The Daily Observer (Banjul)
Hatab Fadera
16 November 2009
column
The Gambian leader, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, has reiterated his profound gratitude and sincere appreciation to the Khalif General of Mourid in Touba, Senegal, Alhaji Muhammed Lamin Barra Mbackeh, for his solidarity by giving directives for all Mourids in the country to harvest his farms, at a time when his crops needed urgent intervention to rescue them from destruction.
The presidentÂ's commendation came following the remarkable hard work by the Mourids on his farms over the weekend in the Fonis. An amazing population of over 5000 (five thousand) Mourids including men and women, old and young turned up last Saturdayto conquer four mighty farms of President Jammeh in the Fonis. The farms included the Ndembane and Jakoi rice farms, Batendeng and Sika groundnut farms, respectively.
Earlier last week, the Mourids also conquered the Farato, Sifoe and Darsilami farms; a move that has gone a long way in President JammehÂ's quest to rescue his crops from destruction. Speaking to reporters at Bujinga rice farm, the Gambian leader maintained that without the timely intervention of the Mourids, it would have been difficult to tackle the farms in terms of harvesting. Â"I am very grateful to the Khalif General for the assistance. In fact he gave a directive that any Mourid wherever you are if you can come to Kanilai and give assistance, you should give. And he specifically told them that they should work to finish before Tobaski because he heard what I said that if the harvesting is not finished, I am not going back to Banjul,Â" remarked the president, while expressing his appreciation to what he called a wonderful gesture.
The move by the Mourids, President Jammeh maintained, is a great show of solidarity and a true demonstration of good neighborliness. Â"Only your friend helps you, especially in farming. It is very significant when someone comes to help you in farming. This is how you know the people who are on your side. The Mourids could have come only for the sake of coming without working, but they work with clean heart. Just look at the way they cleared these farms,Â" stated the presiden, and indicated that he had learnt that the Khalif General himself is a great farmer.
With this effort done on his farms, President Jammeh expressed optimism that his crops will after all not get destroyed in the bush at the end as thought before. However, even though he is more optimistic now than before that his crops will be harvested in time to avoid destruction, he indicated that the biggest Jiramba rice farm and other millet and coos farms are yet to be touched.
The Gambian leader also used the opportunity to thank all other enthusiastic volunteers for responding to his call, noting that their participation is greatly acknowledged. Â"I have to thank everybody-Gambians, the Senegalese, the Ivorian community in The Gambia, civil servants, parastatals, the private sector and everyone. May the Almighty Allah reward you,Â" stated the president.
The Gambian leader went on to express optimism that if Gambians maintain the current trend of farming, hunger will be history in the country. Â"I can therefore say that those who are going to import rice in 2010 will import mainly for re-export because you may not be able to sell it in the rural areas,Â" he said. Â"I think you have seen on the television the various community farms. And this is the only way we can be food self-sufficient - where we work as communities; we can have individual farms, as well as village farms, and the proceeds could be sold to create village funds as it used to be before,Â" he concluded.
Remarks of Papa Demba Diop
Speaking to Daily Observer, the representative of the Khalif General of Mourid in The Gambia, Papa Demba Diop, said they were on President JammehÂ's farms on the directives of the Khalif General, Alhaji Muhammed Lamin Barra Mbackeh. Â"Almost 20 lorries full of Mourids left Banjul and Kanifing to harvest the presidentÂ's farms. We are indeed very happy to embark on this worthy crusade because the president is a very good individual and a man with a great sense of determination,Â" he said. He then described their actions as in line with the teachings and principles of Islam.
Diop underscored the significance of President JammehÂ's farming activities, reiterating the fact that The Gambian leaderÂ's undertakings is not for his personal gains but rather for the benefits of the entire citizens of the country. Â"What we are doing today is good, since at the end, we will get reward from the Almighty Allah and also reward from our leader, Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba, as the people here are his disciples,Â" he added.
Revealing that he has also assigned the Mourids in other parts of the country to report to the offices of the regional governors to assist in the harvesting of the other farms of the president, Papa Demba Diop commended President Jammeh for acknowledging their contribution to his farming endeavours. He went on to thank the Mourids in the country for their efforts and obedience in embracing the directives of the Khalif General, noting that they have demonstrated a great sense of discipline and willingness in harvesting the presidentÂ's farms.
He then noted that the Mourids are always united in whatever they do and prayed for the Gambian leader, his government and the people of the country. He also prayed for peace and stability to continue to prevail in The Gambia, the entire sub-region and the world at large.
Later in the evening, that same day in Kanilai, Alhaji Momodou Sanyang, the director general of the Gambia Radio and Television Services, Captain Seedy Baldeh, coordinator of the Kanilai Farms, Lt. Col. Alhaji Martin and Major Solo Bojang reiterated President JammehÂ's gratitude to the Mourids who converged at the Kanilai International Festival ground. A total of four bulls were donated to the Mourids as dinner by the president.
Staff of the Office of the President
Elsewhere within the Fonis, staff of the Office of the President comprising the officials from the energy sector, the Personnel Management Office and the Ministries of Defence and Petroleum were also busy harvesting the groundnut farm in Bujinga belonging to Aja Fatou Asombi Bojang, mother of the Gambian leader.
Speaking to reporters, Dr Njogu Bah, secretary to Cabinet, who headed the delegation, said they were on the farm to assist the president in harvesting his crops. Â"The staff have turned up as expected and they have been very active on the farm. When we came to this farm, we thought we will never finish it, but we were able to finish it,Â" he said.
Dr Bah underscored the importance of assisting the president in harvesting his farms, observing that some of the groundnuts they were harvesting are left underground due to the fact that they have been in the ground a very long time without being touched. He noted that if all hands are on deck the presidentÂ's objective of food self-sufficiency will be achieved. Â"If we all pledge our commitment next time for each to have a farm, I believe we will be able to feed ourselves, and this will save us lot in terms of the money we spent on rice. So the message would be for us to go out there and farm,Â" he stated.
For his part, Omar G Sallah, permanent secretary at the Personnel Management Office, said they were honoured and privileged to work on the presidentÂ's farm, and commended the staff for a job well done. Â"We are doing this because we are inspired by the president in his clarion call for people to engage in farming. With the good rain this year, one can see the results of farming activities as now we are trying to reap what we sowed,Â" he stated.
PS Sallah commended President Jammeh for inviting them to his farms, assuring him of their readiness to support him in his endeavours at all times. Lamin Jawara, deputy permanent secretary at the Personnel Management Office; Asiatou Jallow, assistant engineer at the Gambia National Petroleum Company; and Alhaji Bah, assistant secretary at the Ministry of Defence, all echoed similar sentiments. They commended President Jammeh for leading the anti-hunger initiative.
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