The words of Mr. Henry Gomez, leader of the opposition Gambia People Democratic Party (GPDP), published in The Point today are very pertinent indeed. He has expressed the view that though the just concluded two-day political consultative meeting held in the country is significant in all aspects, there is still need for greater collaboration between the Government of The Gambia and its opposition parties.
We as a nation should all be proud that The Gambia would be engaged in such talks as we have just witnessed, but it follows that representatives of all the people should be involved fully and not just in attendance. While the APRC is the largest party in The Gambia it is not the only one, so when talks of this kind take place representatives of all parties must be allowed to play a full and active role in the deliberations.
Here in The Gambia all our population love peace and want to see peace and stability spread throughout the sub-region and indeed the continent as a whole. We can accomplish this if we all work together to represent our nation fully at such talks. Great change can come about when a greater variety and quantity of ideas and views are discussed between people. It reminds one of the old adage "two heads are better than one".
Another pertinent proverb that applies to this situation is "charity begins at home".
Mr. Henry Gomez stated in his interview, "If the government of The Gambia is doing that for political party leaders of Guinea Bissau with the sole objective of bringing lasting peace in their country, I don't see any reason why they can't do it here in The Gambia."
There is a lot of sense in this statement. Through dialogue, discussion and an exchange of ideas we can all benefit as a nation as we move forward on our common path to development. The Millennium Development Goals we are trying to reach, the food self-sufficiency we are trying to gain, the high quality education we want for our children and the peace and stability we wish to see in our nation and sub-region are not the goals of any one party; they are the goals of every patriotic Gambian.
So in the future let us see a more inclusive politics practised in The Gambia. We would all reap the benefits with such eventuality.
