By Tabora Bojang
Outspoken Banjul South NAM Fatoumata (Touma) Njai, has said President Adama Barrow would not have expressed interest in reelection beyond his second term if he genuinely loves the country.
Amid strong speculations that he may not seek a third mandate, President Barrow earlier this year said he had considered not running but because of his party, the NPP’s interest, he has decided to run again.
Commenting on this in an interview with West Coast radio on Thursday, Hon Njai appealed to Gambians not to vote for Barrow in 2026 for ‘the sake of the country.’ “I don’t think Mr Barrow loves The Gambia because if he does, he should just eat the humble pie and step aside. Gambians should not trust him because instead of thinking about continuing the rebuilding process of this country, he is thinking of the rebuilding process of his party, a party comprising people I do not trust as Gambians,” Hon Njai alleged.
She also dismissed suggestions that Barrow needs another term to complete his ‘development initiatives’.
She argued that leader that cannot see out his development goals in ten years, will never be able to do it.
“Leadership should be a continuity process where you stop here and somebody else comes and continues. That is why term limits are very important so that you can set yourself a target. Come 2026, if Barrow wins, Gambia will sink and even disappear. We want a country which our next generation can inherit with dignity. If you look and listen to what people are saying, most of us have lost our dignity and that is the highest level of poverty. You can lose your work, but once you lose your dignity, you have lost it all,” the Banjul South NAM said.
She said Gambians have resorted to begging to put food on the table while corruption has overgrown the Jammeh-era level.
“Only Jammeh was stealing from us then but now it is like power grabbing, with everybody grabbing from left, right and center, and anytime I drive around Fajara, I feel embarrassed by the fact that the head of state can grab that amount of land owned by the state and have it reallocated to him,” she alleged.
Hon Njai further accused President Barrow of going to bed with the APRC, a party that both him and Gambians fought so hard to remove from power in 2016. She said this act by Barrow made him lose integrity.
According to Hon Njai, the direction of President Barrow’s leadership is one that attracts only people who wants to join him to have a piece of the cake, and not people who are principled .
“When I was contesting for reelection in 2022, people told me to join the NPP but I stood my ground, contested and won on an independent ticket. If I had contested under NPP and won, I would have lost everything. I would be happier losing as an independent than contesting and winning under an NPP ticket. I am a principled person and the NPP don’t have principles. I wake up every day thanking God for not voting for Barrow in 2021 because my conscience would not have allowed what is happening now under him,” Hon Njai said.
Ministers playing partisan politics
The Banjul South NAM also expressed disappointment with the presence of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice Dawda Jallow at the inauguration of the NPP headquarters, wearing NPP “Ashobee.
“Justice should be for everybody and therefore the minister of justice should be someone everyone can trust. For example, our constitution allows the minister of justice and the attorney general, which are linked, to advise government on prosecution matters. So it is worrying if that person loses the confidence of the people of because of partisan politics.” Hon Njai said.
