in national affairs. In the last presidential election campaign Jammeh called Barrow a donkey in one of his now regular audio messages. Through these audios Jammeh also sacked virtually everybody in his APRC faction and spoke of his return.
Commenting on Jammeh’s latest rants, Pa Njie Girigara’ called on President Barrow to ensure that Jammeh and his network are barred from interfering in Gambian politics.
“I appeal to President Barrow to use his powers through the Ministry of Justice to ensure Jammeh’s madness is brought to an end as soon as possible. We cannot continue to allow Jammeh interfere in the country’s political discourse to destabilise our peaceful co-existence,” he said.
The businessman said he considers Jammeh as a person who is out of his mind on a mission to destroy himself and his supporters back home.
“Yahya, you cannot be president in this country again, and if you continue to pretend or behave like a president of this country it will only expose your state of mind,” Njie reminded Jammeh.
He said Jammeh has no right whatsoever to meddle in “our internal politics”.
“If you think you can intimidate anybody in this country you are fooling yourself,” he warned Jammeh, urging him to repent and ask for forgiveness from those he offended.
Njie said after all the atrocities Jammeh committed, he must not be allowed to continue commenting on Gambian politics.
“I will make sure that Adama Barrow stops this nonsense. If you have the guts, as you want us to believe, then come back to The Gambia,” he addressed Jammeh.
Njie’s call for President Barrow to stop Yahya Jammeh’s interference in Gambian politics reflects enduring concerns about democratic consolidation and justice in the country. As The Gambia moves forward, the pressure remains on Barrow to ensure that Jammeh remains firmly on the outside of the nation’s political landscape and that peace and democracy are safeguarded for all Gambians.
