Rene,

It is young men and women who carry the awareness you have highlighted who
can certainly replace members of my generation and reduce us to mere
advisers.

The future requires broader minds to be built in a more advanced manner.
Reality is both certain and relative at the same time. Knowledge must
encompass both the certainty and relativity. No human being lives forever.
No human mind can be an embodiment of all knowledge. Each just takes what
time, circumstances and effort permit and others must continue the arduous
climb to that height not for its sake but to develop the capacity to be the
architects of our natural and social circumstances.

The future is built today and not tomorrow, for its building blocks are
prepared today. The sooner younger people become concern and see themselves
as the architects of the future, the quicker we end the suffering of our
people.

People like my humble self are getting older. We are not very sure whether
we will live to see the type of Africa that we have always yearned to see.
One thing I can assure you is that I personally prefer never to be a part of
any government at all than to be a part of a government that oversees the
destruction of the life and liberty of the people. This much I can say.

Sometimes, people do confront us to assert that the world is one of
conditionalities and that people have noble aims, but would find it
difficult to implement them when they are in power because of external
conditionalities.

What I often say to them is that any government which compromises the
enjoyment of liberty, dignity and prosperity of her people is a government
that is not fit to govern; that if I were to find myself as elected
representative of the people only to discover that we could not evolve the
strategies, be they regional, international or other alliances, that could
expand authority to influence international, political or economic relations
but are destined only to implement policies that would increase the misery
of the people, it would be best to hand power back to the people and tell
them that one has tried to do one's best but one's best is not enough to
ensure their liberty, dignity and prosperity.

I hope as a new generation emerges, they will be cultured in such a
tradition of serving, not for the pursuit of high office or personal gains
but to build a great country that would guarantee the best of existence to
her people. If Africa brings out such sons and daughters from her womb, it
will certainly rise "like a star among the world constellation of nations"
as those who loved her always yearned for her during the emergence of the
Pan African Movement.

Feel free to send me personal mails; to question anything or give your
opinion wherever you feel we are going wrong. Your honest opinion would
always be appreciated. Continue the dialogue with other young people like
yourself. Read the mails, study the type of personalities whom you can forge
common links with. Do not hesitate to send personal mails to them. The
future is yours. This is a time to forge alliances. We have stepped on toes.
You have not stepped on any toes yet. There is a lot that you could still do
to contribute to the great awakening of the Gambian people, in particular,
African people and humanity, at large. This is an era for people of
awareness and conscience. Keep it up.


Greetings.


Halifa Sallah.

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