By Fatou Sillah
A former deputy spokesperson of the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction, Dodou Jah, now aligned with the ruling National People’s Party, said The Gambia cannot achieve meaningful progress without a fundamental shift in public attitudes and a stronger sense of national unity.
Speaking in an interview on the Dialectic Space Podcast, Mr. Jah argued that the country’s persistent challenges are rooted not only in governance but also in the collective mindset of its citizens. He described governing the nation as inherently difficult, citing entrenched political divisions and what he characterized as a tendency among citizens to prioritize partisan loyalty over the broader national interest.
“We as a people have a problem; we need that attitudinal change,” he said, emphasizing that responsibility for the country’s future extends beyond political leaders. “It’s not always the government and the president—we are talking about the country.”
Mr. Jah said that national development would remain elusive if citizens continue to view political competition as the central driver of change, rather than focusing on shared goals. “The country goes beyond the president and the government in place,” he said. “The rest of us is bigger than the leadership.”
He called for a reduction in political polarization, urging Gambians to move away from what he described as a divisive “incumbent versus opposition” dynamic. Instead, he framed the country’s challenges as internal, saying they reflect tensions “among Gambians themselves.”
Mr. Jah also cautioned against the belief that a change in leadership alone would resolve the nation’s problems. Without a broader transformation in civic attitudes, he said, similar difficulties would persist regardless of who holds power.
“People think if you remove Barrow and bring the next party into governance, the Gambia is going to be okay,” he said. “It is not going to be okay. Let’s not fool each other.”
Absent a shift in mindset and a renewed commitment to unity, Mr. Jah warned, the country risks remaining trapped in a cycle of recurring challenges. “If this attitudinal change is not there, we will continue to have challenges,” he said.
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