By Da One
Adopting French as a second (official) language will be as bad as having The Gambia returned to slavery and colonialism. Probably, both you and Fatoumatta may have little or no grasp of the historical and contemporary realms within which The Gambia became The Gambia; and how and why it was and still is suicidal to maintain even a single imperial language as a lingua Franca in The Gambia or even Senegal.
Yes, Fatoumatta is educated and experienced. Yes, she was instrumental in forming the Coalition 2016 that deposed a tyrant. And I respect all of the above. I also honor the sacrifice of all women and men who, in one way or the other, helped to bring a new dawn of politics in The Gambia. Having said that, political leadership comes with a huge amount of responsibility owed to one’s constituents.
To be able to fulfill a responsibility of such magnitude, three basic elements for leadership need to be available in proportional balance:
1) Knowledge and wisdom,
2) Know-how, and
3) A good sense for planning.
Many are eager to be accorded the privileges with which public trust comes. But they forget to SERVE once the honey gets tastier. Fatoumatta should have been the first one to reject outright, the piecemeal amendment of the constitution. Second, when Ousainou attacked and annihilated the original coalition agreement, Fatoumatta should have raised her voice publicly to condemn the bastardization of a contract sold to you and me as a genuine plan that should have governed our collective lot for nothing more than three years. If you don’t feel betrayed by that act, I will question the motive behind your disagreement with my opinion piece.
NOTE: I’d wanted to interact with you on the space where your comment was posted. I hope I will manage to show up there sooner than later.