After days of relentless calls by concerned Gambians for the President to address the nation even though I personally don’t see the need for it, he is set to give a prime time speech tonight slated for 8pm local time. This follows a surge of Covid-19 cases in our country both in infection and in mortalities, overwhelming our already strained health care system and threatening to shut down our economy. With the President in isolation and many cabinet Ministers contracting the virus, Gambians were left to fend for themselves for the most part as the authorities rely on muscular enforcement of emergency powers to contain the transmission. Sadly, the only leadership presence Gambians feel is through press releases and patrolling men and women in uniform..
The President’s planned address will be no different from his previous ones in the past. The uninspiring, scripted speech will be weak on facts, shallow in substance, light in specifics and devoid of empathy. This is because President Barrow has been living in a bubble within the confines of the State House luxury and detached from the every day reality of the struggling Gambians. Worse, he has surrounded himself with like minded sycophants and political hacks solely preoccupied his self-succeeding efforts and blaming everyone and everything else than serving the critical needs of the people. Even when faced with the life and death situation of his own people President Barrow has demonstrated jarring unpreparedness, shocking disconnection and ineffective leadership to sail through the storm.
Thus, while I am relieved that our President is in good health, I am not not naive to believe that his address to the country will make any difference in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic plaguing our country. Not only is it too little too late, Gambians are simply used to his No Call/No Shows and our trust and confidence in his ability to turn things around are evaporating at astronomical rate!
The writer, Zakaria Kemo Konteh, is based in the United States.
