Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – In The Gambia, brilliance too often dies young, not by age, but by envy’s slow suffocation. We are a small nation rich in talent, yet too often that talent flickers out, snuffed by jealousy’s breath and arrogance’s shadow.

Scripture warns us. History warns us. Conscience whispers the same truth: envy corrodes, arrogance blinds, and every plot consumes its maker.

Pharaoh chased Moses into the sea, and the waters swallowed him whole. Qarun, drunk with wealth, schemed against Moses, and the earth devoured him.

Cain killed Abel, only to wander restless all his days. Haman built gallows for Mordecai but swung from them himself.

Herod slaughtered innocents to silence the infant Jesus, yet history remembers only his cruelty.

From Pharaoh to Herod, from Cain to Qarun, the lesson is timeless: envy blinds, arrogance corrupts, and destruction destroys its own maker first. The story repeats itself in every age, in every land, including ours.

Across our politics, rivals are treated as enemies to erase rather than partners to build with. In our institutions, suspicion replaces trust; in our families, pride is mistaken for progress. The result is predictable: our collective energy turns inward, devouring itself.

A promotion is met not with applause but with whispers. A new business attracts not support but suspicion. Success becomes an invitation for sabotage.

This is the “crab mentality” I once described, each claw pulling the other down until none escape the bucket. We seem to fear the success of others more than our own failure.

I have lived these truths in public service. I have seen false accusations fly like poisoned arrows, tempting one to answer bitterness with bitterness. But patience outlasts lies. Restraint preserves dignity. In moments of injustice, silence can feel heavy, but time has a way of revealing the truth louder than anger ever could.

Those who fed on envy burned themselves hollow. Their victories turned to ash, their names forgotten.

When destruction becomes a mission, destruction becomes the end, not only for those who plot, but also for the institutions they poison and the nation that allows it to spread.

And yet, there is another path. As Ambassador Abdoulie Bax Touray reminds us, Gambians shine across the world, leading global organizations, innovating in science and technology, and excelling in sports, the arts, and business.

Yet this brilliance is not reflected at home. We are energized, but not synergized. Too many achievements become fleeting glory rather than enduring legacy.

That is why Bax Touray calls for a Consortium of Conscience, a platform where Gambians at home and abroad pool talent, capital, and conscience to build lasting institutions, invest together, mentor the next generation, and promote good governance. His call is simple: legacy, not vanity, must be our shared mission.

So the choice is clear. Shall we keep digging shallow graves for one another’s future or raise pillars strong enough to carry generations?

For a nation ruled by envy will wither, but a nation whose people celebrate one another and turn their brilliance into a shared legacy will rise beyond measure.

The graves we dig for others are too shallow to hold destiny. Let us build instead pillars of trust, humility, and shared purpose.

And when history turns its gaze upon us, may it not remember the bitterness we spread, but the greatness we built together.

Abdoulie Mam Njie

Reflections from a Life of Service