BANJUL: A former Argos security guard, who once worked in the store on London's Holloway Road, has been elected the president of Gambia. The country's opposition leader, Adama Barrow said he was still waiting for an official result from the electoral commission, but that given his own count showed, he had won the poll.
Dictator Yahya Jammeh, who once vowed to rule his country for a "billion years", has been defeated by Barrow, who spent his early years tackling shoplifters at the Argos store. Jammeh has an interesting, yet brutal history that talks of his bizarre personality cult of witchcraft and brutality. While nobody dared to take him up during the elections, soft-spoken Barrow was one of the very few Gambians brave enough to compete. His victory came despite ruling party ministers making fun of him over his days doing low-level security work in London.
Speaking at a pro-government rally ahead of the elections, Sheriff Bojang, the Gambian Information Minister addressed the crowd sarcastically saying, "We have heard that Mr Barrow worked as a security guard in...what is it...this shop called Argos in Britain?"
Barrow's spokesman said the opposition leader would go to State House in capital Banjul, to be officially declared victor. "It's game over," he told the media. Jammeh has often termed criticism of him by any Western governments as "neo-colonial" lecturing. He has also often displayed dissent towards Britain, saying it had done "nothing" for Gambia during "400 years of colonialism." However, these claims were dismissed by Barrow who said he owed his career success to his tough years in Britain, where he lived and studied property management between 1998 and 2002.
"My time in Britain taught me the importance of working hard and good time-keeping, and both those things helped me a lot when I went back home. People think life is easy in Europe, but it can be a tough place to make your way in as a visitor," Barrow, 51, said. During his time in the country he paid his rent with security jobs in offices, music festivals and high street stores. He has also lived on a crime-plagued housing estate in Kidbrooke in south-east London.
Speaking about Jammeh's rule and several moves strengthening his stance against the West, Barrow said, "There are desperate moves that don't help Gambia at all. The only reason he left those organisations is because they expect him to practice good governance. If we are elected we will restore Gambia's relations with the outside world, and rejoin both the Commonwealth, and the ICC." There are speculations and fears that Jammeh may not go quietly. A London-based Gambian activist, Yanks Darboe said, "If there was trouble, a lot of Gambians would like to see Britain come to help, as they don't think the neighbouring African leaders would do much. It would also be in Britain's own interests as they have a lot of expats in Gambia. They can't just allow Jammed to plunder the country into a trauma."
