All nations - small or big - are endowed with characteristic natural gifts. Regardless of our geographical situations, sizes, shapes, or what have we, we are all apt to circumvent all inevitable natural forces; but indeed only if we so desire.

This should not just be theoretically perceived. The undertone of whatever we embark on must reflect this desire.

Although some of us Gambians do not seem to appreciate it, the fact is that our sizable geographical status makes ours a relatively easy nation to develop. All we need is an exemplary leadership with the commanding prescience as to what this country wants and what it can bank on for sustainable development.

We may not have diamond or gold, but we have some of the most fertile of lands fit for cultivation. This is just one area that, until the advent of the current dispensation, has been left totally uncharted. The sizable nature of The Gambia and its population also offers advantage of some kind.

And above all, the political will. All these are factors central to present day city states. Singapore, representing the most complete contemporary example of a city state started its modernisation process just about the same time as the Gambia assumed its independence.

You might as well wonder what we have been up to, given that like The Gambia, Singapore has no known mineral resource. Taiwan, Israel and a handful of Middle Eastern countries may also serve as good examples for us. Thank God Taiwan happens to be part of our modernisation process as a good and loyal friend.

President Jammeh’s unequivocal urge for a system of uninterruptible electricity and water supply as well as improvement of the health sector, confirms his consistent focus as regards his vision of transforming the country into a city state. It is great to note that this noble agenda is also being captured in our education system.

This is such a prudent idea!

A Gambia dotted with electrified schools, connected to the internet, will not only introduce our young generation to the realities of the modern generation, but it will serve as a source of inspiration for them. And eventually, a whole generation of Gambians will have attained an almost similar line of progressive orientation.