Fellow Gambians, it is our 44th Independence Anniversary Celebrations, the question is: What does Gambian young people across the Globe have to say? THE FUTURE of the Freedom Newspaper has opened this Independent Special to show the views of young people as to the progress made since Independence and what more is yet to be done.

I am THE DEMOCRAT and I welcome you to INDEPENDENCE SPECIAL… For the first time in the media, young people will tell us what they feel in the form of interviews, essays, poetry and a lot more. It is the first of it’s kind and that’s one reason why it is so unique.

Government should not disregard this. It expresses what young people think and believe and it should be out into consideration and it should not be taken for granted. Without much ado, let us kick off. Let start with my own address to young people in the Gambia:

Young people in the Gambia,

After 44 years of attaining independence, we deserve a better life than this. From one year to another, situations for our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, friends, family and loved become worse and worse. We moved from the frying pan to the fire.

Have we really achieved Independence? Oh no, we have not. Gambia is going through a modernized routine of slavery and colonialism called JAMMEHISM. He calls it the birth of a new nation, he calls it the birth of a new Gambia. Oh goss, we didn’t know what we were about to face. The economic hardship and brutality, from suppression of press freedom to perpetual abuse of fundamental human rights. This is so sad.

Gambia, it is time to rise to these odds. Our Independence, that we should be celebrating with joy and pride, is being celebrated in a way as if it is nothing. Hmmm, lest we forgot that the APRC Government (Association of Pigs, Rats and Cockroaches) have turned July 22nd to our Independence Day. July 22nd, a day that a country was illegally taken is celebrated in our country, and that our hypocritical proxy has the audacity to tell others to stop taking over power illegally. What a mess and an insensible way of thinking. What sort of mannerism is that?

Oh Gambia, my homeland, we should take a resolution during this Independence to lift our country from the shame that so-called Professor Yahya Jammeh has put her in. We must make a declaration as young people, that our time will be different and most importantly, we must all take commitments and the responsibility, to change our country for the better; and that starts by kicking Yahya Jammeh out….

We have a lot of so-called projects. Jammed mounts his white elephant projects for no good reason but all based on selfish reasons and self-enrichment. Oh dear Gambian Government is full of nothing but nepotism, favoritism and rampant corruption. Let’s hang on here for now and visit what other young people have to say. (THE STORY CONTINUES)

THIS IS NO INDEPENDECE

I want to say thank you to the editorial of freedom for inviting me as a young person to give comments about my country. I have decided to say that this is no Independence. It is rather too disgraceful to say this but I have no choice and as a matter of fact, it is the truth.

I have noticed that in The Gambia, July 22nd is now our Independence and what is the course for celebrating when this dictator made no meaningful progress in our country. It is horrible and rather too disgraceful. Well, Gambia is technically still under colonialism… Why? Ha ha ha, most people will be asking this. Even the period of colonialism is better than this.

We have technically no Independence. Independence should celebrated with success, and not to celebrate another year of brutality and economic hardship. What is more worst than leaving us impoverished each day. Independence used to be celebrated with so much importance attached to it, but today, for the Gambia, our homeland, it is celebrated with no meaning to it. All it’s importance has been attached to July 22nd. What for?

Yahya Jammeh wants to be looked at like a hero? Are u a hero Jammeh? No you are not and don’t even think about that? You are nothing more than a coward that the continues to ruin our country and her people. What really are you? A Professor of Nonsense as you once called somebody. How can the pot tell the kettle you are black? Ha ha ha, sorry Yahya, you are the real professor of nonsense. None of your mafia ideologies will work.

We young people are conscious of what is happening in our surrounding. We know every little thing and we won’t let it continue. We are patriotic and we love our country. Enough is enough! We have had enough of you and we as young people will come together, in our days and in our time to make that change our country needs. We shall do this and we can do it. Get our mind right. You don’t own Gambia and you will never own it. We will never have a monarch system. No way…. Where will it find us our what would it find us doing? Unless Allah puts us 6 feet in the ground.

Thank you

Modou, Gambian Student, Sweden

You don’t own the University

First, I want to thank THE DEMOCRAT and the rest of Freedom for giving me this opportunity. Pa Harry, you and your team are doing a great job for we Gambians. At first, people like me do not comprehend fully, the hazards that the APRC Government has been doing to us. Though freedomnewspaper.com has been blocked in the Gambia, that will never stop people from getting information and reading Freedom online. There are a lot of ways that we can use to read your very interesting and truth-telling newspaper. Keep up the good work and you have brought light to people like me and gradually to so many other Gambians; because of your paper, we differentiating blunt and beautifully painted and decorated lies of Jammeh from the truth.

