Significant worry has set in the hearts of many of us who support the respective political parties opposed to the regime of Yahya Jammeh.Individually and as civic minded groups, Gambians of all stripes have tried to work towards a cohesive unified front that would offer our people a clear alternative to a regime they instinctively know is not right for them.Here in the US, like minded Gambians began working years ago begining with late night telephone conversations and evolving to enthusiastic gatherings such as the overflow crowd in an Atlanta meeting hall
where representatives of opposition political parties met an eager constituency not dissimilar to the ones right there in The Gambia.
The bond between the frontline politicians present in that meeting and the cross section of ordinary Gambians from across the US and Europe was palpable . In the voices of the speakers and the eyes of the audience one sensed a deep yearning for a Gambia that was led by selfless honorable men anchored on democracy and the rule of law.
We had hoped to build on that air of optimism to execute a simple but critical proposition which has at it's heart a grand coalition of all the parties to effect regime change and establish a plural democracy that was functional with the requisite institutions and checks and balances.Despite the best efforts of a lot Gambians and non Gambian friends of our country, we have simply failed to have all the opposition political parties sign on to a straight forward arrangement.
I will not discuss any of the reasons advanced for the lack a united opposition because in the main it really doesn't matter what the reasons are. Considering the existential problems the nation faces at this juncture,no reason is good enough to risk the fate of a people that have already suffered enough under a regime whose failings are not up for debate.A temporary arrangement to persuade a plurality of Gambian voters to change course shouldn't take more than a weekend of meetings among the handful of opposition parties whose prinicipal figures live in the
same metro area.
It is disheartening to us ordinary citizens that arranging simple face to face meetings become arduos months long prodding and coaxing exercises with uncertain outcomes. The net result has been costly and has precitipated a significant enthusiacism gap and in some instances a real
crisis of confidence.
Each political party can rightly claim confidence in the validity of their policy prescriptions for the nation or that theirs is superior to that of the others and that the practice of democracy requires that those claims be tested in the political arena and they will be right. But what is also true is the fact that only regime change would bring about a competitive testing of ideas since the agents of change themselves would be the contestants in the vastly inproved democratic space they would have created. Therefore investing in regime change by putting aside
differences and fears would deliver the democracy dividend that would benefit the Gambain people and by extension the parties and people who seek to lead them.
What is clearly harmful to both the nation opposition political parties is a divided slate of candidates running what would amount to quixotic campaigns with a lot of their potential voters or supporters heartbroken, infuriated or both. To pursue a strategy whose only outcome can be failure is not worthy of great men who we know have and continue to sacrifice for the Gambia and it's people.
I have had the honor of meeting all of our current opposition political leaders and I have been impressed with their dedication to issues larger than themselves. It is in this spirit that I ask each of them to draw deep into their resevoir of selflessness , patriotism and the burden history has placed on them as leaders when our nation acutely needs leadership to enter into and swiftly conclude an all inclusive coalition and mobilise the nation to chart a better future.
The Gambian people will support you and the new direction you lead enthusiastically. What binds you is far greater than whatever divides you and the great democracy you build by unifying would bequeath to the nation a perpetual gift for succeeding generation of Gambians.
Karamba Touray