The voice of reason finally prevail and another unnecessary blood letting was prevented as Yahya Jammeh, the former Gambian president, has left the country after he finally agreed to step down following 22 years of rule.
The former president and his family headed into political exile on Saturday night, ending a 22-year reign and a post-election political standoff that almost provoked a regional military intervention when he refused to relinquish power after losing at the polls.
As he mounted the stairs to the plane, he turned to the crowd, kissed his Qur’an and waved one last time to supporters, including soldiers who cried at his departure.
The flight came almost 24 hours after Jammeh announced on state television he was ceding power to the newly inaugurated Adama Barrow, in response to mounting international pressure calling for his departure.
Jammeh supporters flocked to the airport to see him walk the red carpet to his plane. He landed in Guinea an hour later and members of his family emerged from the plane, though the country might not be his final destination.
Jammeh took power in a 1994 coup – but stepped down in the face of pressure from west African armies that entered Gambia to force him to recognize that he lost an election in December to Barrow.
The Guinean president, Alpha Condé, and the UN’s regional chief, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, had remained in the capital and a regional force was positioned in the country, ready to move in if Jammeh changed his mind and refused to cede power.
Jammeh’s departure heralds the first democratic transition of power the Gambia’s history. Jammeh initially accepted defeat but later rejected the election result and declared a national state of emergency in an attempt to cling to power.
Credit must be given to Nigeria and other West Africa countries for ensuring the transfer of power in Gambia.
