The Gambia Association of Construction Consultants
Statement on the Elections of 1 December 2016
The Gambia and Gambians are renowned and respected all over the world for the three cardinal principles of peace, patience and tolerance, hence the apt title of Smiling Coast of Africa and it’s prayerful national anthem which inter alia include – Freedom and Peace Each Day”. The Gambians went to the polls on Thursday 1 December 2016 and on 2 December on a blessed Friday, the results were announced and Your Excellency President Yahya A J J Jammeh as the first citizen of The Gambia called President Elect Adama Barrow to congratulate him on his victory and assured him of your full support during the transition period. That singular gesture repositioned The Gambia as a shining example of Democracy and Peace for the entire World. Your actions on that momentous day REVERED you a special place in the hearts and minds of every Gambian, well-known as a peaceful and patient nation, and our smiles were amplified. Your divine words ” I came to power on a Friday on 22 July 1994, and the Gambian people voted me out of Friday 2 December 2016 after 22 years as President are ordained by the will of The Almighty Allah – The Gambians have now elected you and I wish you the best of luck” .President Elect Adama Barrow appreciated your kind words and indicated that ” He was indeed also born on a Friday”. Both of you were born in the year of Gambia’s attainment of Independence in 1965.
Please pay attention to the Fridays and the 2’s in these epoch- making dates.
Given the foregoing ,it is therefore with a deep sense of concern that the Gambia Association of Construction Consultants, The Gambia, the famous Smiling Coast turned to the “Crying Coast of Africa” when barely a week later, you unilaterally disowned your own words and decided not to accept the results, thereby REVILING the Gambian community . The National Anthem also reads “Let justice guide our actions towards the common good”. Your party has filed a petition in the Supreme Court of The Gambia – however – you were the competent authority to have appointed a Supreme Court and the superior court judges have not been appointed for over a year- travesty of justice that has resulted in this quagmire. Furthermore the entire membership of the Independent Electoral Commission was appointed by Your Excellency and these were the same personalities that presided over the last Presidential elections which you WON.
Life is all about making an Impact and leaving a Legacy- the fact is that you contributed your quota especially in the area of Infrastructural Development and our Association can attest to that fact with specific reference to such ICONIC Infrastructure projects such as the Airport , GRTS , The National Assembly , University of The Gambia , Roads, Bridges and so on .
Your Legacy is now to ensure a peaceful transfer of authority to President Elect Adama Barrow and thereby safeguard the Life and Property to which you were sworn to defend and protect, but more importantly our Dignity and Respect as Proud Gambians.
Recalling the words of the former President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan on his election defeat to President Muhammad Buhari “No Ambition or Position is worth the blood of a single Nigerian.”
Again to the National Anthem “Keep us, great God of Nations to The Gambia ever true.
May Allah The Almighty, The Omnipotent, The Omniscient, The Omnipresent grant you the wisdom to let PEACE reign in The Gambia – our Homeland .We hope and pray that we do not become the “Mourning coast of Africa “but rather the “Reconciling Coast of a New Gambia in Africa “Peace is the most precious and most fragile commodity and the answer lies in your Hands.
Mahtarr Ousman Jobe – (On behalf of The Gambia Association of Construction Consultants)