I am a Student of the University of the Gambia and I am studying Political Science. It took us time to have this course in the University and trust me UTG does not technically give us the best we got to know about Political Science because Yahya Jammeh fierce the level of consciousness of Gambian young people and how much we empowered ourselves to end his barbaric behavior. Why should he fear Political Science been thought fully well at UTG if he knows he is doing the right thing for Gambians. Hmmmm, come to think of it? We are paying tuition and we require the best out of the education we get.

In fact, when did the University of The Gambia became a privately owned institution? Yahya claims that he owned the University. Lies! Yes Lies! He does not own the UTG. UTG does not belong to you Mr. President. UTG was a long-term plan from the PP Government. Most proper projects including GRTS, Kombo Coastal Roads, etc. are plans made by the PPP Government and they commenced when you took over because that was the time agreed upon for them to start. Who are you fooling Yahya Jammeh? Not us Gambian young people, you must be the biggest fool in your widest dreams to think you can lead us astray. It is only people like dumb Siddi Njie that you can fool by making them Nominated Members of the National Assembly. Haaaaaa, leaving our country in the hands of people with no Qualification. Oh no, that is really messed up.

We need Political Science to be thought to us at the UTG with all it’s ins and outs. Nothing should be left behind during our lectures. You have fired one of the best lecturers. In fact, what right do you have under the sun to fire a UTG lecturer? You making us lack instructors and you know that. President Jammeh, what qualifications do you have to become the Vice Chancellor of the UTG? This my colleagues always ask ourselves. Is it the so-called Doctorial Degree you are given or the inappropriate Professorship that you are given. This is sad. People are going to University getting Academic Doctorial Degrees and Professorship before given Honorary Doctorial and Professorship. Shame on you because if you are to sit in a test to get them academically, you will fail woefully; yet still, you have the mouth and the audacity to say you own UTG (that is definitely a Tom and Jerry cartoon Mr. President).

Come to think of it. Be fair to Gambian people and stop saying what is wrong all the time. For once in your life time, say something that is matured and sensible and would make Gambians happy. Get me right, I don’t mean your usual unfulfilled promises like saying: “with these tractors and other equipments to come, Gambians will know no hunger or poverty in this country.”

You gave out all those tractors in a biased manner. Giving it to your green boys and APRC supporters. Oh, no doubt, 70% of the Gambian household are still poor and don’t have their three square regular meal. HMMMM, where is your VISION 2020.… You have not even achieved one percent of it and you are talking about achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Thanks you advocates and NGO’s, we are going far. No progress in this sector has been yours Jammeh. Why are you talking about the Silicon Valley Project when VISION 2020 is not even achieved? Jammeh, what are you thinking? Where do you think from? LOL!!! This is serious.

Gambia, it is independence; so let us please tell Yahya Jammeh that he does not own UTG. Just like he made our Independence look useless because of July 22, is not the way he is going to make UTG look. Look, we the future have hope. We are more hopeful each day that we can make change and bring joy to the Gambia no matter what. We shall spare and sacrifice our lives just to make this country a better place to live for our children and our children’s children. We shall rise up and face the challenge and leave no storn unturn in our struggle towards real and meaningful independence for our country. It is high time, we left the fear behind, and march up with hope. Soon and very soon, Jammeh will see us without fear, giving him his nightmares.

Don’t be scared yet, your days are number. We are the young people of the Gambia, we are the pride of the nation, we are the future of our country, the backbone of the nation. We are it’s most precious jewel, we are the present because the future is us and we will get what is right when the right time comes. Time is right to do what is right. And even if we know that tomorrow the world will go into pieces, we will steal plant our apple tree. We will fight on to the end. YES WE WILL….!!! We shall do this together Gambia. Yes We shall…..

Momodou, Student, UTG, Banjul

MORE TO COME NEXT WITH THE POEM CALLED THE VULTURE. CTACH US UP NEXT!!!!

INDEPENDENCE SPECIAL ONLY FROM FREEDOM NEWSPAPER!!!!