The removal of Yahya Jammeh is not the end of the story, it is only the first step in the country’s long road to democracy and development.
The Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh eventually came to terms with the reality of his expired presidency and bowed to The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS’) pressure to peacefully cede power to the democratically elected President, Adama Barrow. By doing so he prevented unnecessary violence and played a key role, albeit a villainous one, in bringing about the first ever democratic transfer of presidential power since The Gambia’s independence, a milestone for a country that had become a pariah state. However, as epoch-making as getting Jammeh to democratically cede power was, it is still just a step in The Gambia’s very long road to sociopolitical progress and economic development. Now, more than ever, the focus must turn to Adama Barrow and how he leads The Gambia over the next four years.
At his inauguration ceremony in The Gambian embassy, Senegal, Adama Barrow declared “this is the day that The Gambians will never forget in their lifetime.” It is similar to what Yahya Jammeh said in 1994, when he deposed sit-tight president, Dawda Jawara and promised that his rule would be different. Now it is President Barrow’s governance that must be different. The Gambians have, for over 100 years, been under oppressive regimes of some sort; first the British colonial masters, then Presidents Jawara and Jammeh. Through these decades of oppression, the tiny country has become more known for the poverty of its people, repression by its leaders and desperation of its youths which has led thousands of them into illegal migration to Europe; hundreds of whom have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. If Gambians are to make Barrow’s inauguration day one that they would never forget, then he must offer them the kind of leadership that they have never experienced.
At the moment, the most positive thing about Gambia, known to the wider world, are its beaches, and this is only because of the hundreds of Europeans who have made it their getaway location. Barrow must now include to The Gambiae scant list of popular positive features, strong institutions, government respect of human rights and the rule of law, and the empowerment through quality education and gainful employment, of its people, especially the youth. These are achievable feats, but their realisation greatly depends on President Barrow’s resolute commitment, principled governance and innovative leadership; qualities that are in limited supply among leaders of the continent and indeed the regional bloc that helped him to power.
ECOWAS has been rightly applauded for standing up for democracy in Gambia and helping end the despotic rule of Yahya Jammeh, but many of its leaders, in their individual capacities as heads of state, have been disappointing. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, leader of the ECOWAS bloc, transformed her rule from one of great hope when she assumed power in 2006 to one of great disappointment. Liberia, still plagued by poverty, underdevelopment and a more sublime form of corruption, is only marginally better than she met it as president ten years ago. Nigeria, a major supporter of ECOWAS’ Gambian effort, has become worse under Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency, with rising inflation, widening poverty and inequality, deepening economic recession and growing sociopolitical tensions. Adama Barrow must look to these leaders, who, like him, ascended the presidency in the destabilisation of the old order, as examples of the kind of leadership that he should not imitate.
Many have described the Gambian effort as a new dawn in African politics. Unfortunately, it is not. The continent is replete with examples of democratic and liberation struggles that succeeded in achieving power but failed to engender significant and sustainable socioeconomic development. Africa and the international community have helped President Adama Barrow and his fellow Gambians achieve the former, now it must push and support them to achieve the latter. Only then can we celebrate The Gambia as the new dawn in African politics.
