Talking to The Standard, the ruling APRC propagandist countered: “What OJ said is not true. He cannot tell you it is government that sponsored that protest. It is the people themselves who initiated it and said they wanted to go out and march. His argument therefore is misplaced and baseless. It was heartening that thousands of people turned out on that day and lined up the streets. These people came from all walks of life, religious backgrounds and from all regions and tribes. That is the uniqueness of it. You cannot force people to do what they do not want to do. You cannot take people to where they do not want to go to. You could see the euphoria, the anticipation and happiness in the people as they chanted, ‘No to homosexuality! No to lesbianism!’
“Again for the opposition, you have to know the rationale why these people are advocating for it [homosexuality]. So anybody who speaks about it as a way of promoting it, you have to look at this person or individual. He or she either wants to please someone but they [opposition] have lost touch with the fact that the entire Gambian people are against this practice. In fact, what the people are calling for is even harsher than what the law states which is life imprisonment in case one is found guilty of aggravated homosexuality. So you can only understand why the opposition is talking this way. They only want recognition from the so-called international community.
“OJ talked about the fact that this issue was meant to turn attention from the realities of the country. But what are these realities? Can OJ tell me whether The Gambia is a sovereign country or within the midst of a world where even powerful economies are grappling with economic downturn? The Gambia is a small state but despite these economic crises, it continues to sail through. The government continues to provide basic social services to the people including education, health, agriculture and infrastructure. The economy continues to grow and as a people and as a nation, we would rather die or eat grass than to succumb to the so-called West and advocates like OJ and others.”
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