SEEDY SK NJIE: A WISE POLITICIAN

Seedy SK Njie is one of the famous and arguably one of the greatest politicians in the history of Gambian politics. It is clearly evident that many Gambians despise him mainly due to his stands in the aftermath of December 1^st 2016 presidential election.  He robustly stood beside the former president, Yaya AJJ Jammeh, and defended him to the last dot of his presidency. Seedy, despite his age, had served as an executive member of the APRC party for 11 years and as a nominated Member of Parliament for 10 years. Seedy’s role during the impasse elevated him to a ministerial position as Minister of Information which equally earned him a lot of hatred.

 Through a holistic analysis about Seedy Njie, I found him to be a very astute politician. He is intelligent and eloquent. Mr. Njie demonstrates that he can comfortably survive under any political dispensation. One could conclude that Seedy’s political life was doomed after the fall of Jammeh; but he has shown a character of resilience which enables him to maneuver a difficult moment of his political history. He is able to penetrate the hurdles and finds his way to his current destination.

Seedy’s intelligence makes him to appreciate the reality of the day; as it is crucial and part of wisdom for one to adjust to the reality of the day.  Seedy knows what he wants and pursues them with determination. Despite the robust public backlash against him, he consistently paves his way in establishing himself in the political limelight.

Many argue that he is not honest as he supported Jammeh for many years and stood by him during a crucial and difficult moment for the country (the political impasse). He was also one of those who fought tooth and nail for Jammeh to stay in power, and now turned to be one of the strongest outspoken supporters of HE President Adama Barrow after quitting the APRC.

I acutely submit that, in respect to the nature and the current system of our politics can’t be considered as worship; therefore, if one wants to be closer to Allah the Exalted He, the current phenomenon of politics is certainly not the right option. Politics of today is heavily anchored on interests. It is no secret that our key political players advance their interests first before that of the nation. Thus, to my humble opinion; Seedy should not be blamed or scorned for pursuing his interest in this respect. Of course, he is not a degree holder in politics, but irrefutably a great and a wise politician. Many could not have bounced back like Seedy from that political impasse. He was in the core of the previous dispensation and able to find his way to the gardens of the current one. Few could have politically survived what he survived, managed and coped with.

It is not part of wisdom to distance yourself from what belongs to you because of your despise for someone whom you think should not be part of the equation. Politicians do not have permanent friends in politics but permanent interest. No wise politician rejects anyone especially an influential figure because he previously opposed him. In politics, numbers matter a lot, therefore politicians do many things to increase their support base. Thus they should not be blamed for accommodating their previous political opponents.