Femi Peters Reacts to Jammeh’s Independence Statement

Mr Femi Peters, the UDP Campaign Manager who contested the BCC mayoral election for UDP in the last Local Government elections, has reacted to President Jammeh’s recent call for Gambians to disregard their political differences for national development purposes.

In an interview with this paper over the weekend, Mr Peters stated that “We need more than disregarding of party affiliation and coming together to work for the interest of this country like President Jammeh said. My doubt is how far serious it is. And I think we need more than that from him in concrete terms. He must give us good governance. He must give us justice and respect for human rights,” he remarked.

Mr Peters acknowledged that though the call per se is very positive as far as he was concerned, he lacks confidence in the sincerity of the statement. “It is true we all have to sink our political differences, but we have our reservations. If President Jammeh wants us to disregard our political affiliations, let him give us the respect due to us. Let him accept that we are also a government in the waiting. In the absence of that, we shall always go back to square one,” he stated.

He added: “The best the government has ever given us is to arrest us, detain us, torture us, which to my mind is not part of nation building at all. We need some attitudinal change from the government.”
 
Mr Peters’ statement is in response to a call in President Jammeh’s 43rd Independence Day statement wherein he argued that no nation could become great if its citizens were indolent, indifferent, divided and destructive.

In the view of the UDP Campaign Manager, it behoves government to be in consultation with the opposition parties in the country. He indicated that they in the opposition parties are quite aware of the fact that whether they are in the opposition or ruling party, they have a part to play in nation building, affirming that they as well have the interest of the country at heart.

Asked as to whether he would consider taking up appointment with the government if the opportunity arises, Mr Peters indicated that that scenario would depend on what the circumstances are like. “You don’t just jump and take up appointment, it should depend on the circumstances. With a president who can sack more than twenty ministers in less than one year, if you are to take appointment with him, you have to be very careful,” he said.

Further questioned as to why his party’s executive did not attend the county’s 43rd independence anniversary, he revealed that they have not been formally invited to attend. “We have to be accorded the respect due to us. We don’t expect the party leadership to be hanging around the July 22nd Square as ordinary spectators,” he argued.