In 1965 the first person who became prime minister of the country was 41 years old. He led the country from 1965 to 1970 as prime minister under a constitutional monarchy with a governor general representing the British Crown as the symbol of executive authority.
The 46-year-old prime minister became the president of the Republic of The Gambia on 24th April 1970 and continued to lead The Gambia for another 24 years before he was overthrown at the age of 70 by coup makers whose chairman, Yahya Jammeh was a 29-year-old lieutenant who is reported to be born on 25th May 1965.
He led The Gambia from the age of 29 to the age of 51 when he was replaced by President Adama Barrow on 19th January 2017 at the age of 51. He has been in charge up to 18th February 2025 as Gambia moved into the second phase of the second republic without a national consensus on how to get there.
Amid the fanfare and recollections of the various events that led us to be where we are today and the semblance of national dialogue and national cohesion that is orchestrated lies the question of how committed and sincere we are to the course of self-determination, self-reliance and genuine independence. This is the question Gambians are asking after the fanfare of 18th February 2025 symbolised as the diamond jubilee of independence.
