NEW YEAR, NEW PLANS, OLD PROBLEMS

THE WHOLE WORLD SEEMS to waiting in calm anticipation for what the new year hope to bring. While others are hoping to change jobs or go abroad and search for better opportunities elsewhere, there are others who are working relentless to fight for what they think is right.

For example, in Nigeria, the new year is expected to see the country grapple with political challenges - at a time when the country's President is 'sick' and hospitalised abroad, and then the long and protracted issue of Mutallib, the alleged mastermind of the Christmas day plot against a U.S airline bound for Detroit.

Ordinary Nigerians will begin to ask themselves why and those answers might be difficult depending on the different circumstances facing the problem. Being one of the biggest countries on the continent, Nigeria to some of us living at this side of the globe, see the country as a 'big brother' in terms of the support and hospitality they rendered to small nations such as Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Guinea etc, but paradoxically, it is one of those countries where some of the biggest scandals take place. Yesterday, it was vote rigging, and mismanagement at the banks, today it is about a would-be suicide bomber who by all indications is from a decent family.

The new year plans for Nigeria would probably be different from Guinea Conakry where the West African state is also going through a systematic political crisis after the death of Lansana Conteh who ruled Conakry for more than two decades. His death prompted Capt. Mousa Dadis Camara and his colleagues to take over peacefully, and all was relatively well until September 28th 2009 when gun-wielding soldiers allegedly sprayed bullets on a crowd of protestors during a political rally held at the Conakry stadium. Like Nigeria, Guinea too has so many things to do in the new year. With Dadis out of the country nursing his wounds at a hospital in Morroco after a failed attempt on life by one of his aides.

Coming back to The Gambia, for those of us in the media, we hope to change the way we have been doing or simply put improve on what we've been doing so that we will continue to deliver and live up to expectation. We hope who ever is reading this piece will also change the way he or she has been doing things and improve better, and pray that God the Almighty will continue to shower his blessings on us all, to witness the new year in peace. We hope that people will not judge us wrongly just like it is stated in the bible: 'Judge not, otherwise you will be judged.'

Thank you, and happy 2010.