Editor,

I am astounded and extremely delighted, but even more importantly, I feel proud of President Yahya Jammeh, for his latest show of magnanimity, which he directed to the regional institute, the West African Insurance Institute (WAII). President Jammeh’s move served as a pace-setting gesture for his colleague presidents, whose countries, together with The Gambia, own the institute.

I am astounded and touched by the fact of how far the president can go in responding to human needs. He did not bother to say that since it is a regional institute, he should wait for his counterparts; instead, he went ahead and set the pace.

I am extremely delighted because a problem have been solved, a problem that we all share as West Africans. And I feel proud because of the fact that my president has demonstrated that Gambians are true to the principle of sharing and caring that we have all along been associated with.

The prayer now is that the rest of the regional leaders will take into account the urgent needs of the institute, and consider how to redress them. To the graduates I say happy graduation. May you leave long to plough back to your respective nations what they have invested on you. Long live West Africa, long live The Gambia.

Lamin Manneh

Kololi