By: Nana Owusu-Sekyere
Dear Sir,
Congratulation for your victory in the just ended Presidential elections and your relentless pursuit for the respect of the will of the people of Gambia. The Aftermath of the Yahya Jammeh episode should prompt you to swiftly rethink reforms in three key institutions of the Gambia.
This is to deepen good governance /sovereignty of the Gambia and provide the much-needed peace and security in the country beyond your tenure of office . These institutions must be resilient, professional, patriotic and independent.
One of such institution is the SECURITY SECTOR. The polarisation of the military by one ethnic group cannot be professional enough for the image of the army.
It is also a suspicion for ethnocentrism which isn’t good enough for nation building especially when the army is a critical institution not for one particular party or group of people but for the good people of the Gambia.
President Barrow, you may consider strengthening the LEGISLATIVE arm of the government if not the JUDICIARY/ constitution to address post election issues. Especially where the ELECTORAL COMMISSION has declared one victorious and there is a concession thereof.
Is it not curious to know that the erstwhile Jammeh administration wanted to employ judges from outside Gambia to sit on the matter? Does it not indict if not undermine the potency of the judiciary of Gambia? Does this not muddle their sovereignty? Or perhaps it’s purely bad governance that has led to the weakness in the judiciary in Gambia? In all these, Mr President, this must tell you there is work to be done with the legislature/judiciary.
Indeed upon close examination, the link between the legislature and security is undoubtedly a reality that cannot be overlooked. Fundamentally Mr, President, where the law is not defined or explicit on matters of national concern, not only will citizens interpreted the law as they perceived it which could lead to misinterpretations, misunderstanding ( in the case of Yahya Jammeh), possible conflict and thereafter generating an insecurity that is needless.
Mr President, It is therefore necessary to build a stong legislature/judiciary to address electoral disputes. In recommending all the above measures, President Barrow, it is important to first start with uniting the people of Gambia through the depoliticization of all institutions and reaching out to all through a well thought through amnesty program.
It will also be prudent to keep the ECOWAS stand by force in Gambia for an appreciable time to help train your military and bolden their presence in the country while protecting Gambia’s territorial borders. Long Live the Gambia , Long Live Ecowas and God Bless Africa
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