Scores
of businessmen and women in the country have expressed their total
dissatisfaction and condemned in the strongest terms the much-talked about
Operation 3 Years Jotna group; the pressure group that demands President Barrow
to step down after three years.
This
has come days after the Office of the Inspector General of Police announced
that it had issued a permit to the pressure group to protest in line with the
constitution of The Gambia.
Speaking
in an interview with The Point, Mariama Mbowe, a business woman in Bakoteh said
it would have been better if both parties dialogued and addressed the issue
amicably.
“It
would be better if they take it easy because protest is not good for any
country,” she said.
She added that people should just go by what
is stated in the constitution and not create any problem in the country.
“This
group knows what is written in the constitution but they just want to go out
and to cause commotion and spoil people’s properties,” she lamented.
Jainaba
Suso, a fish vendor at the Bakoteh market, also called on Gambians to forget
about the issue of Operation 3 Years Jotna and work towards the development of
the country.
“If
this three years problem starts, it is just going to affect our businesses,”
she said
Suso
indicated that the Operation 3 Years Group should just forget about the protest
and see how best to maintain peace and develop the country.
She
thus called for more dialogue and to contribute towards the development of the
country.
Another
concerned citizen, Binta Sidebeh stated: “We at the Serrekunda Market are not
part of the Operation 3 Years Jotna because all our hopes are in this market
and if the 3 Years Jotna embarks on protest, it would have a devastating impact
on our businesses,” she said.
She
explained that it is from the sales of their commodities at the market that
they use to pay for their children’s school fees, further calling on all to
join hands in the national development crusade rather than issues that would
hold the country to a standstill.
Baye
Joof, a mobile technician at Serekunda said that: “Though I understand that the
coalition agreed on three years, but, however, the constitution says five
years. So I just want to advise the Operation 3 Years Jotna group to bear that
in mind and allow President Barrow to go for 5 years,” he said.
Joof
reminded that “we all have exercised patience during the 22 years of
dictatorship of President Jammeh, so why not still exercise the same patience
in the remaining 2 years now.
“There
is need for more dialogue between the President and the Operation 3 Years Jotna
group so that peace can continue to reign in the country. Peace is crucial and
in any meaningful development. If you see us engaging in businesses; it is
because there is peace in The Gambia,” he said.
Ismaila
Touray, a steel fabricator and an electrical engineer, said that any person who
thinks well or has ambition should distance him or herself from the Operation 3
Years Jotna group.
Touray
described members of this pressure group as people who don’t have the interest
of the country at heart, judging from what they want to do.
“I
believe that anyone who thinks very well and has an ambition will never be part
of this group (3 Years Jotna). Because if people understand where problems
normally start then no one will get involved in this protest,” he stated.
According
to him, it seems this pressure group wants to play with the Gambian people,
adding that Gambians shouldn’t allow that to happen.
Omar
Bah, meat seller in Abuko, expressed similar sentiments.
“We
at Abuko Abattoir are not part of the 3 Years Jotna and we will never be part
of it because we come here every day to look for something and provide food for
our families. We don’t even want to hear about 3 years,” he declared.
According
to him, they at the central abattoir really hate this group because all what
they need in the country is peace, adding that Gambians have been so patience
during the 22 years of brutal regime of President Jammeh.
Baye
Fafa Bah, a cattle dealer at Abuko, said that the issue of 3 Years Jotna has
already started to cripple the business environment, citing that some of them
as businessmen are even afraid to come to the abattoir because of this protest.
Yankuba
Marong, timber businessman, called for all to go by the Gambian constitution,
which says five years.
“However, the reason why I am not that much
against 3 Years Jotna is because they also have right to protest because
President Barrow first agreed to stay in power for 3 years,” he added.
Meanwhile, one Sheriff Ceesay, diasporian, and
a member of Operation 3 Years Jotna, has called on Gambians to come out and
rally behind the movement. According to him, he has arrived in the country to
take part in the Dec. 16 ‘peaceful protest.’
“My
family and I are behind the Operation 3 Years Jotna,” he declared, adding that
his son was among the authors of the movement’s correspondences.
Mr.
Ceesay explained that Dec. 16’s protest is going to be peaceful as they intend
to hand over what he called the petition to the president. He added that a
response is expected from President Adama Barrow by January 19, 2020, and if he
fails, another demonstration will be staged on January 20.
