During an exclusive interview with The Standard, he said: “Relations between Nigeria and The Gambia are very cordial and both countries have been working together even before independence. It’s like give and take because the two countries have helped each other in many ways. I can remember during the Abacha period, The Gambia stood by the country when it was about to be expelled from world bodies. Nigeria is very appreciative and for those Nigerians living in The Gambia, they are accorded the enabling environment to practise our ways as we do in Nigeria.
In socio-economic and cultural terms, the two countries have made good progress. President Jammeh has always shown goodwill and when he visited Nigeria recently, he made a speech which gained currency throughout the world. He said there’s no compulsion in religion and his support for peaceful coexistence on the continent will not abate.”
Oba Moshood also stated that providing adequate security for Africa should be a responsibility of every African. He exhorted Africans to heed the calls by President Jammeh advocating for maximum security for Africa in order to put at bay threats posed by groups such as Boko Haram.
“When Nigeria has a problem, it spills over and affects other countries too because of its influence, size and population. Africa is one even though we have artificial borders that divide us. We virtually have the same culture but when the Europeans came, they succeeded in dividing us but we should not forget about our culture. We share similar things with the traditional chiefs in The Gambia as we both strive to preserve and enforce our cultures. We should come together and not allow our cultural heritage to perish.
“The biennial conference of chiefs in The Gambia is meant to protect cultural values and we are here to support them and foster unity. We are also looking forward to receiving Gambian traditional chiefs in Nigeria so that they can come and familiarise themselves with our culture. Nigerians remain forever grateful to the comment made by President Jammeh at the centenary celebrations and I on behalf of the Yoruba community in The Gambia thank him for that.
By Lamin Njie
]]>
