By Bubacarr Drammeh
Today, 18 February 2018, The Gambia celebrates its fifty-third anniversary of independence from British colonial rule. This is the second-independence anniversary commemoration since President Adama Barrow took office after his election in 2016. A statement from the State House in Banjul states that “the President is pleased to inform the General Public that His Excellency, Mr. Adama Barrow, the President of the Republic of The Gambia has declared Monday, 19 February 2018 as public holiday throughout the country, to mark the 53rd independence anniversary celebration of The Gambia, which falls on Sunday, 18 February 2018.”
Unlike the ceremony for last year’s independence celebration that took place at the Independence Stadium in Bakau when Barrow was sworn into office on Gambian soil proper, which was attended by leaders from neighboring countries, the Office of the President states that this year’s “celebration will take place at the McCarthy Square in Banjul.”
Readers would recall that Barrow was first sworn into the office of president at The Gambian Embassy in Dakar by the then Acting-President of The Gambia Bar Association, Mr. Sheriff Tambadou, when former President Yahya Jammeh refused to transfer power on the day his term of office ended after he was defeated in the December 2016 Presidential Election. Barrow would later be sworn in again to the Oath of Office by the Chief Justice of The Gambia, Hassan B. Jallow on 18 February 2017 — the first independence anniversary he celebrated in office as president. The celebration and swearing in recorded a unique moment in Gambian history as citizens witnessed for the first time power was being transferred from an incumbent administration to a new president elected in a democratic election.
Besides the choice of a different venue for the celebration, this year’s celebration looks like a low-key event as the government has not announced the presence of regional and foreign presidents in the country for the anniversary. Instead, the Office of President states that “the Security Forces, representatives from 110 schools, five (5) voluntary organisations and regional athletes will take part in the march past.”
Even though the celebration would be less of a fanfare compared to last year’s, it’s a departure from the approach of the former president Yahya Jammeh who decentralized the independence celebration to regional capitals around the country. Many critics of Jammeh alleged that his actions were motivated to downplay the importance of independence to the anniversary of 22 July—the day he seized power in 1994. Barrow’s approach would be a return to the old-fashion way Gambians have always celebrated their independence anniversary until it was changed by Mr. Jammeh.