The richness of a nation is determined neither by the amount of money it has in its coffers nor by the quantity of its wealth in terms of its natural resource reserves. What matters actually is the level of satisfaction the people derive from whatever little they have. This extraordinarily unique trait is what makes The Gambia inimitable. As a people, Gambians have never been so optimistic as we are today.
The level of optimism in this country is inspired by a prevailing philosophy which strongly blends faith with determination, the very essence of life; which upholds the strong belief that the people have their destiny in their hands and that in the hands of the people lies the real authority.
This philosophy is in fact the driving force behind the level of unity that currently prevails among Gambians, hardly ever so in the over four decades of independence. This is the reason behind the revolutionary transformation the people of this small but wonderful nation are cruising through, which has earned us respect from all corners of the globe. We owe it all to the leadership of this country.
One very noticeable thing about Gambians today is our characteristic patience. The victory of the U-17 Darling Scorpions serves as a perfect example for this explanation. Despite our poor performance over the years in the sporting arena, our expectations were kept alive by faith and determination. Nobody so demonstrated commitment to this than President Jammeh, the true architect of this prevailing culture of optimism.
If anything the lessons deducible from the U-17 triumph are enormous. But one thing very obvious about it is that never say never. Nothing is impossible.