Full Speech: Talib Ahmed Bensouda’s Address at Unite Movement for Change Congress – UMC Leader...

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:12]Unite.

[00:00:14]>> Unite.

[00:00:17]>> 2026.

[00:00:18]>> 2026. State Houseman, uh my dear compatriots, my fellow Gambians, young people, women, elders, workers, farmers, traders, students, community leaders, religious leaders and members of our dear diaspora.

[00:00:54]Distinguished guests, party leaders from across the political spectrum, members of the press, members of the diplomatic core, newly elected executives of the Unite Movement for Change, Ward Constituency Executives, Regional Committee Executives and Representatives, delegates who have traveled from every corner of this country and every corner of this world. Welcome to the best ever congress hosted by the Unite Movement for Change.

[00:01:40]>> Today is not an ordinary political gathering. Today is a declaration >> definitely >> a declaration that Gambian people are ready to move forward.

[00:01:50]>> Wow. A declaration that our country deserves leadership that is competent, leadership that is disciplined, leadership that is prepared to govern.

[00:02:03]>> A declaration that politics must once again become a tool of national service, not personal and political survival.

[00:02:13]Today we officially launch, we officially inaugurate the executive of the Unite Movement for Change.

[00:02:22]>> Wow.

[00:02:24]>> This is a national political movement not built around one man but built around one mission to unite the Gambian people, reso restore confidence in public leadership and transform the future of our dear republic.

[00:02:41]My fellow Gambians, for too long, our people have carried frustration in silence.

[00:02:48]Young people graduate without certainty.

[00:02:52]Families struggle with the rising cost of living. Farmers work hard, yet they remain vulnerable.

[00:02:59]Communities still wait for roads, water, electricity, health care, and above all, opportunity.

[00:03:08]Across this beautiful nation, citizens are asking the same question. How can a country with so much promise continue to move with so little direction?

[00:03:20]The Gambian people are tired. Tired of politics that only becomes visible during elections. Tired of leaders who only campaign emotionally but govern carelessly.

[00:03:33]Tired of the noise replacing results.

[00:03:37]tired of the promise replacing planning and this is why this movement is born and this is why this movement will win the 2026 elections.

[00:03:51]>> Look at it.

[00:03:52]>> We will not win with bitterness. We will not build win with revenge but from the belief that the Gambia can be governed better.

[00:04:02]My fellow Gambians, I have had the honor of serving the people of Kanifing and public service has taught me something important.

[00:04:12]Politics is not about slogans. It is about whether markets function, whether drains are cleaned, whether roads are passible, whether young people find opportunities, and whether families can live in dignity.

[00:04:31]Leadership is not measured by how loudly a politician speaks. Leadership is measured by whether people's lives improve. That is the lesson we now carry from local government to the national stage.

[00:04:47]But let let me say this directly.

[00:04:50]This movement does not belong to Kifing alone. It belongs to Bas. It belongs to Birkama. It belongs to Farfen. It belongs to S. It belongs to Kerawan. It belongs to Janjambur.

[00:05:07]It belongs to every village, every community and every Gambian who believes this country deserves more. My fellow Gambians, we meet at an important moment in our national life. There is a growing concern about the direction of our institutions, the use of state power and the growing mistrust between citizens and leadership.

[00:05:31]Let me state my position clearly.

[00:05:35]I respect the law. I respect accountability and no one should ever be above the law.

[00:05:45]But justice must not never be justice must never be selective. Institutions must never become political weapons and state power must not be used to silence citizens who choose to stand up and participate in national life.

[00:06:04]>> Democracy cannot survive where fair replaces fairness.

[00:06:10]And let me say this directly to the Gambian people.

[00:06:13]I do not fear anyone to scrutinize Talibans.

[00:06:19]>> I do not fear anybody to criticize Talibans.

[00:06:24]I do not fear political competition.

[00:06:28]Bring it and I will compete you all the way to Marina Parade.

[00:06:36]>> Let me tell you what I fear.

[00:06:40]I fear this is a country where too many young good people become afraid. Afraid to speak, afraid to participate, afraid to challenge power.

[00:06:53]This is not the democracy Gambians fought for in 2016.

[00:07:00]>> My fellow Gambians, this movement stands clear on national priorities.

[00:07:07]First, jobs and work for our people, skills and capacity development, economic opportunity for the young and our dear mothers and their sisters.

[00:07:21]The youth of this country cannot continue to be used as political decorations while employ unemployment destroys their future.

[00:07:32]We must build an economy that creates opportunities in technology, creates opportunities in agriculture, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, and innovation.

[00:07:44]Second, we must protect families, especially the poor and vulnerable, from the rising cost of living.

[00:07:54]A government that does not understand the daily struggle of ordinary people cannot understand what the nation deserves and cannot govern it.

[00:08:06]Rural transformation.

[00:08:08]No serious national development can happen while rural communities remain neglected.

[00:08:14]Rural Gambia must become central to our economic strategy. It must become central in our agricultural investment.

[00:08:23]It must center in infrastructure planning and public services.

[00:08:28]Those from the rural area must feel that they are part of the national cake and national prosperity. Wow.

[00:08:38]Good governance and institutional reform.

[00:08:42]Public office must become a responsibility, not an opportunity for the privileged.

[00:08:49]The Gambian people deserve a government that accounts for public money, respects institutions and devel services efficiently.

[00:08:59]The Gambia is too small.

[00:09:03]It is too small to be permanently divided by politics.

[00:09:07]We may belong from different parties, different regions, different generations, but we share the republic.

[00:09:15]We share one destiny. We share one unity. Unite, unite, unite.

