Following three days of youth-led protests, the NPP’s chief strategist has advised Gambian youths not to allow themselves to be used as instruments in jeopardizing national security and peace.
“A few days ago, there were youth-led disturbances but youths of The Gambia, youths of The Gambia, youths of The Gambia, let’s nurture the peace in the country. Peace is what is beneficial to the country and to you, the youth. If you yearn for prosperity, it’s only through peace that it can be attained,” the Campaign Manager for the NPP, Lamin Cham, said on Saturday as he addressed a political meeting in Tallinding, which was organized to welcome defectors from the UDP to the NPP.
“You [youths] have people, who are using you, yet they stay back in their homes. They pushed you onto the streets but you will never see their children, brothers and sisters in the streets [protesting]. Therefore, you need to be very cautious,” stated CM Cham.
Cham pointed out that violence yields no positive outcome for the country.
“The progress and prosperity of every developed nation hinge on peace. There cannot be any meaningful development in the absence of peace,” he added.
The NPP’s chief strategist wondered about the whereabouts of “today’s Gambia social media warriors” during the Jammeh era. He added:”We were all living here between 1994 and 2016. Today, some of those shouting on Facebook live, TikTok, writing and issuing press statements… But were they not around in the past 22 years [Jammeh’s rule]? They were here for 22 years but they did not even dare to cough up. They did not even write a small piece on Facebook, let alone get close to politicians because they were afraid. We stood up to Yahya Jammeh and fought with him. The NIA were here, the junglars were here. That was a very tough time to mobilize youths. When we were in the UDP, we searched high and low for youths in this country but we couldn’t see them. The UDP’s youth wing was dominated by elderly people. Shyngle Nyassi was the youth president and he was sixty-something years. The Lang Marongs and Solo Sandengs…For you to see a youth in the youth wing[UDP youth wing] was tough because they were afraid of the then President. They never came out to be involved and they never joined any political party and you don’t see them at meetings.”
CM Cham hinted that many Gambians only became vocal when President Barrow took over the reigns.
“When President Adama Barrow liberated you from that shackle of bondage, maintain peace in the country. Let embrace the peace. Adama Barrow posseses the same powers that Jammeh exercised. You may see a very peaceful leader at the outset but whenever he or she metamorphoses to a dictator, one should know that it’s because of the governed,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, the NPP’s chief strategist asserted that the main opposition UDP cannot rule The Gambia because the party is currently embroiled in a serious problem unbeknownst to the population.
“You will only learn about this when it’s time to go to the polls in 2026,” the NPP’s campaign manager maintained.
Cham gave the Tallinding Faro Kono UDP defectors the assurance that they would not be the last members of the UDP to switch allegiance to the NPP before the 2021 general election.
“And when the 2026 election is near, you will welcome many defectors from UDP to NPP and God willing, that’s what’s going to happen,” he maintained.
“And NPP’s rule will not end with President Barrow. President Barrow will retire and he will hand over the baton to an NPP member and his successor will also be succeeded by an NPP member. NPP is The Gambia’s ANC. Nelson Mandela led the ANC in South Africa and when he left the stage, Thabo Mbeki succeeded him. When Thabo Mbeki bowed out, Jacob Zuma came in and now it’s Ramaphosa, who is ruling. That’s how we want NPP to be in The Gambia and God willing, NPP will turn out to be like that[ANC’s trajectory]in The Gambia,” he maintained.
Speaking on the defections of UDP members in Tallinding, Cham enthused:”Today is a red letter day for the NPP because people are the fuel of politics and when you get people, you rejoice. Therefore, the NPP is rejoicing today. I want to congratulate Ndey Ceesay and Dibba Jaiteh and all their group members. You have taken the right step because people join politics for their interests, people join politics for development. You said you have not been coerced to join the NPP but you joined because you said you have been satisfied by the development strides of President Adama Barrow. This is how a good person behaves and thinks. Therefore, it’s my prayers that those who are yet to be awakened be enlightened so that they can join President Barrow.”
Cham assured the UDP defectors that they won’t regret their decision to cross-carpet.
“You will never regret joining the NPP, we will be with you now and in the future. We will provide you with a strong shoulder. NPP is where the benefits are because you have said it here yourselves that you are satisfied with the ongoing development in Tallinding Faro Kono. But I want to tell you that the development that is taking place in Tallinding is the same development taking place across the land. Roads are being built all over the country, schools continue to be built across the country, hospitals are being constructed all over the country, big and small communities are being electrified, the agriculture sector is witnessing unprecedented growth and that’s what Gambians expect from their government and that’s exactly what President Barrow is delivering,” he pointed out.
The NPP top official urged the defectors to prepare the hearts and minds of UDP supporters in Tallinding to join the NPP.
“Talk to the UDP members in Tallinding so that you can draw them to the NPP,” he urged.
“President Barrow is the one we have here and I want to assure you that come 2026, NPP will have no opponent in this country. We do not see that contestant in this country, who will challenge President Barrow, at the polls. It’s just all about bravado but it’s crystal clear to all that if a victor is declared in this country in 2026, that would be only Adama Barrow. Therefore, nobody should allow the opposition to be giving you promises that they cannot deliver on because today, I have experience in both opposition politics and in government because I was in the UDP for 20 years. I was in the UDP until I became the national youth president and, therefore, I know UDP very well,” he stated.
