Dear editor,
We all know for a fact that President Barrow does not have what it takes to run this country successfully due to his lack of public service experience and many other critical factors that I would prefer not dwell on for reasons of decorum. Barrow happens to be our Head of State and Commander in Chief, and we bear collective responsibility for that, granted that the circumstances surrounding his ascent to power were quite exceptional.
We all believed that with the right mix of technocrats in his cabinet and well-chosen advisers, the man at the helm of our affairs would do well at the average mark. However, what transpired during these past three years has shown us that our President will not even get to the average cutoff mark but he will fail dismally at this historic period of our evolution as a nation. This grim prognostication is anchored on nothing but the type of people our President has decided to surround himself with.
Sometimes I just decide not talk about President Barrow and launch my critical ‘missiles’ at his Ministers and advisers on policy matters so as to send genuine advice his way without bruising his ego. But after almost two years of doing this, the situation keeps getting worse. As if having people like Mambury Njie in his Cabinet were not bad enough, Barrow has men like Henry Gomez and the schizophrenic dunce, Saihou Mballow, as his close and trusted advisers.
This certainly does not augur well for sanity at State House. What triggered this article is a video I watched showing senior adviser Henry Gomez at Monday’s “3 Years Jotna” protest scene attempting to provoke the massive crowd gathered to peacefully send a genuine and timely message to the man they elected to serve them for a 3-year transition period. This is a most brazen attempt at unwarranted provocation that could have set this county on fire; but thank God the police intervened on time. And this came from a man that is supposed to be knowledgeable and responsible enough to advise our Head of State on how to run this country.
Indeed, “if such are the priests, then God bless the congregation!”
This situation just reminds me of a Facebook post I did immediately after the infamous Brikama rally where President Barrow and his team of advisers and Ministers threatened a whole nation with violence with Barrow himself pounding his chest with the statement “whether you like it or not, I am here to stay as President till 2021. With Henry Gomez himself being just about the worst performer at the Brikama melodrama, I posted on social media “perhaps the President himself needs to advise his advisers!” But the lesson was not learned and it was after that meeting that he added yet another moron, Saihou Mballow as another Presidential Adviser.
With former Observer editor Baboucarr Camara lamenting Henry Gomez’s unruly behaviour at Monday’s protest scene on Facebook, my comment on his lament is this: with such personalities as advisers of your Head of State, you surely know that your country is doomed!
May Allah protect our dear motherland, The Gambia. And may He (subhaanahu wa ta’aalaa) save us from the impending perils of the gathering storms.
God bless The Gambia and May Allah bestow genuine wisdom on our leadership.
Amen.
Momodou Sabally
Former Secretary General
