Introduction
It is universally accepted that a leader of any group, organisation, movement, or especially of a political party, should be well known by the people he/she leads or hopes to lead.
Knowing the Secretary General and Leader of the GFA will allow those who know him less well the ability to assess his capabilities, integrity, education, compassion, commitment, and other important attributes.
Clearly, no one wants to choose a leader who has vital flaws in his/her character and gross deficiencies in his/her capacity to lead. In the case of nation building or governance, such scenarios usually end up in a disaster; and the people, particularly the poor and the vulnerable, which represent most of the people of The Gambia, pay heavy price for the failures of that type of leadership.
It is precisely for these reasons that Gambians must think seriously and carefully about the calibre of leadership they would like to see in the State House, come December 2021 Presidential Elections.
Make no mistake, the kind of leadership we choose in this all-important election will shape the trajectory of our national development and consequently our lives for the next five years.
Given the consequential nature of the decision we will soon make on December 4th, 2021, Gambia For All party would like to take this opportunity to share with you, The Gambian electorate, the profile of its Secretary General and Party Leader, Bakary Bunja Dabo, commonly called BB Dabo.
BB Dabo is well known to many older Gambians but, since The Gambia is comprised primarily of a youthful population, a sizeable proportion of them may not know him well. It is, therefore, very important to make it crystal clear who BB Dabo is in terms of his Education, Civil Service Career, Political Career, International Civil Service career at the United Nations, Diplomatic Career and his Contribution- while on ambassadorial duties in Senegal- to the restoration of rule of law following the 1981 abortive coup. He has also made tireless contributions to free The Gambia from 22 years of dictatorship and now, his attempts with like-minded Gambians to rescue The Gambia from its current problems to a much better future.
Origins and Education
BB Dabo was born and raised in Dumbutto village in West Kiang, Central River Region of The Gambia. He attended Dumbutto and Kayaf primary schools before moving to then Bathurst, now Banjul, to attend secondary schools at Methodist Boys High School and Gambia High School where, he completed his Sixth Form studies, respectively.
Following a successful completion of his studies in The Gambia, and as result of lack of tertiary education opportunities in The Gambia then, he was admitted into one of the best Universities in West Africa then, the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. At University of Ibadan, he studied Modern Languages, majoring in French. While on political asylum in the UK, BB Dabo studied Law at University of Nottingham Law School. He is a trained barrister, who was admitted to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn, UK in 1998.
In addition to the above, BB Dabo also attended numerous training courses in the following areas: Development Administration (UNDP/Dakar, Senegal); International Relations (UNITAR/Addis Ababa & Geneva); Leadership (Ford Foundation/Washington, USA); Public Policy (World Bank/Pittsburgh, USA); Development Economics (World Bank /Delhi, India); Banking & Finance (UNIDO/London, UK, San Francisco, USA, & Accra, Ghana).
These are some of the qualifications of BB Dabo, which contributed to make the man what he is today. In the coming articles of this series, we will share with you other aspects of his profile so that you can judge for yourselves the kind of education, commitment, experience, and other valued attributes the GFA’s party leader has compared to other party leaders in The Gambian political arena.
