Many a time when we discuss the ever intriguing pace of development this country is experiencing, we often painfully limit ourselves to the equally important but quite conspicuous infrastructural face-lift.

While it is important that the people are kept abreast as the ever relentless developments process unfold, it is also quite crucial that we constantly remind ourselves of the uncharted part of our history in the making.

There is this part of our emerging democracy that we seem to have left uncharted, yet it is as important in maintaining the peace we all so cherished as it can serve as a valuable role model for other nations - exportation of moral values.

There is this imposing photograph of President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh and his immediate forerunner, Alhaji Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, that seems to have captivated readers of our website ( www.observer.gm ).

The overwhelming response we have been receiving on this spectacle from both within and outside the country is indeed suggestive of how appreciative people are of the emotional and unity message it sends. The picture itself is undeniably a perfect reflection of the level of maturity of our country’s political atmosphere.

However, to most Gambians, this is not at all a surprise as it is set on the basis of our cultural heritage (heritage of humanitarianism and respect for the elderly). Our values and ideals, to a great extent, encapsulate a tradition of a somewhat realistic, inestimable love for respect for the elderly.

The picture of the two great statesmen symbolises a unified and peaceful Gambia. And its infectious effect of fixing permanent smiles of happiness on the faces of all the people that come across it has triggered more respect and support for the President, the Gambian people and all the institutions that identify themselves with it; hence the amount of feedback we continue to receive from our esteemed readers.

In many countries where power had exchanged hands in a more ceremonious mood, relationship between a sitting president and his predecessor have had to take such a deteriorating turn that it had left, in their wake, extremely polarised and suspicious societies. Zambia, Malawi and Ghana are just a few countries that fell in this category. Maybe these and many other countries outside the African continent can borrow a leaf from the Gambian people and their leadership.