Nigeria Sends Warship to Gambia as President Jammeh Declares State of Emergency

With less than 2 million people, the Gambia is one of the smallest countries in Africa, and military strategists say its small army can hardly be expected to stand up to a regional force in the event of combat.

There have been repeated attempts by West African heads of government, including Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, to press Jammeh to accept the election result and respect the will of the Gambian people.

However, President Jammeh has refused.

Still, Ecowas maintains that it does “not wish to start a conflict.” In fact, they expect Jammeh to calmly negotiate an exit door in the interest of peace and unity of his country.

In a desperate counter move on Tuesday, Jammeh declared a nationwide state of emergency, alleging that several foreign interests had been invested in last December’s election results.

In an address delivered on state television, Jammeh said the declaration was “due to the unprecedented and extraordinary amount of foreign inference in the December presidential elections and also in the internal affairs of the Gambia.”

He then added that the situation had created an “unwarranted hostile atmosphere, threatening the sovereignty, peace, security, and stability of the country.”

The Gambian constitution allows for a state of emergency for a maximum seven-day period if unilaterally declared by the President and a maximum 90-day period if confirmed by the national assembly.