By: Hadram Hydara
The Campaign Manager of the main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), Momodou Sabally, who previously served as Secretary General and head of Civil Service under the Yahya Jammeh regime, has raised concerns regarding President Adama Barrow’s alleged intention to dispatch troops to Niger as part of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) plan to reinstate civilian rule in the country following the recent coup that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum.
Sabally has described this move as inappropriate and unwarranted.
“Niger’s problem is internal; it is a problem between the same nationals. Nobody should pick up weapons to go there and take sides. That should not happen.
“And to start conflict and war in Africa right now is not in Africa’s interest and progress”.
“In 2016, Gambia was an example; when the country had a problem, no gun was fired, and no bomb was detonated. The problem was resolved through negotiations.
“So, when Niger has a problem, I don’t think ECOWAS should be in a haste for a military action”.
Mr. Sabally criticized President Barrow for prioritizing a foreign country’s issue over the safety of Gambian youths who are planning to migrate to Europe through Niger. He believes that the lives of these thousands of migrants should be the main focus.
“The hardships facing African youths, especially Gambians youths who are currently in their thousands in Niger trying to reach Europe and they could not – some of them had problems there and went to Algeria and got shipped back to Niger again”.
“So, we are in that situation and [President] Adama Barrow has not thought about how to save the lives of Gambians in Niger but rather wants to take up guns and bombs to go and fight in Niger; This should not happen,” he said.
The campaign manager for UDP strongly denounced the proposal of sending Gambian military troops to Niger. He stated that if President Barrow truly cares about Gambian youth, he should not initiate a war in Niger because both Gambian military personnel and migrants would suffer casualties.
“I think what [President] Barrow needs to do is to get in touch with both sides and get them to negotiate to broker peace,” Sabally said.
