By Melville Robertson Roberts Esq
In politics, moments are fleeting. They come like a wave, strong and full of force, but just as quickly they can pass, leaving only ripples in the sand. Today, Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda stands at the crest of such a wave and the choice he makes this week will decide whether he rides it into history or watches it fade into nothingness.
No one doubts that Mayor Bensouda is destined to go solo. The mass resignations tearing through the United Democratic Party (UDP) are not accidents of timing, they are deliberate acts, fueled by the belief that Mayor Bensouda would have risen as flagbearer and offer Gambians the leadership that Ousainu Darboe, with all his years of struggle, can no longer provide against President Adama Barrow.
The expectation was and still is there. The path is already being cleared.
But here lies the danger: while everyone else moves boldly, Bensouda still clings to the UDP, hesitant to cut the final cord.
Yes, his delay may be strategic. Perhaps it comes from careful advice, whispered counsel from his political team but strategy has its limits, and when it begins to test the patience of a nation, it backfires.
Gambians do not look to political teams for leadership, they look to the man himself and right now, the man they are looking at risks appearing indecisive.Talib can no longer afford such luxury. The team would always claim that they know it all and even caution not to pay attention to dissenting voices, but from an early start, Talib must find a trusted voice that is bold enough to tell him things that others wouldn’t dare to in the disguise of loyalty.
A nation cannot be kept in suspense forever. Politics is not theatre where the curtain can be delayed to build drama. The Gambian people are not an audience waiting for the final act; they are citizens yearning for clarity, for boldness, for a leader who can say plainly where he stands.
If Mayor Bensouda allows this suspense to drag on, he loses the moment. Worse, he dampens the energy, the enthusiasm, and the courage of those who have already risked everything by resigning in his name and those silent majority whbo have not yet taken the bold step but are waiting for a public declaration from the Mayor himself.
This is why Mayor Bensouda must act and act now. He cannot be both a UDP member and an aspiring independent leader at the same time. To do so is to undermine not only the party he remains in, but also the authenticity of the movement he wishes to build. His character, his judgment, his courage, these are all on the line.
Let it be said plainly: if by Friday of this week mayor Bensouda has not resigned officially from the UDP, he will have committed a serious error of judgment. An error that will cast a permanent shadow over his political career. An error that history will mark as the moment he allowed hesitation to steal away destiny.
Yes, his delay may be strategic but politics is not just about strategy, it is about seizing the right moment with clarity and courage and the Gambian people, weary of waiting, will not forgive a leader who lets the moment pass.
Mayor Talib Bensouda has the chance to step forward, to prove that he is not just the hope of a faction, but the leader of a nation. The window is open, but not for long.
