The National People’s Party (NPP) Student Wing President Yusuf Tunkara has urged Gambian youths to safeguard the country’s peace and stability amid growing protests over the electricity crisis, warning that violence will only deepen the hardship families are already facing.
Tunkara’s appeal comes as frustration over prolonged Nawec blackouts boils over in communities across The Gambia. For days, households, businesses, schools and hospitals have struggled with outages lasting up to 12 hours, sparking roadblocks and tyre burnings in parts of the country.
Tunkara said he feels the pain of young people who cannot study at night, tailors who cannot work, and families sweating through the heat without fans. But he drew a firm line between protest and destruction.
“To my fellow youths: I hear you. I am with you. We deserve reliable electricity,” Tunkara said.
“But let us not answer darkness with fire. Let us not solve a power problem by creating a peace problem. The Gambia we want to inherit tomorrow must not be broken by the anger of today.”
He urged demonstrators to choose dialogue over damage.
“Burning tyres does not bring back the lights. Vandalising public property does not punish politicians — it punishes your brother, your sister, your mother who will pay for it with taxes. Let us protest with dignity, speak with respect, and demand with unity.”
Tunkara further framed peace as a generational responsibility.
“Peace is not owned by NPP. It is not owned by the opposition. Peace belongs to the student writing exams by candlelight. It belongs to the mother in the market. It belongs to you and me,” he said.
Tunkara added that governments come and go but The Gambia remains.
“Do not let temporary darkness lead us into permanent damage.”
He called on youths to be “architects of solutions, not agents of destruction.”
“Channel your energy into dialogue. Engage your NAMs, your councillors, your student leaders. Criticise boldly. But build while you criticise,” Tunkara urged.
“We can demand better electricity and still protect our country. We can disagree politically and still remain brothers and sisters.”
Tunkara added: “I know you are tired. I know you are hot. I know you want answers now. But I also know the strength of Gambian youths. We have carried this nation through difficult times before. Let us carry it again — with calm heads, with clear voices, and with hands that build instead of break.”
Tunkara argued that the current electricity crisis sits on top of a major transformation.
“For 52 years, electricity was scarce. Before 2016, only about 36% of Gambian households had access to the national grid. Entire villages lived in darkness. Markets ran on noisy tiger generators.”
Under President Adama Barrow, Tunkara added, “government rolled out the Universal Access to Electricity programme, rural electrification, and regional integration through OMVG. Today, national access stands at about 90% to 95%, according to government figures.”
He said communities like Yoro Jula, 174km from Banjul, now have streetlights, fridges, and connected homes for the first time.