Personally, I don’t see any problem in the State allocating land to Barrow as his residence like other Gambians who have been allocated land for residential and institutional purposes.
Where in the law is it stated that the land in question belongs to Chief Justices of The Gambia. If the said land was reserved for Chief Justices of The Gambia then why is it the case that since Independence no Chief Justice had lived there?
It is to be stated that all land in Urban and Semi urban Gambia have been declared as State Lands under the State Lands Act which law is there for all to see.
The other question is why didn’t any other citizen apply for this particular piece of land for residential purposes all the past years. We might as well ask all those who live in Pipeline, Fajara and Cape Point how they acquired the land. Allocating land to Barrow in Fajara does not carry any political significance in my opinion.
After all, the first President has his residence in Fajara. It was never a political issue. Except for the politics of castigation, many in society see no big deal in Barrow getting land in Fajara.
I hold no brief for Barrow and I have never been a participant in any political Party in The Gambia.
But in my view, it is an entitlement of a citizen to own land in this country and Barrow should be no exception in this regard. I also think any builder of a house has the right to choose any contractor and supervisor of the project. Barrow has the same right in all fairness. Gambians are yearning for the ideas of politicians, intellectuals, activists and so forth on National issues and how this will be tackled in the best interest of society. The politics of triviality must give way to the politics of development for a better and prosperous Nation. We must be fair in our political assessment of leaders regardless of Party colour. Barrow is a citizen first before the Presidency. Acquiring land in the country is the right of every citizen of this country. Our politics is getting too petty and hateful in tone in recent times. It will yield no positive results for any Party or Leader. The said land in Fajara has never been a national issue and the state’s authority to allocate it for residential purposes remains legally intact. It cannot be politicalised. This is the objective reality.
