The significance of an African president lies in their role as head of state and government, responsible for guiding a nation’s executive branch, national defense, and economic development. Beyond these official duties, their significance also includes shaping national identity, fostering continental unity through organizations like the African Union, and driving “African solutions to African problems.”
However, many presidents face challenges, such as a lack of transformative leadership, managing clientelist networks, and dealing with generational divides in leadership. The president leads the executive branch and serves as commander-in-chief of the nation’s military. For economic development, presidents are tasked with mobilizing resources and developing institutions for sustainable growth, though many African nations have struggled with this aspect.
With respect to Pan-African Leadership, while leaders like Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun Obasanjo have championed the idea of building institutions and finding “African solutions to African problems,” leading to initiatives like the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Barrow continually makes the office of the presidency a laughingstock and a tragedy, so to speak.
Historical and contemporary presidents have played a significant role in shaping a nation’s identity and overcoming the legacy of colonialism. Barrow’s legacy could be tied to division, insulting opposition parties and their leadership instead of seeing them as partners in development.
Mr. Adama Barrow, being the least educated president of our time globally, has no ideas in cutting down costs, reducing poverty or eradicating it, creating innovative and revolutionizing food security, modernizing good road networks, as well as providing jobs, clean and affordable drinking water to all Gambians irrespective of wherever they live, respectively. These lack of technical knowledge and know-how make Adama Barrow the most out-of-touch president the world has ever seen in recent memories.
In Transformational Leadership, the continent needs strong, development-oriented leaders who can mobilize resources and build institutions that last beyond a single term. However, a lack of quality leadership like the one exhibited by Adama Barrow has hindered this vision. Barrow thrives on rhetoric rather than finding solutions to our everyday problems. What bothers many presidents doesn’t apply to Adama Barrow, as he lacks empathy for the people he governs.
He’s an Imperial President, a dictator controlling state resources to build client-patron networks, which can lead to dependency among citizens. As vindictive as Barrow is, he does not think of life after presidency but dwells in generational divide and rule, manifested in his Sukuta Rally speech. Instead of telling Gambians about how to fight corruption, drug trafficking, static or zigzag electricity shortages, hunger and starvation, and job creation for the population, he shamelessly insults opposition leadership.
This became a national embarrassment, as it belittled the presidency of our republic. The Gambia, having a young population, is unfortunate to have presidents who respect citizens, prioritize their needs and general well-being or livelihoods, which may potentially boomerang, leading to generational gridlock, anger, and a fear of unrest, due to enormous unmet needs of the Gambian people. The time is now to vote Barrow out and replace him with someone sensible who can relate to the everyday suffering of our people.
