In December, the long-awaited anti-corruption bill was passed by parliament in the Gambia, which brought a sense of relief to many citizens who were hoping for some respite from the pervasive corruption that has plagued the country. However, the recent pardon granted to Dr. Bamba Banja has raised doubts about the government’s commitment to fighting corruption, and many critics are questioning the effectiveness of the new legislation.
Dr. Banja is a high-ranking government official who was caught red-handed receiving bribes from Chinese investors. He was the first and only official to have been prosecuted and convicted of corruption, despite numerous reported cases of corruption in the public sector. While the passing of the anti-corruption bill was seen as a significant step towards combating corruption, the pardon of Dr. Banja has undermined public confidence in the government’s commitment to fighting corruption and is considered a mockery of the justice system.
The President’s statement that impeccable evidence is required to indict someone for corruption has also raised concerns among citizens. Many people believe that this statement has given the impression that the government is not serious about prosecuting corrupt officials and that the new legislation may not be enough to tackle the issue effectively.
The pardon of Dr. Banja has set a dangerous precedent in the fight against corruption, as it sends a message that corrupt officials can escape punishment. This is likely to exacerbate the already endemic corruption in the country, as it undermines public trust in the government and the legal system.
Corruption has far-reaching implications for any society, as it leads to wastage of public funds and undermines the provision of essential public services. The pardon of Dr. Banja is likely to have a negative impact on efforts to combat corruption in the country, as it sends a message that corrupt officials can act with impunity. As such, it is essential that the government takes decisive action to restore public confidence in the fight against corruption.
Basidia M Drammeh
Followership
Someone I spoke to asked that I join them the next time they deliver a leadership training for a particular group. I suggested that I would rather deliver a session on followership, demonstrate the nexus between followership and leadership and how followership can influence leadership. Essentially, the terminal learning objective will be to show that followership characteristics, traits or behaviors influence leadership; that followers, who I consider leaders in their own rights, can have a huge influence on the type of leader they have.
In Africa, particularly this colonial space we have been told should be called Gambia, the focus has mostly been on leadership and not enough on followership. My friend wasn’t too sure about my proposal to conduct a session on followership because in her words “they’ll be more interested in leadership.” She also hinted that they might even get offended because “these are leaders” and a class on followership may not be as thrilling.
Look around you and you’ll always I came across the phrase “Africa has a leadership problem”, one of those phrases many of us simply regurgitate without much thinking behind it. Because our concept of leadership is often so limited and at times completely flawed, we think our problems revolve around leadership alone. And so go to any African country and there are “leadership” institutions galore, all focused on building leaders for today and tomorrow. Despite this emphasis on leadership, the “Africa has a leadership problem” conundrum still persists. That Africa has a leadership problem is true; but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
It took some convincing for my friend to agree to my suggestion. While others emphasize the importance of leadership, I will mostly focus on followership. I’m hoping that once we realize that you cannot have an enduring leadership crisis without a corresponding followership crisis, some of the attention on poor leadership will shift to poor followership. I am hoping that we will agree that the effectiveness of a leader may be in the head of the leader but it rests on the shoulders of the followers. I’m hoping that Africans will realize that our problems are not only the self-absolving leadership crisis we decry, but also a serious followership.
Alagie Saidy Barrow
