At a mega event held recently at the Motherland Events Centre in Senegambia, the prodigious award-winning Gambian author and youth activist launches his second work.
Babucarr’s second book is a critical message about the state of Gambian affairs, presented to the nation as a message. This inspired its title, which is ‘The Envelope’.
As an emerging scholar and an award-winning author, Babucarr has displayed a dogged commitment as an emerging sociopolitical critic.
Rights and Beyond, his debut work, was published in 2021. While this first book of his dissects human rights in contemporary Gambia, especially under the authoritarian regime led by Yahya Jammeh, his latest work addresses institutional failure and systemic governance failures. “It is not the young,” he notes in the book.
The launching at the Motherland grounds in Senegambia was widely graced by Gambians across age groups, from the young to the elderly. Notables also marked their presence at the event.
Kemo Bojang, young Gambian politicians and leader of Unite Movement for Change, spoke at the event, hailing the book in colourful words.
He grabbed the opportunity well, urging young people to read and seek knowledge.
“There is a saying that: ‘If you want to hide something from an African, then hide it in a book.’ We need to change that,” he said. He pledged that they would purchase copies of the book.
In the same vein, Dr Lawrence Abraham of the American International University for West Africa spoke about how the book educates readers on the importance of development and leadership.
He equally described how young people questioned the leadership, but the question they should ask themselves is: what would they have done if they were in such a position.
He noted that the book conveys that it is all about the mindset, which is where everything stems from. “This book reminds us that as Africans, we must go back to the roots, doing the right thing,” he said.
“So what Mr Babucar has done is to express that everyone matters. To bring good governance, it is not just about the leadership but everyone is involved,” Mr Abraham added, praising the book in resounding words that left the whole audience astonished.
Meanwhile, Dr Cherno Omar Barry, Gambian academic, author and former university vice chancellor, pledged ten books, five of which are reserved for the Writers Association of The Gambia (WAG), which he leads as President.
