The Tragedy of Poor Governance
By Ndey Jobarteh
Once again, lives have been lost at sea. This is not just another tragic headline, it is a failure of Governance that continues to cost our people their lives.
Government does not even offer sympathy, let alone call it a National Tragedy. After each disaster, families are left alone with their grief, while the State remains silent. Sometimes I ask myself whether President Adama Barrow truly understands the gravity of what is happening. With so many deaths, we see no empathy, no national address, no solutions, only silence.
We know life is difficult, but death is not an option. In winter, with freezing conditions and rough seas, these journeys are often a death sentence. While smugglers grow richer, families are left to bury their children and shattered futures.
Doing nothing about traffickers who have found safe haven in our country is unacceptable. This is not a lack of capacity, it is a lack of political will. These networks operate openly, recruit our youth, move people across borders, and load them onto death boats, while Authorities look away. Every day of inaction sends a clear message: traffickers are protected, and Gambian lives are expendable.
Government has a Constitutional and moral duty to protect life. That duty includes dismantling trafficking networks, arresting and prosecuting those involved, strengthening border and maritime surveillance, and publicly accounting for actions taken. Silence is not neutrality, silence is complicity.
A nation cannot be Governed by silence. The Gambia is not just struggling, it is sinking under neglect, indifference, and leadership failure.
My thoughts and prayers are with the families affected.
May Allah grant the departed eternal peace. Ameen.
Photo credit: Gambia
