By Kebba Mamburay
The leader of Citizens ‘Alliance (CA) party, Dr Ismaila Ceesay, has called on Gambians to embrace the politics of oneness and debunk tribal politics- which he criticized by quizzing why one must think his/her tribe is superior to others.
“We are all Gambians irrespective of our tribal differences, now when we get sick and go to the hospital for treatment, the doctor will treat you because you are Gambian and not because you belong to a particular tribe, you are treated because you are Gambians and this is the same thing we want in our political spheres, politics of oneness,” he said.
Dr. Ceesay made these remarks last week amid the voter sensitization tour CA carried out in several communities, including Casa-Kunda, Serrekunda-nding, Busura-Nding, Kitty and Jalangbang.
Dr. Ceesay preached that voting is an obligation because it’s ones most sacrosanct right in a democratic country, adding that it gives one the chance to decide his/her future and that of his/her fellow citizens.
“It offers you the ultimate authority to outline the destiny of your country,” he said.
He said it is only through voting the right person in office that the situation of a country could be changed for good, and this cannot be done without a voter’s card.
“One must be able to secure him/herself a voter’s card to be able to determine for him/herself the person he wants to lead him/her. Without a Voter’s card, one is like a helpless person because when people are making decisions on who will lead them, one will have no say,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ceesay told the gathering that CA is a youth led established political party which aims to benefit the youth and women respectively. He said the population of youth and women are the highest in the country yet they are the most neglected by their leaders.
“The strength of every nation, lies in its youth, so therefore, it is high time, we start looking back and correcting the wrongs that had happened and make sure they are best remedied with lasting and tangible solutions,” he said.
Dr. Ceesay said most youth are not going to school because tuition and school fees are becoming unaffordable. He said Gambia College used to be free, but now one must pay nearly D12, 000.00 to be able to learn in the college.
“It is the responsibility of the government to provide you education and jobs, but they are not doing so. This is the reason why we have thousands of young Gambians uneducated and unemployed,” he said.
He said when the current government was taking power; it came with the intension of reforming the systems. But instead, he said, they are ‘reforming themselves and their families’.
“Most of these villages do not have proper road network, hospital or clinic, and there is no hope for you people at the time of emergency, because you cannot reach your destination on time, and the person might die. You therefore cannot rely on even RVTH, because the easiest way to ‘die is to go to RVTH’. These villages have no Market and access to clean running water which is making life difficult for you. In fact, every compound should have water and access to broad band internet. If the knowledge you have cannot help in transforming your nation, then the knowledge is of no use to the people,” he said.
