Gambian feminist and social justice advocate Matida Kebbeh said she was not surprised by President Adama Barrow’s decision to come clean on his political ambition which to her betrays the trust and confidence of his compatriots.
There have been mixed reactions in The Gambia after President Adama Barrow dropped the clearest hint yet of his ambition to form his own political party ahead of the country’s next presidential election in 2021.
President Barrow made the statement in the capital city Banjul after weeks of a nationwide Meet the People Tour as constitutionally mandated of a Gambian head of state every year.
“I was just waiting for the announcement, now that we all know he has officially assumed the seat for another five years, what this shows is a clear manifestation in African politics that once you taste power it becomes hard to relinquish it” Matida tells the African Press Agency.
She added: “It also means that we no longer have faith in Barrow or trust him whatsoever, he will have to try extremely hard to gain the confidence of the people if not it will be politics as usual, remember that he came to power with an electoral promise to lead the country for three years, and virtually nothing has been achieved, only plans on paper”.
Kebbeh believes that those who remain in his immediate power circle are not there for The Gambia but to line their pockets.
“We now openly see the competition on the political landscape instead of the presidency focusing on national development plans” she adds.
And she cautions Barrow and his rivals for the presidency to the effect that the political landscape is so crowded that, all it means it that it would be hard for one single political party to poll 40 percent, in the next election in 2021.
“We clearly see a fractious relation among parties in the National Assembly” she adds.
President Adama Barrow was a member of the United Democratic Party (UDP) until 2016 when a coalition of seven political parties joined ranks to unseat former strongman Yahya Jammeh who led the country for twenty two years.
However, two years into his administration Barrow and his former political Godfather Ousainou Darbo of the UDP fell out and have since morphed into bitter rivals.
In the just recently concluded “Meet the Peoples’ Tour nationwide, huge crowds accompanied President Adama Barrow amid tumultuous fanfare throughout the country, a spectacle which had imbued him with the belief that he would be favourite to win the presidency again.
However, some of his detractors warned that several missteps could cost President Barrow the presidency in what could be the most unpredictable election since independence.
DB/as/APA