The last one-and-a-half decade of The Gambia has witnessed a lot of ‘fulfilled’ prophecies; from emancipation of the masses from political mishaps, to their empowerment in terms of ensuring an enviable standard of living for every single citizen.

The ever increasing commitment to attaining the best for the average Gambian in terms of making the best out of their individual aptitude is ever conspicuous; and, as a result of this, the dignity of Gambians is today more assured than ever before. All this is thanks to the reality of a determined political leadership. This determination is what has gradually won the heart of everyone, including those who were formerly sworn critics of this very same government.

As destiny would have it, the day of reckoning was set to come, and wisdom was sure to prevail over erroneous judgement. Mr Lamin Waa Juwara’s latest comment about his ‘fulfilled’ prophecy of The Gambia’s political landscape serves as a testimony to the true change in direction of our level of political maturity.

The firebrand political figure had indeed said it, that the country was heading for a more civilized political interaction. And the apparent endorsement of President Yahya Jammeh’s announced ‘zero tolerance’ for various forms of criminality, by the opposition leader, Lawyer Ousanou Darboe, also reiterates the fact that we are indeed poised to attain maturity in our political interaction.

In a democracy, there is the need for an opposing view; a genuine opposing view that would serve as a check against possible distraction from the right path. This is exactly what the Gambian leader, President Jammeh, has repeatedly called for. Oppositions have a pivotal role to play in national development.

The best interest of the country should be everybody’s business and regardless of our differeneces, this must be defended at all cost and at all times. There are so many good things to talk or write about The Gambia.

Politics aside, as a people, we are bound to have differences in views, and these differences can only be resolved if we provide a reasonable forum for discussion. None but ourselves can provide this forum for amicable resolution of our differences. This explains why we should graduate from the trend of politics of confrontation to politics of constructive discourse.