Editorial

The conduct of our youth this week as presented by the media is indeed unacceptable. First it was two boysattacking the a hotelier. Again there was news of a man cutting off his private part and attempting to kill his lover simply because they had some disagreement.

Such behaviour from the younger generation is indeed worrying particularly for a country that has strived so hard to earn itself the title of ‘Smiling Coast of Africa’.We wonder what has happened to our conscience and morals.

We thank the police for their quick response to the two situations. We also appeal to the people to always reveal information of suspicious activities in their neighbourhoods. It is through combined efforts that we can make the country crime free. The police are always in the vanguard, but they cannot do it all alone.

Since both cases have legal ramifications we will not dig deeper into them for now, but what is important for the people to understand is that in every human society, there exists principles by which the people operate, conducting themselves inline with some specific moral norms and values. In this modern era, nation states are guided by a supreme document called the constitution.

This serves as a reference for citizens and non-citizens alike. It is codified to be respected, so actions that contradict the constitution are criminal and deserve punishment according to its dictates. This is why the state provides for the establishment of institutions such as the judiciary to interpret the law to the understanding of every individual as well as to administer its enforcement, as ignorance of the law is not an excuse.

The fundamental point to note here is that the role of the state is to administer justice among people who manage their own affairs.This clearly shows that every individual has some form of freedom, but that freedom must not encroach upon the freedom of others.One's right to survival must not encroach upon another person's right to security. 

The Gambia is a country known for its hospitality and we must not on any account allow intruders to jeopardize the peace and stability we have been enjoying for long.The constitution is the supreme document of our country.It has set down principles by which we should conduct ourselves (citizens and non-citizens alike).Therefore, any person or group of people who put themselves above these principles are performing acts of criminality and should be punished.

The police are exhausting all efforts within their capability to track down unscrupulous elements in our society.The cooperation of the patriotic citizenry is crucial in the work of the police.A progressive nation is backed by a progressive populace.We should all perform our duties and responsibilities as citizens of the state.