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Praise be to Allah

Nov 30, 2011, 11:47 AM

Gambians have once again proven to the entire world that theirs is a nation of peace-loving people.

The 24th November 2011 presidential election has come and gone without any reported violence, be it during the campaign or at any time during the elections period.

We are, therefore, grateful to the Almighty Allah for giving us this very precious gift amongst the human race.

We must also take this opportunity to congratulate all the presidential aspirants and their supporters for preaching peace throughout the campaign period.

In any competition, there must be winners and losers. In view of this reality, we call on all Gambians to overlook their differences and come together to develop this beautiful country of ours.

Looking at the structure of the Gambian society, typified by intermarriages and cohabitation, there can be no room for hatred amongst us.

As we stated on these pages ahead of the polls, The Gambia has been known very well for its relative peace and stability, and it should be the duty and responsibility of each and every Gambian to ensure that the peace that the country has been known for is maintained.

Despite the heterogeneous composition of Gambian society, there is peace here, which makes it the envy of the region.

It is this culture of peace that we want to see nurtured with vigilance, so that The Gambia could be turned into the Silicon Valley of the African continent, as captured in the national vision.

Having different ideologies should never make us enemies.

One requirement of true and lasting peace, though, is dependent on our political leaders being committed to social justice as well as economic justice.

Where there is neither of these, discontent becomes prevalent, and it can find expression in many and various tragic ways, as we have seen in some parts of the continent.

We want to add that in the name of peace and national unity let us all bury the hatchet for the common good of our children.

“There’s divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will”

William Shakespeare

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