What does it mean to be a Gambian? I’m sure the answer to this question will vary, depending on who you ask and their experiences. It’s definitely not about dem heew, dem ngenteh, leka benachin, yaye chewing gum or saga ndey, because they do that in Senegal and other places too.
But regardless of what it means, one thing is certain, we must evolve as a people, especially for those who have traveled and seen other places. Traveling is what opened up the world and allowed the human race to share ideas and best practices, and now the internet has taken that to a new level. So there is really no legitimate reason, in my view, for us not to evolve in the way we do or handle things.
Our Gambian culture should not stop us from evolving, because we are not the only ones with a culture. Others have cultures too, and it didn’t stop them from evolving. Japanese culture has always been tight and rich, and it never stopped them from evolving as a people. In fact, it has gotten even tighter and richer, as their evolution continues, by dropping some of their detrimental practices and picking up new and benign ones along the way. The evolution of a PEOPLE heavy depends on their willingness to permit their culture to evolve.
Heycho, njaykalantu, ak ngerow has always been part of Gambian culture, as far as I can remember. Luneka nyu haycho, njaykanlantu wala ngerow! Malo nyu haycho, taxi nyu haycho, deewleen nyu haycho. I can vividly remember standing in line to buy saku malo at Bakau NTC , and I was second in line that day too. But as soon as the doors opened, I found myself in the back of the line. Haycho bi neh kurr. I probably ended up being the 100th person to purchase saku malo that day.smh
When the junta took over power back in 1994, there were rumors of “haycho neka” president, and Jammeh won that one. Since then, mungee neka di ngerow. Struggle bi tam, ken demut bah len!
Wish we were able to let go of this detrimental aspect of our culture and substitute it with “collaboration and good intent”, it will place us at a much better place as a people and allow us to compete globally.
