Dear Editor,
I write to you with a modest proposition grounded in standard logic and basic democratic arithmetic: protesting is not a national hobby; it is a non-negotiable fundamental right. Despite the persistent, obnoxious hindrances posed by the archaic Public Order Act, citizens do not take to the streets out of sheer glee. Protests are rarely the result of citizens waking up on a fine morning and deciding to march; they are almost always the direct consequence of lackluster public service delivery.
The recent demonstrations in Banjul were not a conspiracy; they were the predictable breaking point of residents driven to despair by Nawec’s chronic inability to provide basic electricity and water. When basic utility services collapse, citizen patience eventually collapses with it. The resulting scene may have bruised your ego, but threatening citizens with retaliatory measures or dark warnings of lethal outcomes is not only deeply counterproductive, but downright absurd in a constitutional democracy.
A peaceful society rests on an equitable social contract, not on fear. If the state wishes to deter protests, the formula is remarkably simple: combat corruption and deliver basic services. You simply cannot mismanage public administration and simultaneously expect the citizenry to be jolly.
It has not gone unnoticed that since the arrival of the new generators, you have neatly side-swiped the issue of Nawec, turning it into a non-subject on your recent tours. However, performance cannot be swept under the rug forever. Gambians are still patiently waiting for the full publication of the BOT Contract and the PPA Agreement with SOBESAI. Transparency is not an act of benevolence; it is a duty.
Mr President, this republic belongs to the sovereign people who entrusted you with power. You are answerable to them; never the other way around. In a functional democracy, a leader ought to be far more concerned about the citizens’ threat not to re-elect him than the citizens are about a government threatening the very people who hired it.
Furthermore, Hon Bah, the Member of Parliament for Banjul North, is a bona fide citizen and an elected representative of the people. We take your public threats toward him with utmost gravity. Consider this formal notice: whatever harm or misfortune befalls him will be laid squarely at your doorstep.
It is a well-documented historic truth that an ailing administration resorts to threats, intimidation, and muscle-flexing when logic and performance fail. Today, the continued mismanagement of our collective public resources has become the single greatest existential threat to public order and national peace.
The remedy is entirely within your hands, Mr President: do the right thing by the public trust, deliver on your mandate, and you will never have to worry about a single protest again.
Yours sincerely,
Nyang Njie
A Concerned Gambian Citizen
Barrow’s threats expose the dictator within!
Dear Editor,
President Adama Barrow’s threats against Hon Momodou Lamin Bah, the National Assembly Member for Banjul North, for participating in a peaceful protest in Banjul are deeply disturbing and utterly unacceptable.
Peaceful protest is not treason, and an elected representative’s duty is not to surrender to presidential intimidation!
For a President elected under a democratic Constitution to threaten that a lawmaker will never forget what will be done to him, while invoking Yahya Jammeh’s deadly repression, is a dangerous display of authoritarian tendencies.
Is this the democracy Gambians fought so hard to restore? Is this what Barrow has to offer a nation yearning for freedom, justice and accountable leadership?
The President is neither the law nor above it. He cannot criminalise dissent, intimidate elected representatives or use State power as a personal weapon against citizens who dare to challenge his government.
The warning signs are clear: Barrow’s democratic mask is slipping, revealing an increasingly intolerant attitude towards dissent.
Gambians must understand the danger before it is too late. Another five years of Barrow could push our country further towards authoritarian rule, where criticism is treated as rebellion and peaceful demonstrators are viewed as enemies of the State.
We must not wait until democratic freedoms are crushed before we act. The National Assembly, human rights institutions and every defender of democracy must stand firmly against intimidation and the abuse of presidential power.
The Gambia is a republic, not Barrow’s personal kingdom. State House belongs to the people, and no President has the right to rule through fear!
Never Again must mean never again—regardless of who occupies state house.
The choice before Gambians is clear: defend democracy now, or risk waking up under a ruler who believes his power is greater than the Constitution.
Tombong Saidy
