The Gambia’s vice president, Ousainou Darboe, has demanded that he is shown more respect by the public.

“Let us respect our elders. Whoever does not respect Ousainou Darboe, respect his position because the position is something that should be respected. If you don’t respect me but respect the position,” he said last Sunday at a political rally in Kunkujang village.

The leader of United Democratic Party (UDP) has also stated that no one can claim ownership of the government.

“We should understand that the government of today has been formed by various political parties. The government of today is formed by PDOIS, NRP, GMC, UDP, GDPD, NCP and an independent candidate. Therefore, this is a government of the people and no one should take credit or ownership. This government belongs to everyone; it does not belong to a single person.”

“UDP will not allow anyone to short-change our well-fought struggle for political expediency. This is a Coalition government. UDP is a major stakeholder in this government,” Mr. Darboe added.

UDP leaders are considered as “wives” to the party. “If you are with us, you cannot date another person. That is a red line. You will be divorced. No one will use us for a ride,” he said, although it’s not clear whether Mr. Darboe was referring to President Adama Barrow; as the two men are believed to be in a state of animosity in recent times.

UDP as a political party, he added, has sacrificed a lot over the years, which has contributed to political change. Darboe challenged the UDP youths to follow the lead of their elders. “We will hand over the mantle of leadership to you at the right time. But we will not allow anyone to impose himself on the party. We will not accept it,” he said.

President Barrow was a member of the UDP before resigning to lead a coalition in which he won a race to become the nation’s 3rd president, but recent gossip has it that he’s on the verge of breaking away from the UDP to form his own political party.

“If a woman is married to her husband and if you are not straightforward to your husband and you are not doing what he wants, what will find you there is divorce,” he said.

“We will not be a party to anyone that wants to destroy the country. Anything that we did in the country is for the development of The Gambia and until the day I answer to the Almighty Allah, we will continue on it.”

He said position is something that God gives to someone and the day God says it will finish, it will finish and it’s not something that one should be ashamed of. “What should make you feel ashamed is when you lose your position with a reason. Therefore, it is something that one should be careful of,” he stated.

“We don’t want the international community to give back to the country. If we the political leaders are not careful of what to say, the international communities will lose confidence in this country and they will go back. We will not want our struggle to go in vain. We did not go to jail for nothing. We fought against misuse and abuse of government resources.”