By Haddy Touray
The leader of NAFAA political movement has raised eyebrows over the deaths of 893 Gambian migrants who perished while attempting to reach Europe via irregular routes.
Speaking at a press briefing held at Kairaba Avenue on Monday, NAFAA leader Ousainou Allen said that in 2025 alone, 893 Gambian migrants lost their lives, with 840 dying at sea, 53 on land, and 777 remaining missing. He warned that such losses have significant social and economic consequences, particularly due to the decline in the youth population.
“Across rural and peri-urban Gambia, towns are experiencing an alarming scarcity of young people. Agricultural lands are increasingly tilled by women, who bear disproportionate physical and economic burdens, while older men sit to the side, not from idleness but from exhaustion and quiet despair, asking what went wrong with a system that could not retain its youths,” he said.
The NAFAA leader stressed that the ongoing migration trend threatens food security, erodes social cohesion, and depletes the national workforce.
He also expressed concern over the lack of accessible migration data from stakeholders such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Gambia Immigration Department (GID), and the Gambia Red Cross Society regarding interceptions and returns. He said this raises serious questions about transparency, coordination, and accountability.
Questioning the effectiveness of border security, he noted that Gambia is reportedly the only accessible departure point in the subregion due to weak policing and porous borders, allowing boats to assemble, fuel, and depart undetected.
“There is not merely a migration failure; it is a national security vulnerability, allowing individuals with unknown identities and potentially ulterior motives to enter, operate, and exit undetected,” he added.
He urged the Gambian government to fulfill its constitutional duty to protect lives and property, emphasizing that this responsibility cannot be applied selectively.