[00:09:24]My fellow Gambians, some say to me, Talip, you're too young.

[00:09:30]I say youth is not a weakness when it is guided by competence, when it is guided by discipline, when it is guided by courage.

[00:09:39]Around the world, nations move forward when new generations are prepared to lead with energy, lead with ideas, and lead with responsibility.

[00:09:50]Others say to me, Talib, you came from local government.

[00:09:54]Yes, I did come from local government.

[00:09:57]But local government has taught me that leadership is not abstract.

[00:10:02]Every decision affects real people.

[00:10:06]Every decision affects real families.

[00:10:09]Every decision affects everybody's future.

[00:10:14]That experience matters. Ideas here today. If I become president or let me qualify when I become president I will be the most qualified president in the history of Gambia. Declare governing a country requires more than speeches. It requires preparation.

[00:10:41]It requires systems.

[00:10:43]It requires discipline. It requires understanding how government must work for ordinary people.

[00:10:52]That is the difference between politics and governance.

[00:10:57]My fellow Gambians, this movement is not built out of anger.

[00:11:02]It is built on organization.

[00:11:05]It is not built on insults. It is built on ideas.

[00:11:10]It is not built to destroy. It is built to rebuild.

[00:11:17]Tonight, I extend my hand to every Gambian who believes this country can rise higher. To the youth, your energy must now build this nation. To the women, no transformation will succeed without your empowerment, without your dignity, without your leadership. To our elders, we honor your sacrifices and we honor your wisdom.

[00:11:44]and we will stand by your side foot to foot to reach the promised land.

[00:11:50]To our religious leaders and traditional leaders, we seek peace. We seek stability and we share national responsibility.

[00:12:02]And to all the small boys and girls in the madrasas, small boys and girls in the Christian schools, you will not be left behind by the unite movement for change.

[00:12:17]>> To our diaspora, many who have joined it, they have spent so much money to come register and vote.

[00:12:26]spend so much money to come to this national congress. To you and those you have left behind, you remain part of the heartbeat of this republic.

[00:12:39]And even those who may disagree with us politically, those from various parties, those who criticize us, this movement will never treat disagreement as hatred. We will treat it as fuel to prosper.

[00:12:59]Leadership is not only about governing our supporters and our well-wishes.

[00:13:04]Leadership is about serving an entire nation, even those who disagree with you.

[00:13:11]My fellow Gambians, history does not wait for nations that refuse to organize themselves. And from tonight we organize >> word by word, constituency by constituency, region by region. We organize in our campuses, our communities, our markets and across the diaspora. Because change without organization is only emotion and emotion alone cannot transform a country.

[00:13:43]My fellow Gambians, tonight a new political force rises. A new political force has shown its beautiful face on the horizons of our shores. A movement prepared to listen, prepared to walk, a movement prepared to govern. And let me say this clearly, the Gambia does not need leaders who only know how to campaign. The Gambia needs leaders who know how to govern.

[00:14:13]>> Wow. Wow.

[00:14:17]So before Allah, before the Gambian people and before history, we make this pledge. We will unite.

[00:14:28]We will serve and we will transform from Banjul to Bas, from the comos to the provinces. From our villages to our cities, from frustration to hope, from hope to action, from action to national transformation.

[00:14:50]And let history remember this moment, the moment competent change became organized. My fellow Gambians, the future of this country will not be decided by fear.

[00:15:04]It will be decided by courage, by participation, by organization, and by the determination of the citizens who believe. By the determination of the supporters and leaders of the Unite Movement for Change, Gambia can do better. Gambia will do better.

[00:15:24]Tonight, change is no longer an idea.

[00:15:27]Change is a movement. And that movement has a name. Can everybody stand and say what the name of the movement is? Rise up. Rise up.

[00:15:41]>> Unite Movement for Change.

[00:15:44]>> Unite Movement for Change.

[00:15:48]>> May God bless you all. May God bless.

[00:15:51]Unite Movement for Change and may God bless the Republic of the Gambia to unite, to serve, to transform.

[00:16:18]Movement for change delegates movement for change delegate constituency chairman.

[00:16:30]The new executive members executive.

[00:16:35]The new members of our diaspora members, the new immunity, Unite and meeting history.

[00:17:35]Gambia Gambia Gambia.

[00:17:46]UMC will be the political platform to rescue this country.

[00:18:21]UMC is a party of discipline. Congress Congress Congress.

[00:18:50]Regal Congress.

[00:18:52]Regional Congress Congress Congress State House number one.

[00:19:44]One day president's office Gambian You school, we are a movement of the people.

[00:21:17]We are a political party with a difference.

[00:21:40]Focus, focus, focus, focus, focus, focus.

[00:22:03]noise.

[00:22:17]So every day President of the Republic Attack. UMC attack local government.

[00:22:56]Local government. UMC attack.

[00:23:21]CNN CNBC.

[00:23:41]President President of reform.

[00:24:17]number one number Paris party leader.

[00:24:52]political party mobiliz.

[00:25:01]mobiliz. Foreign speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.

[00:25:18]Beyond You are the real heroes of the Gambia.

[00:26:01]When we come to power, we will guarantee your freedoms and your rights.

[00:26:11]When you criticize What advice? Diaspora Congress American chapter $500,000 $800,000 chapter $200,000 $200,000 $300,000 Daspora Daspora Mangaland Saturday.

[00:27:31]>> Unite.

[00:27:32]>> Unite.

[00:27:33]>> Unite.

[00:27:34]>> State house.

[00:27:53]B plus one B 26.

[00:28:13]Isabah is sol.