By Mariama Jallow
Retired Colonel Momodou Badjie, the National Security Adviser to the presidency, has underscored the significance of the new draft constitution, charging that for an effective security sector reform to take place, there must be a proper constitution to guide them. He was speaking to Mansa Banko Online in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, at Kanifing.
Badjie exhorted on all Gambians to take the review of the draft constitution as “their business” in order to come up with a relevant, appropriate and proper constitution that could guide them in the nearby future.
“If we get it wrong at the level of the consultation, we will get it all wrong even in our institutional act. Thus, it is important for every Gambian, as a citizen, to take part in the review process because this is a singular opportunity that we cannot afford to miss,” the Security Adviser cautioned.
As pointed out by Badjie, it’s been a long time the people of this country didn’t have the opportunity to be involved in reviewing their constitution.
The former senior Gambian army Commander used the interview to call on the Gambian public to seize the advantage in making sure that they create time to look at the draft supreme law of this land, and come up with something better that could guide Gambians for years to come.
For an effective security sector reform to take place, the National Security Adviser charged that, there must a proper constitution to guide them on the future. Describing the constitution as a very important document, Badjie singled it out as the supreme law and supreme framework legalized to guide how they, as security agencies, operate.
The Security Adviser to the presidency underscored the important role security agencies play in any nation, saying no country could do without security.
At that juncture, the Rtd. Colonel encouraged the Gambian public to respect the security forces of The Gambia; and along the same line, he challenged the security officers to play their part in maintaining peace, law and stability in the country.
