NADD for Collective Rectification and advancement
Participation and Leadership
On the 18th of February 1965 many Gambians, mostly from the greater Banjul area and some representatives from different parts of the country gathered to celebrate what we are told to be our freedom to decide our own destiny. This was the result of wars and different forms of political resistance against our British colonizers.
Elections were held since then to choose people among us those whom we thought to have the ability in terms of Western European education and governance to manage our affairs on our behalf.
We have had little or no influence in deciding what we think was relevant to our development or how to go about achieving any set goals for national development. Although, some among us have always resisted this system because the authority rested in the hands of the representatives and not the represented masses who elected them.
Many of these representatives became demi-Gods who have the right to get rich as quick as possible at our expenses using our collective finances through allocating to themselves, exsurbitant salaries and allowances. Making deals with both internal and external financial and other actors on our behalf which we have no possibilities to scrutinize and got heavy kickbacks (personal financial compensation) out of them while we admired them in our naivety.
We have always seen these representatives as our master instead of our servants, which they are. Come election time, many among us take bribes from this people and few wonder, why someone would to the level of paying our intimidating us to elect them as our representatives.
Their children together with the children of very few others who happen to be financially wealthy had the best chances of good schooling and the best jobs in the country and in international institutions.
In our private gatherings, we complain about the situation but we still stick to the system reasoning in a way detrimental to our progress. Some of us vote for someone because He/she speak the same language as them, some because he/she is a friend or the friend of a friend, some because he/she is highly educated, some because he/she is from the family of a former leader political, community or religious leader, some because he/she gave me some money or job regardless of merits or simply because the person is a good talker.
Women are encouraged to present themselves as candidates for all areas of responsibilities in the NADD structures and the nation as a whole. It is recognized that not only agriculture (the backbone of the national economy for decades), the teaching field, party political mobilizes; home stabilizers and managers among other areas are dominated by women while they are under represented in decision making.
Young people are now experiencing that they are no more on the sidelines of decision making or purns in an electoral game but partners in running the affairs and shaping the future of our commonly owned country. They are now taking responsibilities, defending their rights without fear, gaining experiences and earning the respect of both their peers and elders. Being in the age of global exposure, youth of the Gambia have realized that in most democratic countries, youth are represented by people between the ages of 18 (the age of franchise) and 25. For this reason, our young people are now looked up to and not relegated to cheerleaders or hand clappers for undemocratic elders.
What is new with NADD?
From 2004 to date, a new process has been underway and gaining momentum by the day. The process that NADD had set in motion is one that manifest in all of us that no single person or group is more worthy to decide the destiny of others, rather all of us are of the same worth and we can only achieve peace, meaningful education, social justice, economic development, equality before the law among other ideals when we establish a new reality in which we all enter into constructive dialogue with each other with the aim of certisfying the basic needs of all of us through negotiations and mutual respect and understanding. Basically, we have wish the best for each other and strive collective to share the good that our common efforts can offer.
NADD was initiated by the Save the Gambia project whose membership is Gambians who are not even living in the Gambia but want to see every person of Gambian origin to live a happy, peaceful and meaningful life. The only way some people can dominate others is when they are not conscious for their rights and duties.
NADD wants every Gambia to know and enjoy their rights and understand that not all of us can be administrator or representatives at the same time. Some of us must be given these responsibilities but, they together with us should decide and guide all actions that to be carried out on our behalf. If we are not certisfied with any of our employees, we can remove and replace them with others we think are better suited for that particular responsibility without fear or favor.
We together should set the standards for those who want to manage the affairs of our country. We have to have capable, sincere, tolerant, respectful and devoted servants. People whom we employ should be our servants not our masters.
In 1994, another group of people took over the reigns of power without our consent and have dominated and treated us as mere subjects of a king. One man decides most the important things affecting us. One man selects who should represent us in most of the institutions, decides the policies that govern us, the material we need for our development etc…
We have seem many of our sisters and brothers just accepting this predicament hoping that it will fade away and others seeking immediate personal gains at all cost.
NADD has instilled in us that, one person can decide for us only if we agree to it. NADD wants us to stop complaining while condoning our own misery, by succumbing to this horrible status quo. If every Gambian or the majority of Gambians (farmers, workers, administrators, students, security forces, politicians, educators, law preservers etc) say no to this situation by voting in a peaceful election in October for the presidency and in January for the National Assembly, through a program which we workout together and agree to the basic minimum taking our common interest as the genesis of all proposals, then all authority will rest on us as a national cooperative which we then have to safeguard against any saboteur.
Gone are the days of rulers (people who dominate and command us) and the future is for public SERVANTS who serve according to the wishes and expectations of the people.
Economic
Our country has been transformed into a nation of beggars. We have become slaves to financial institutions who decide the direction of our economic investments. We owe over 2 billion dalasis to outsiders and over a third of the national budget is used for servicing loans instead of investment.
Our government is investing in areas that cannot generate enough income to sustain a meaningful development. Some projects are started just to be suspended for lack of funds, corruption, bad planning, and insufficient feasibility studies among other problems while those who say that they are our leaders are buying fanciful cars, aeroplanes, helicopters, building new mansions, throwing parties that cost millions and traveling around the world for fun.
NADD is challenging each and every one of us to take personal responsibility for the national economy because every butut that is generated through our hard work or borrowed for national development is our common property and we cannot let anybody enjoy its benefits while we continue to suffer.
The private, cooperative and public economy should strive for a wealthy and prosperous Gambia for all its citizens. It is only when we know that we shall benefit that we shall augment our productive capacity.
We should create an environment of economic development that can attract genuine investors from all around the globe. Our investments must be guided by the interest of the coming generations and ours.
Social relations
Peace, solidarity and cooperation are the cornerstone of our inherited traditions. NADD have been provoked on many occasions in the past two years but have at all times refrained from any confrontations that would mean the lost of people’s lives any form of instability in our already suffocating lives.
A national Memorandum of Understanding was proposed and was made law to guide the conduct of elections for all political parties. This came after had press for the current government to agree to a civilize conduct of election from now and the future.
Law and order
NADD’s new thinking has influenced most of the stakeholder in the judiciary to challenge their leadership and the executive and they finally succumbed to their will. Consequently, judges and justices have been transferred a new code of conduct is being adhered to by legal practitioners and the first Chief Justice of Gambian origin have been appointed.
People are coming forward to lay complaints against members of the security forces who have been treating the general population in a savage manner for over a decade.
Agriculture
While claiming that agriculture remains the backstay of our national economy, the governments of his day have proven incompetent to market the products of the farmers and production such as the staple food, rice in sinking to its lowest level for decades.
Thus some farmers are bypassing the state institutions and finding other sources of financial investment, production development and marketing of farm produce.
Competent managers are not given responsibilities because they disagree with the unstable policies of the government or simply condemned as opposition supporters.
NADD members and supporters in various capacities and competence are already engaging and helping farmers to find long-term solutions to the age-old stagnation, underdeveloped and ill-organized agricultural infrastructure and marketing system.
National transformation is not an individual enterprise but a collective endeavor.
