STATEMENT BY HALIFA SALLAH
  WE OWE OUR CHILDREN A BETTER
  QUALITY OF LIFE THAN WE INHERITED
  The 2007 National Assembly election is now history. NADD put up 5 candidates and developed tactical alliance with many Independent candidates. 
  Eventually, most of the Independent candidates declined to contest. This confirms the resilience of some of us in the opposition who refused to bow down to any inducement over the years. The NADD candidate did remarkably well. In Wuli East, the NADD candidate got 2,691 votes while the NADD candidate for Sandu got 2,749 votes.
  The Independent candidates that developed a tactical alliance with NADD almost won in Jokadu and Niamina East. This confirms that in a country where the balance of power between majority party and the minority parties are grossly unequal tactical alliances are means through which the balance of power can be maintained.
  Now that NADD has only one seat many people are asking me what the future holds for NADD and for me as its flag bearer.
  The answer is simple. The future is created by thoughts and actions that are in line with the demands of time and circumstances. It does not fall from the sky. History is also made by translating visions into missions that can yield concrete results in enhancing the liberty and prosperity of a people.
  These past days have been a period of reflection for many people I have had association with. There are diverse responses to the result of the election in Serrekunda Central.
  Some in the APRC leadership had wished me good riddance. According to their very words the loud mouthed person who has become a spectre to his government has been booted out by people who do not want to hear his voice again “enough is enough” they said.
  In short, to some people, the tongue of clarity needs to be twisted and the mouth of the eloquent zipped. Being deprived of a seat is equaled with being deprived of the authority to speak on behalf of the people. On the other hand; others are still mourning. They are visiting me by the dozens to express their regret. “We betrayed the cause” said one young person. “We gave our voters cards just to play in a tournament. You are for us but we betrayed you.” He concluded.
  It is however necessary for me to assert with all the emphasis I can command that a nation does not earn respect because of the reputation of its individual leader but because of the collective contribution of its best sons and daughters. Irrespective of what some Gambians may think of me I would like to assure the Gambian people that what is uppermost in my mind is how to defend the integrity of the country in particular and Africa in general in every international fora. The truth of the matter is that political parties come and go. Leaders also come and go. However, our countries remain. Ghana for example is more known today because of the thoughts and deeds of Nkrumah than the deeds of any other party or individual leader after him.
  It is, therefore, important to assure the Gambian people that my departure from the National Assembly will not lead to a reduction of my statue as a propagator of the core values which are designed to make Africa a democratic and developed continent, and her people a free and prosperous people. This is the vision I have of Africa and I have vowed to devote my entire life in or outside of the National Assembly, in or outside of government to the attainment of such vision. 
  To those who misunderstand my statement that if I fail to retain the seat I will fall back to academia, I would like to convey the view that the pursuit of knowledge is not necessarily isolated from active participation in the process of emancipating a people from ignorance, powerlessness and poverty.
  History teaches us that the emancipation of a people has always been connected with, dependent on and determined by the powers of knowledge and organisation. An organised and a knowledgeable people can never be voiceless, helpless and poor. They dictate the agenda of society, instead of being dictated to. 
  Now that I am not a National Assembly member, I cannot spend my time debating on National Assembly issues or planning for another election. There is need for me to acknowledge that other people may emerge who may be better qualified to perform executive or legislative functions. It is now Sidia Jatta’s role to deal with National Assembly issues. I must move to a wider world in thought and action. Being a National Assembly member had extricated me from my nature. I had to be combative. Now I can resort to serene intellectual life and deal with high grade issues. 
  In fact, my wish was to serve two terms as National Assembly member to complete my contribution at the National level and the Pan African level.
  In the same vein, I was convinced during the presidential election that a one five years term as President would have been sufficient for me to work as team leader to guide the building of genuine democratic institutions to promote sustainable, people centred, socio-economic and cultural development. 
  Now that I have not been given another mandate, I am left with no option but to devote myself to knowledge production and help NADD to improve its organizational capacity, evolve into a broad base national party by building branches and structures throughout the country. At this stage, it is neither prudent nor progressive to assume that I am a National Assembly member or President in the waiting. What is as clear as noon day is that I am a sovereign Gambian citizen who has no constitutional mandate to represent anyone. My duty now is to serve the country and the people in whatever way I can. This includes the building of my own capacity as a thinker as well as acquiring the records necessitated by academia to show for it. This cannot be equated with the notion of abandoning NADD and the people.
