On Thursday morning, President Barrow received Col Samsudeen Sarr, a retired author and diplomat, who presented him his latest book, “Story of a Retired Military Officer and Diplomat,” according to a statement from state house.
Col. Sarr, who was accompanied by government spokesperson and presidential advisor on diaspora affairs, Ebrima G. Sankareh, thanked the Gambian leader for his support in the publication of his book.
The book recounts the 1994 military coup that ended the regime of Dawda Kairaba Jawara.
The young Captain Yahya Jammeh, who became the country’s leader after this unconstitutional change, ruled The Gambia for 22 years before losing the 2016 presidential election to President Barrow.
President Jammeh was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after reneging on his promise to leave office.
Mr. Sarr hopes his book will serve as a persuasive example to prevent coups in Africa.
“I hope that every soldier will read this book and that it will become a reference for anti-coup prescriptions,” he said.
Colonel Sarr wrote the book against the backdrop of a series of coups in several West African countries.
President Barrow expressed his commitment to supporting academic and intellectual initiatives in The Gambia.
He lamented the decline of the culture of reading due to social networking and hoped that Mr. Sarr’s new book would inspire Gambians to read and write more.
Colonel Sarr is also the author of Meet Me In Conakry.
AC/lb/as/APA