Indeed, every genuine Gambian who loves and cherishes his/her citizenship should condemn the recent decision by the government of President Adama Barrow to withdraw its support for Ba Tambadou’s candidature for a judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in favour of a non-Gambian. That is the height of self-betrayal.
Regardless of whatever Tambadou may been accused of doing or failing to do in the disposal of former President Yahya Jammeh’s assets, which still remain mere accusations, there is no justification to deny a Gambian citizen an opportunity to serve in such a prestigious international position.
Therefore, while I fully agree with the United Democratic Party (UDP) leader, Ousainou Darboe’s public condemnation of the government decision, but I differ with his approach. There was absolutely no need for him to try and make political capital out of the issue, which he seems to have done in this particular instance. Otherwise, what was the point in mentioning the ethnic group that Tambadou belongs to, when there was absolutely no reason to do so? Therefore, even the dumbest person saw that Mr. Darboe was unfairly using Tambadou’s predicament to score some political points against the Barrow administration.
While I am not in any way defending Tambadou’s alleged role in the asset disposals, or whatever else he may be accused of, the fact remains that he served this country to the very best of his ability, with dedication and decorum. We can recall that he sacrificed quite a lucrative international appointment with the UN Tribunal for Rwanda to return and serve the new administration for a fraction of the pay and other privileges he had been enjoying. Also, whatever one may say about him, Tambadou has so far served as the most effective Attorney General and Minister of Justice we have ever had in this country since independence, effectively steering it through a difficult transition. Therefore, he certainly deserves much more than the type of treatment he is getting from this administration.
Having worked with him, both in cabinet and other fora, I know how much Tambadou loves this country and how far he is prepared to go to sell the country’s positive image. As such therefore, the government’s decision to ditch him for a non-Gambian sounds like the betrayal of the century.
