President Adama Barrow must be told the blunt truth that his silence on the tribal poison now spreading in Gambian politics is not neutrality. It is endorsement. It is complicity. And it is dangerous. In recent weeks, as the December 5 presidential election draws closer, The Gambia has witnessed a disturbing resurgence of tribal gimmicks. Political platforms including that of NPP have been turned into tribal rallies. Whisper campaigns have replaced policy debates. Candidates are being reduced to their surnames, their villages, their accents — not their ideas. The nation that survived 22 years of dictatorship by reclaiming its unity is being pushed, once again, to the edge of division.
And where is the President? He is silent. President Barrow is touring the country. He is commissioning projects. He is promising D50 million to women, promising new generators to Nawec, promising continuity. But he has not found his voice on the one issue that can burn this country down faster than blackout protests — tribalism.
This is not a minor omission. The President is the custodian of the Constitution. He is the president of all Gambians — Mandinka, Fula, Wolof, Jola, Serahule, Manjago, Aku, Serere and every other tribe that makes us beautiful. When tribal merchants whether in his own party or in the opposition try to divide us for votes, the presidency must thunder. It must condemn without equivocation. By refusing to condemn, President Barrow is sending a clear message to his surrogates and supporters: Do it. Divide them. It works.
We have seen this script before. When politicians cannot defend five years of record — when they cannot explain youth unemployment, when they cannot explain Nawec’s collapse, when they cannot explain the cost of living — they retreat to tribe. It is the oldest trick in the Gambian political playbook. It is lazy, it is cowardly, and it is lethal. The Gambia is too small to afford tribalism. In Banjul, a Mandinka landlord rents to a Fula trader. In Brikama, a Wolof fisherman buys from a Jola farmer. In our markets, our mosques, our churches, our schools, we are interwoven. No tribe can win an election alone, and no tribe can govern this country alone.
President Barrow once promised to be a president for all Gambians. He promised to heal the wounds of tribalism that Yahya Jammeh weaponised. Today, that promise rings hollow. If Barrow wants to be seen as a statesman and not just a candidate for a third term, he must act now. He must publicly and unequivocally condemn tribal rhetoric from any quarter — including his own NPP. He must caution his ministers, his campaign managers, and his surrogates to campaign on issues, not identity.
He must remind Gambians that the only tribe that matters is the Gambian tribe.
The December 5 election must be fought on who can fix Nawec, who can create jobs for the frustrated youth who burned tyres in Westfield, who can protect our democracy with a new constitution, who can keep our dalasi stable — not on who is Mandinka, who is Fula, who is Wolof.
Mr President, history is watching. In 2021, you won because Gambians believed you would keep the peace. In 2026, Gambians will judge you not only by the roads and generators you delivered, but by the peace you preserved. Your silence is loud. And right now, it sounds like endorsement. Speak. Before it is too late.