One People, Two Nations: The Complex and Fragile Relations Between Two Sisterly Countries

Gambia/Senegal border, photo source: archtours

The Gambia - Senegal relations is indeed a very curious one. It is like a married couple who are separated, but both of whom are reluctant to seek for divorce. The deep cultural and ancestral ties which binds the two countries together makes it very difficult for one to easily walk away from the other. Almost every Gambian have a relative in Senegal and vise-versa. This fact is backed up by history which records that early settlers in Banjul came from the Senegalese Island of Goree.

People from the two countries often consider themselves as cousins if not siblings. Almost identical in every aspect of life, The Gambia and Senegal are two countries that cannot simply be divided by politics. The former being the smaller nation, is almost entirely surrounded by the latter on all sides of its national boundaries. Although divided by the colonialists (French-Senegal, English-Gambia), both countries share deep historical, cultural and ancestral ties that cannot simply be wiped out.

On the social front, the relations between Gambia and Senegal is like the case of two siblings or two great friends. Having misunderstandings from time to time in such relationships are inevitable but they are often resolved quickly and amicably. This is the complex scenario of the relationship. But when it comes to political matters, it is a different game altogether. The diplomatic and bilateral relations might seem appealing on the outside, but deep inside, there always appear to be some sort of mistrust between the two countries’ respective governments. And this is the fragile scenario of this unbreakable relationship

A post stamp depicting the Coats of Arms of Senegal and Gambia to symbolise the Confederation. Source: colnect

However, what is worrying is the constant border closure between the two countries. In an era when economic integration and border openness are foreseen as integral aspects of African development, these two inseparable countries are constantly having muted troubles over border issues. It has been recently reported that Senegal has closed its borders with the Gambia over ferry tariff charges and this has been going on now for the best part of three weeks. In fact whoever was task with the responsibility of demarcating these borders back in the days, did a very bad job indeed.

Considering the geographical location and the proximity of these two countries, there should never have been a border in the first place. These countries should have been unified as one long time ago! Of course one could argue about the functionality of a country with two different official languages but that is a non-issue really. Take the case of Cameroon for example where both French and English are spoken at the official level. And moreover, how many local languages are spoken between Gambia and Senegal? If we can coexist with various different local dialects among our midst, I see no reason why the Gambia and Senegal could not have been a one unified country with two different official languages.

We can lay the blame on the colonialists for dividing us but we had the chance to unify ourselves which we fail to take. The 1982 Senegambia Confederation was a very good platform for building an ever closer union between the two countries. However, our respective governments at the time had different agendas and did not fully trust each other. This led to the unfortunate collapse of the confederation in 1989 and I don’t think there will ever be a greater opportunity for Senegambia unification.

Whether unified or not, or whether the borders continue to close or remain open, the historic relations between the people of these two countries will continue to be fostered. One thing is for sure though, neither The Gambia or Senegal benefits from these repetitive border closures. So it is irresponsible for either party to instigate or promote such unscrupulous economic actions. The respective authorities should therefore swiftly sit together to find a lasting and meaningful solution to this constant menace in the region.