  My immediate task is to convene an executive meeting to review the results of the election after welcoming Sidia Jatta. This review will include matters regarding my role as flag bearer. I am willing to relinquish the function if it is to the best interest of NADD and the country. I will humble myself to any decision taken by the executive. I will also not make any unilateral decision in defiance of the popular will of the NADD executive in particular and members in general.
  Secondly, we have to pave the way forward for NADD in Wuli West in particular and the country at large. 
  Thirdly, I have to review the People’s Centre’s mandate, detach the National Assembly function and transform it into a Centre for Social Science Research and Civic Awareness.
  It will be registered as a consultancy for knowledge production in all fields of Social Science. I intend to free myself from day to day handling of cases and make referrals to the new National Assembly member.
  I will devote my time to production of literature for schools in Social Sciences, I intend to write children stories, novels and hand books on parliamentary procedure and other issues of governance and conduct research in general. I intend to build a major Pan African library and travel widely to promote knowledge of a new vision for Africa, Africans and humanity at large. I intend to be more prominent in the national and the world scene than I have been as a National Assembly member.
  The battle of civilization has been largely based on the force of ideas and practice, thoughts and actions. Practice guided by just ideas breeds a just society. Over the years I have proven that I am not driven by any motive but to serve the Gambian people. I have always been determined to see to it that I leave a world that is a better place than the one I have inherited from my parents. 
  I hope, my practice of moving about just few hours after the results were declared to talk to people and calm them would be another proof that, to Halifa Sallah, holding public office is not a symbol of status but a position of service. Hence being in or out of position of representation only changes the form of service but not its essence. Hence those who think that they are reducing Halifa Sallah to nothing by fighting for him to lose a National Assembly seat have only given him the opportunity to do what he had always wanted to do but could not do, that is, to caress the minds of generations yet unborn with the tender brush of intellectual clarity and thus contribute his quota to the building of knowledge based societies on the continent.
  To conclude, I wish to thank all those lovers of truth who contributed immensely to a successful campaign. People voted with their hearts by lining up in the street to welcome us and by appearing in their multitude, during our rallies. Few people predicted that I could lose the seat. Many now feel that they should have done more if they knew that this would be the outcome. I could feel the sense of loss in the citizenry and I am touched by the tears being poured. I want to reiterate once more that the purity of gold is determined by its capacity to endure the heat of the fire and the pounding of the hammer. Genuine democrats never fear losing seats. On the contrary, the eventual merit of every genuine democrat is the ability to humble public office so that one does not gain or lose any status by assuming or vacating office. He/she whose duty it is to serve sees public office as a position of service not a position of privilege.
  I want to assure all those who wished me to be their representative that Halifa Sallah does not feel any sense of loss of status by not retaining the seat. As the old saying goes “He that is down fears no fall.” I wish to assure them that even though there will be a change in the form of service as dictated by the circumstances, my everlasting commitment to serve the people is irrevocable.
  To those who ask me to keep hope alive I must say that only the ignorant and the opportunist can fail to realise that progress is not achieved once and for all. It goes through stages. Sometimes, two steps forward is followed by one step backward. This should not retard progress. It should offer lessons on how to avoid retrogression. 
  I would like to ask those young people who decided to allow their votes to be suppressed because of a football tournament whether they are qualified to complain if things get worse. I would also like to ask those members of the opposition who worked day and night for Halifa Sallah to lose the seat to explain to the future generation what they had hoped to gain by such an eventuality. A day before the National Assembly members are sworn in I will cease to be a National Assembly member. Will this lead to my disappearance from the public scene? No!
  Halifa and NADD can never be marginalized. Their contributions to liberty and prosperity have not even started. It is now that they will become more visible. The future will tell. History will record the evidence. The generations yet unborn will give their verdict. The ignorant and power hungry will always be marginalized and disregarded. The enlightened and selfless sovereign Gambian will also be counted and respected.
  The future of the Gambia rests in the hands of its conscious, respectable and dignified citizenry who can never be bought or intimidated but sees every human being on this earth as their equal. This Gambia is emerging. Sooner or later the people will indeed take charge to build a society of liberty and prosperity.
  Hope will be kept alive.
  There is no turning back.
   
   


 
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