Corruption in The Gambia is no longer just a political problem—it is a moral pandemic. To fix the nation, we must stop pretending it’s a modern disease spread by bad politicians or misguided followers. It isn’t. Corruption is us. It is cultural, systemic, and generational.
Today’s Gambia has simply upgraded its tools—from spears to spreadsheets, from border raids to budget line items. Our leaders don’t raid villages; they raid public funds. And when they return bearing gifts, they are hailed—not condemned. The warrior ethos still lives on: pillage the system, bring back spoils, and secure loyalty.
This is our deepest contradiction: we elect people to serve the country, then judge them by how well they serve their clan.
The revelations emerging from the ongoing Commission of Inquiry show just how far this malaise has spread. Mismanagement and financial abuse in municipal councils—many led by UDP mayors—have been laid bare. Yet silence reigns. The UDP and its supporters have not offered a public reckoning. Accountability is demanded elsewhere—but not at home.
At the central level, President Barrow’s administration has made promises, but little progress. Corruption festers while prosecutions stall. The message is clear: impunity wears many colors, and justice is selectively blind.
Even when figures like Halifa Sallah and Sidia Jatta—towering examples of integrity—step forward, Gambians cheer their honesty but scoff at their viability. “Where is their war chest?” we ask. “How will they buy our votes?” Not stealing has become disqualifying.
Let that sink in.
We chant “corruption must fall” each morning, then seek handouts each evening—even those who claim to stand for justice. Activists, journalists, bloggers—many have blurred the line between watchdog and beneficiary.
Our curse isn’t bad leadership. It’s a broken moral code, inherited and refined. The leopard hasn’t changed its spots—only its geography, shifting from the hills to the halls of government.
The Gambia doesn’t need more raiders. It needs reformers. Leaders who prize integrity over influence, legacy over loot, and country over clan.
Until we redefine what we reward, nothing will change.
We will keep electing the best raiders, not the best leaders.
