Dear Editor,
Our kind of independence is a delusion infused into our minds by imperial monsters. It is self delusion to talk about a happy Independence Day when our nation is trapped in economic woes, crying out loud for liberty. There is absolutely nothing to be happy about; there is nothing to celebrate as a nation after 60 years of independence. We are merely convincing ourselves with the thought that our nation is great and we live where hope dwells.
On 18th February, 1965, when the clouds sealed their bowls and gave way to the wind of change which blew from the River Gambia, hope appeared from the cardinal points.
The political icons of independence emerged to salvage our land from the colonial monsters whose manifest political mission was to make our nation a great nation in Africa; a nation that the children of Gambia would cherish. They struggled hard to nurture and protect the unborn nation from the hands of imperial lords to stand on its political and economic feet. Their moral and political crusade to rescue the exploited nation from colonial monsters was achieved.
A new nation was born. Freedom was born. Our leaders, on the pages of their hearts, held dreams of a better Gambia. This was not their dream alone; all Gambian were pregnant with hope, dreaming of a better Gambia the land we proudly called “this great nation of ours”.
Alas, that determined effort of our new leaders, their sacrifices, dreams, and political aspirations for this nation became shattered. Their dreams and sacrifices were short-lived. Their hope for this nation became a stillborn dream. Our nation’s smile faded. Our political leadership was buffeted by moral and intellectual errancy.
Our Independence Day is not worthy of celebration if our ideas of independence revolve around having mere political freedom while Gambians continue to survive on begging and wallowing in poverty and chronic despair. Where is our dignity as a nation? Independence Day should remind us of what went wrong. It is a day that tells us our nation is not beyond change — if we have political leaders who have the vision, the ability, and the will for a better Gambia.
Whatever befalls this land, it is because of the cardinal sins of our politicians. They are the revivalists of the colonial political system. They are the political cankerworms who are wreaking havoc on our nation.
Ousman Jobe
Final Year Political Science Major student
University of The Gambia
