Reacting to statements by Mr Darboe in The Standard Tuesday, Yankuba Colley who is also the mayor of Kanifing municipality said: “The president never said he wanted to be king. The president has never said he wanted to be king. He has never stood up and said to anybody ‘I want to be made king’. He has never said so. It is the idea, the mentality, the ideology and the wish of the people who are saying so. But I will support the move [to make the president king] because I move with the majority of the Gambian people. But we must understand that it cannot be automatic as there has to be a referendum. How about if the referendum proves there is zero support for it? Will it happen? No! The president is a democrat. I do not think the opposition should build a mountain out of such a simple matter. If the time to campaign for it comes, the opposition can campaign against it. But for them, everything that has to do with the president is a non-starter.
“Darboe is entitled to his opinion given that The Gambia is a democratic state. But he should know that such decisions are not taken unilaterally. Whatever one wants you have to go back to the people. Even whereas you have a king, he [the king] is going to serve the people. I do not know why Darboe has criticised the call for President Jammeh to be made king given that the people [the British] they [the opposition] get their support from and see as their masters are having a monarchical government. Gambians know that before they [the opposition] do anything they have to go out of the country, seek the advice and ideas of their masters and bring that to Gambians. This is why the opposition are not accepted by the people of this country! If the Gambian people say ‘let Jammeh be king’, it will happen! Darboe has to remember that Gambians are independent-minded and we think before we do things. Gambians do not just jump up and do something. They [the opposition] criticise this because they don’t believe in the Gambian people; they believe in outsiders who think for them. We [the APRC] trust Gambians to think for us. I support the idea of making the president king totally because the man is the savior of this country in many senses.”
Mr Colley added: “He said that Babou Gaye Sonko was nominated by the president and that is why he is saying the president should be made king, but for me I was elected by my people with a very good majority so I can stand and say it, assured of the support of the majority of my supporters. Even the 2016 rice self-sufficiency drive which every patriotic Gambian should support is being criticised by Ousainou Darboe. For them [the opposition], they only have the time of Gambian people when there is time for election. They are position-minded. They only want to be president. If somebody calls for the tilling of our land to grow food to feed our people that should not be criticised. This plan has got the support of people around the country because I went on the tour round the country with the president. He visited farms and stepped in swamps where the opposition will never go.
“They only want to wear their coats and beautiful warambas and think Gambians will accept that. When you lead you have to lead by example and that is what President Jammeh is doing. Darboe is saying if he was position-minded he would have joined APRC but who wants him? We don’t go and approach people to come and join us. If he wants to come he can come voluntarily. He was never approached to join. One thing I know he was part of the people who drafted the constitution he is criticising. That constitution was accepted by Gambians that we do not want a president who is over 60 because we do not want a leader who will be sleeping in the office. We want a president who is agile and youthful and can do things at all times.”
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