If professionalism and diplomacy matters in reflecting on the OIC held in The Gambia, objective analysis is the best option that will make us learn lessons from the event. It will also guide the executive on how to make the best use of the country’s Chairmanship of OIC in the next three years. Ofcourse, not all points will come out of this piece because in today’s Gambia, knowledge and capacity have been largely confined to the dustbin of history due to greed, selfishness, eye service and pretending to be competent when that is not the case in most situations. Let us look at the initial approach (steps taken on the OIC work). As mentioned before, the tragic mistake was to set up the OIC Secretariat as a Project Office.
OIC is a State event and should have been spearheaded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a National Steering Committee composed of people of diverse backgrounds. The Secretariat had no technical and diplomatic experience to approach all the activities associated with hosting the event. The rescheduling of the event three times and with seven years of preparations for the occasion, sent a signal to member states that the country had capacity problems to host the event. The 2006 AU Summit in The Gambia was very successful under a similar work plan. From the beginning it was known that the country had an International Conference Center built by the Chinese which could host the OIC meeting. The government could have approached the Saudi Arabia government to donate a five star hotel and name it after King Salman Hotel. Saudi Arabia built the King Fahad Hotel in Dakar when Senegal hosted the OIC Summit.
The Foreign Ministry could have been more proactive and organize state visits to atleast five key member states of the OIC for President Barrow to directly engage the Monarchs, Kings and Presidents to talk to them, commit them to the Summit and request for all assistance that will ensure the success of the Summit in The Gambia. This was a Summit and on such a big occasion, the attendance of Heads of States matter to be impactful on the decisions to be taken in the interest of the Ummah. The organization of such an important big event cannot be left entirely to officials. In our case, the President seemed to have relied too much on what the officials told him about the Summit, some of which were unfounded, not professional, not diplomatic and proper advice on the OIC preparations. Barrow did all he could for the country to host the OIC Summit despite the bottlenecks on the way and it was successfully hosted at least, at the level of member country attendance. The Gambia deserves congratulations for this achievement. However, the electricity situation and the uncompleted OIC roads are under the public radar for scrutiny. Looking further to the two day Head of States session, it must be stated that the Islamization rather than politicization in the opening and closing sessions of the Summit would have carried a better impression of the country’s muslim majority standing.
Some madrassas in their Islamic outfits and Diarass in Islamic songs could have been invited to welcome the guests at the Summit. Some young Arabic students could have been invited for the recitation of the Quran on the opening day of the Summit. This was an Islamic Summit and it should have been approached in that context. One has to understand the international environment and how the OIC is positioned in it.
One has to understand the Arab mode of operations and worldview and Arabs and their African perspective in particular. One has to understand the geopolitical situation of the Middle East and the contradictions in the Arab League. One has to understand the dynamics of international relations and how the national interest is pursued in the field. Henceforth, therefore, in the Chairmanship role of the OIC, it is advisable for the President not to entertain too much audience and access to him by various officials and their inputs. He must find a way of consulting other sources on matters relating to the OIC and sensitive administrative issues to enhance good governance.
Diplomacy is about building relations. There must be reasons why the attendance level at the OIC was low at the head of state level. It is up to the authorities to figure out the reasons and to know how to make our Chairmanship effective. The organization of OIC cannot be left entirely in the hands of officials and contractors. It requires strong executive interventions to move things forward. The transportation arrangements and security escorts were good. It was good that the government did not take for granted and purchased new vehicles for the Summit from a Gambian company. Every country empowers its national companies as a matter of priority in economic development.
We hear and see the fights between big powers with each protecting their national companies. We saw the bailout given to American companies during the world wide financial crunch and Covid-19 for sustainable development and job creation for the citizens.
Gambians should welcome similar moves by the government of Barrow. This will only put wealth in the hands of Gambians. The indigenisation of business life is in the best economic interest of The Gambia. We cannot continue to allow our business environment to be dominated by foreigners. We must think about the future and those of the generations ahead. Gambians must not be carried by small-mindedness in these important national reflections.
To make our Chairmanship role effective, the President must be given honest and professional advice based on competence, experience and knowledge of international politics and OIC mode of dealings in advancing the Ummah. The credit in any OIC undertakings must benefit the country as well.
This is important to be mindful of, because the OIC Summit held in The Gambia could have been a big opportunity for the country to benefit from much financial, economic, investment and diplomatic gains but it has left us regretful in many ways. Yes, politically, it was considered a success by many but objectively, the dividends expected have not been accrued to the nation, unless others know what the majority Gambians don’t know about.
