A sigh of relief

It is a big relief to see the release of Imam Baba Leigh of Kanifing Estate mosque, who was picked up from his house and detained for more than five months without trial.
The reason for his detention is still not known to many Gambians.

Since his disappearance on 3rd December 2012, several theories have been given as to his whereabouts or his welfare amid growing concerns as well.

While we welcome the move by President Jammeh to release Baba Leigh, we would like to appeal to him to be more tolerant and forgiving.

President Jammeh, we all know, is no stranger to running the affairs of this country, having been at the helm of affairs for nearly 19 years now.

With the release of Imam Baba Leigh, President Jammeh should further set the ball rolling by forgiving all those within and outside the country, who have in one way or another offended him in the past five years or so if any at all.

Also to further demonstrate his commitment to national reconciliation, we would like to see him take practical steps towards healing old wounds, and encouraging all Gambians to live amicably with one another as members of one big extended family.

Irrespective of political affiliation, Gambians would like to see President Jammeh carry all Gambians along towards achieving his Vision 2020 and other set objectives for this country.

As a leader, President Jammeh should be ready to accept genuine criticism and understand that we are all part of one big family and mistakes do happen.

In fact great leaders learn more from criticisms, which, like mistakes, are the standards by which we measure our progress in life.

One thing we have always emphasized in these pages is the need for praise-singing to be discouraged at all levels of government, because experience has shown that praise-singers are chameleons who take on the prevailing colour just to alleviate their own poverty.

In the political history of the world, praise-singers are known to have jumped boats mid-stream.

Finally, as we look forward to mending fences, we pray that justice and wisdom should guide all our actions so that peace, progress and prosperity will prevail all the time in The Gambia.

“Always forgive your enemies but never forget their names.”
Kennedy Robert