By Ndey Jobarteh!
When people asked me to watch you last night, I refused. I said I could not and would not because I knew it would be painful. You’ve earned my respect through years of sacrifice, resilience, and public service. That’s why this moment hurts deeply. It’s painful to see you go public like this, to see you shaped by the very chaos we once stood against.
We are at a critical moment, not just for the UDP, but for the soul of democratic resistance in The Gambia. And in times like these, those who carry the trust and respect of the people must lead with wisdom, not emotion.
When I pleaded with you to rise above the noise, it wasn’t just about party unity but the bigger fight we’re all at risk of losing. While we trade public blows and feed internal fires, Parliament has quietly passed the Criminal Offences Act, criminalising dissent and shielding power from accountability.
They are now pushing the Barrow Draft 2024 Constitution, a diluted document designed to serve the presidency, not the people.
The Finance Minister has laid yet another budget, likely bloated and opaque, while people with low incomes grow poorer.
And soon, the President will deliver another State of the Nation Address, full of promises and praise, far removed from the suffering on the ground.
This is what’s being lost in translation:
The urgency.
The mission.
The stakes.
We didn’t fight this hard to end up here, divided, distracted, and watching power be rewritten in silence.
I worked with you, Comrade Yanks. I know what you’re capable of. I’ve seen your integrity, courage, and unshakable belief in something greater than self. That’s the Yanks many of us believed in, not one trading public blow while the house shakes.
Yes, disagreements happen. That’s politics. But not every battle belongs in the open, especially not when the movement is already wounded. The stakes are too high, and the people are too tired, to watch those who once stood together tear each other apart.
This is your moment to rise above it, not sink into it. Leadership isn’t only about speaking the truth; it’s about knowing when and how to communicate. It’s about protecting the bigger picture, even when personally hurt.
We’ve become too good at watching our best people be destroyed, staying silent while it happens, or even jubilating over it.
But if there’s one lesson I’ve learned from that, it’s this:
Never again.
I will never again watch good people be torn down by ego, factionalism, or misplaced anger.
Never again will I stand by while those who once stood for truth and service are dragged into the mud, not by their enemies, but by their own.
We owe better to the struggle we fought for.
We owe better to the people still suffering.
We owe better to the future we claimed we wanted to build.
Again, I call on you, Comrade Yanks Darboe, to rise above the noise. To lead with restraint. To be the voice of reason.
The Gambia still needs you, not in battle, but in balance.
Please, don’t lose that. We haven’t.
May God bless The Gambia!!
May God bless the daughters and sons of the nation!!
May God protect this nation!!
