03/05/2026
Copied from What's on Gambia
Good morning, Gambia!
Yesterday, we posted about Ismaila Fadera, the newly elected president of the University of The Gambia Students’ Union. The post attracted one of the biggest reactions we have seen on our page in recent times. We did not see a single negative comment about him. Instead, many rubbished us for joking about Seedy Njie closing the university.
Ismaila is a well-known youth leader in the UDP, and everyone knows that. Sometimes, he uses his page to defend and promote his party and its leadership.
But despite his active role in partisan politics, students at the university still elected him as their president. Do you know why? Because Ismaila differs from many young people involved in politics. He demonstrates maturity, discipline, and emotional intelligence.
He respects others and rarely loses his temper when confronted with political views different from his own. His political engagements are generally civil, without name-calling, hostility, or threatening rhetoric.
Do you think students would have voted for him if he had engaged in toxic politics? Certainly not. They would instead have mobilised to reject him at the ballot box.
Those of you here on social media who support political parties should learn from Ismaila’s example. It is natural to feel anger or frustration when passionate about an issue. But that anger should never be allowed to manifest in unhealthy ways or cross the line into intimidation, destructive behaviour, or personal attacks.
We wish Ismaila a successful tenure as president of the UTG Students’ Union. If he doesn’t have a girlfriend at the university, he should try to get one. The students want to have a First Lady.