By Tabora Bojang
Former first lady of The Gambia Tuti Faal has urged Gambians to resist politics of division, hate speech and infighting as it risks compromising the country’s long standing national unity.
Madam Faal made a surprising appearance at the NPP diaspora congress held in the US over the weekend.
In her address, she rejected divisive politics and called on Gambians to remain unified and always place the interest of the nation over their political affiliations.
“My fellow Gambians, politics is not about infighting or squabbling. We are brothers and sisters. Anyone who wins an election is willed by Allah and he or she will leave if their time is up. So let us do our politics in civility and joviality,” Faal said.
She recounted that on several occasions, she cautioned her then husband, Yahya Jammeh, who she described as “harsh in speech some times” to be civil in his address to the people. Madam Faal said in the run-up to the 1996 election, she cautioned Jammeh against speaking in a certain way and even organised a country tour following that of Jammeh’s where she accorded citizens the respect and dignity they deserved and that prompted many people to cross carpet to Jammeh’s APRC.
Madam Faal recalled that year Hamat Bah of NRP, then in the opposition, bragged on a political platform that the opposition were going to defeat Jammeh and he will go to the State House for her to make him tea.
“So when Jammeh won the election, I told him I was going to invite Hamat Bah to come and have tea with us in the State House and Jammeh even asked if I was okay but he accepted and Hamat was invited. We had tea with him, shared jokes and he left. That is politics. I also remember going to a shop in Bakau and someone came in and said Ousainu Darboe was waiting in the vehicle outside, I went out and met Darboe, greeted him and we exchanged pleasantries. That’s what we know because he is an elder and we are taught to respect our elders. Politics should not divide us. We should not fight over it or kill each other over it. The Gambia belongs to us. We should not divide it. Let us conduct our politics with restraint, patience and discipline,” Faal advised.
She also spoke about the challenges faced by women and highlighted the significant roles they play in raising children, feeding families and helping politicians become leaders. However, she lamented that despite these efforts, once voted into office politicians often disregard them, saying this narrative needed to be addressed to allow women to take up their respective roles in national development.