By Makutu Manneh
Demba Sabally, The Gambia’s Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Security and deputy national president of the ruling National People’s Party (NPP), has argued that President Adama Barrow’s upbringing in a rural community without electricity gives him a deeper understanding of the hardships faced by ordinary Gambians than his political opponents.
Speaking at an NPP gathering in Kartong, Sabally contrasted President Barrow with what he described as “children of Fajara,” suggesting that those raised in more affluent communities could not fully appreciate the struggles of people living in poverty.
“A speaker has stated here that small parties are rising little by little. I want to talk to you about one person in those parties,” Sabally told supporters.
He said President Barrow’s childhood experience growing up in a community without electricity had shaped his commitment to expanding electricity access across the country.
“He knows darkness; this is why he has compassion for those in darkness,” Sabally said.
The minister argued that some of Barrow’s political rivals, whom he referred to as “children born in Fajara,” had never experienced poverty or life without electricity and therefore could not understand the challenges confronting many Gambians.
“If they come here to mislead you, know that you are not in the same social status as them,” he said.
Sabally also linked Barrow’s agricultural policies to the president’s rural upbringing, saying he was raised in a community where farming was essential for survival and therefore understood the importance of supporting farmers.
Continuing the comparison, Sabally claimed that those he described as “children of Fajara” grew up in environments where they had never seen people working on farms, had been raised in relative comfort, and had never experienced hunger or close contact with poverty. As a result, he said, they would lack the compassion needed to prioritize issues such as agriculture and rural development.
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