By Lt Col Samsudeen Sarr Rtd
There are moments when a country’s difficulties test not only the strength of its institutions, but also the maturity of its people and the wisdom of its leadership.
The recent electricity crisis in The Gambia was one such moment.
On September 10, 2026, I reliably learned from sources with firsthand knowledge of the matter that the Government of Senegal, following consultations with our own authorities, stepped in to assist The Gambia with a substantial supply of electricity to help stabilize the severe power shortage that had recently gripped the country.
That shortage was not merely an inconvenience. It contributed to growing frustration and public anger, which eventually spilled into protests during which considerable public and private property was destroyed.
I have also learned that, by Sunday, September 13, the two governments had negotiated an arrangement under which Senegalese technicians and engineers would assist in repairing one of Nawec’s largest generators, which had recently been out of operation. I understand that the generator has been transported to Senegal for maintenance.
If these reports are accurate, then we should say thank you to Senegal and well done to both governments.
There is nothing humiliating about a neighbour coming to your assistance when you are in difficulty and nothing unpatriotic about accepting help when your people need electricity, water, food, security or any other essential service.
On the contrary, this is precisely what good-neighborly relations are supposed to produce.
It is also a timely reminder of something I have consistently argued for many years. That when The Gambia faces a serious national challenge, Senegal should be among the first countries we turn to—and Senegal should likewise be able to count on The Gambia when it needs a neighbor.
That is not surrender or dependency and certainly not a loss of sovereignty.
It is common sense.
Yet whenever I speak about strategic cooperation between The Gambia and Senegal, I sometimes find myself attacked by what I would describe as fanatical Gambian nationalists. They accuse me of being too pro-Senegalese, as though advocating closer cooperation with our closest neighbour somehow diminishes our Gambian identity.
I reject that argument completely.
What exactly does sovereignty mean?
A sovereign country particularly The Gambia is one that makes its own decisions and not a country that deliberately isolates itself from its only neighbor.
The Gambia became independent in 1965. But independence did not move us geographically from where have always been. Senegal remained where it had always been—around us.
Our peoples have lived together for centuries. We have traded with one another, intermarried, shared languages and cultures, crossed the same rivers, used the same markets and maintained family relationships that existed long before European colonial borders were drawn across Senegambia.
The colonial boundary may have divided our territories but not our history, families or eliminate our geographical realities.
Our previous governments-the PPP and APRC-have tried Isolation before.
Oh yes, the argument about protecting Gambian sovereignty by keeping Senegal at arm’s length has been tried repeatedly by both the PPP and APRC.
Yet where has deliberate distancing from Senegal taken us?
The Gambia must protect its sovereignty, certainly. But sovereignty should be used to advance the interests of Gambians—not as an excuse to reject practical cooperation.
If Senegal can help us stabilise our electricity supply, why should we refuse?
If cooperation with Senegal can stabilise our electricity, repair equipment that is essential, strengthen security and benefit ordinary Gambians, why should shun it or allow politics to portray it as a national betrayal?
There is another contradiction that deserves attention.
We frequently hear some of these politicians, intellectuals and activists speak passionately about Pan-Africanism, African unity and regional integration.
Fine.
But where better to demonstrate African unity than here?
If Pan-Africanism means anything beyond speeches, conferences and political slogans, then it must begin with neighbors like us helping neighbors.
Senegal assisting The Gambia during an electricity crisis, is, in my book, regional solidarity.
And perhaps this is where the idea of Senegambia deserves to be reconsidered—not necessarily as a political merger, but as a practical framework for cooperation between two countries whose destinies are inevitably intertwined.
There is a difference between surrendering sovereignty and exercising sovereignty intelligently.
The Gambia should never surrender its national interests to Senegal—or to any other country.
But neither should we allow exaggerated nationalism to prevent us from cooperating with Senegal when cooperation serves Gambian interests.
If the information I have received about Senegal’s assistance during our recent electricity crisis and the repair of Nawec’s generator is accurate, then I believe Gambians should acknowledge and appreciate it openly.
Thank you to the Government of Senegal and the Government of The Gambia.
This is what regional solidarity ought to look like and not mere speeches about Pan-Africanism.
If Senegal can help keep the lights on in The Gambia when we are facing darkness, I see no reason to turn off the light of friendship simply because some people are afraid that cooperation might make us less sovereign.
A good neighbor is not a threat to your independence. A good neighbor is an asset to it.