Long-standing opposition leader Lawyer Ousainou Darboe has concurred that mal-governance has the potential to trigger civil strife.
In response to a question recently posed to him by JollofNews about the intricate link between governance and national security, and the potential of maladministration to cause civil unrest, the UDP leader said: “As you said, if people wallow in extreme hardship, it causes civil strife. If it’s seen that those entrusted with the management of public affairs are fighting to eliminate or at least lessen the sufferings of the people, but their goals have yet to be fully realised I don’t think anyone will think of civil strife if you have that in a leader.
“But if you have a leader, whose wellbeing and welfare are guaranteed, and is leading a flamboyant lifestyle, mismanaging public funds while the masses groan under the sheer weight of hardship, this could bring civil strife as the masses will realise that these people we entrusted our affairs with do not care about us anymore and they care about only themselves. But if the masses come to the realisation that those entrusted with improving their wellbeing and welfare are doing their utmost, I don’t think that can cause civil strife.”
Darboe stressed that governance decay is a recipe for instability in any country.
“But no good citizen will wish for instability in his or her country because we have seen the destruction that the 1981 insurrection caused to the country. We have seen how what happened in 1994 had retarded the country. We don’t want the country to regress if it cannot progress, and that can happen when those entrusted with running public affairs are responsive to people’s needs.”
