Gambians, what does celebrating the birth of our nation mean to you? We could have celebrated much more than we did, only if we had invested the money towards our future. Investments into building a hospital or provide medical care to Gambians such as the family of Isatou Jallow and many other Gambians that are in need of medical attention. The country and her people have a long way to go. The Gambia might be independent, but half the population are living in poverty, we can’t continue to ignore this situation. Our ignorance and negligence is the reason we are going through the TRRC 54 years later and the country is still crying for help from her people when we can’t even provide basic needs for our people such as health care, security and energy.
It is extremely disheartening to see a country’s population, who is less than 3 million, still relying on the public for medical treatment while the present government is purely focused on staying in power without a sense of development or the improvement of her citizenry.
Mental illness in our youth and an uprise shown of HIV and AIDS infection is clear evidence of economic oppression by the Gambian government. If citizen have no means of reliable income their struggle leads to desperate acts and sexual activities as a way of survival. This is why am calling on the president to change his direction to the development of young people and the health care system. It is the only way to develop a country. When you look back historically at countries that have suffered from economic depression they have issues in common, mental health and sexually related diseases. This is why we need to pay attention to the health care system and address this problem. We need awareness and action to take place.
A nation is great not by its size alone, it is the will, the cohesion, the stamina, the discipline of its people and the quality of their leaders which ensure it an honourable place in the world, So Gambia let’s take a step back and ask ourselves what do we want? The future is no longer waiting for us. Let us put aside our differences and come together for the betterment of our country, the Gambia. Our attention needs to be here on these issues more than ever before. Let’s make the Gambia great for the future generation.
Thank you and God bless the Gambia and her citizens.
