In the recent past, we have seen how unscrupulous individuals are making efforts to acquire our national document through fraudulent means.
Around the globe, countries are jealously protecting their national documents from criminal syndicates, who are always in the rush to acquire it through fraudulent means.
In our yesterday’s edition of The Point, the leader and flagbearer of the United Democratic Party (UDP), Lawyer Alhagie Ousainou Darboe, dismissed claims that the Gambian government ever approved the issuance of national identity cards to citizens abroad, calling such actions a clear violation of the law.
His remarks come amid mounting pressure on the government's decision to allow the issuance of national documents to Gambians abroad. We have seen it in neighboring Mauritania and now in most European countries.
It is true that while Gambians abroad deserve access to national documents like passports, there should be stringent regulation and thorough vetting as to how it should be administered.
Many times, we heard foreigners are using all means to acquire our national documents. This not only puts our documents at risk of falling into the wrong hands, but also calls for more vigilance by all.
Our national documents are for Gambians. And we cannot sit back and allow foreigners to acquire our documents on false claims.
As a matter of fact the number of stateless people moving from one country to another is alarming. It has become an increasing concern to authorities in Africa. This has not only put the lives of these individuals at great danger, but also poses serious challenges to authorities especially in ascertaining their countries of origin.
On a daily basis, thousands of people are on the move and some of these people are without required proper national documents. So most of these people tend to capitalise on small chances especially when a country’s documents are not properly secured or synchronised. In this day and age, it is only documents that guarantee one's origin. It is high time we put much emphasis on how the country issues its national documents.
Together we can build a better Gambia for all.