Source/Credit: The Daily Observer
By Sheriff Janko | December 7, 2010
The deceased minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Abubacarr Gaye was Friday given a state burial.
Dr. Gaye's remains was laid in state at a solemn ceremony held at the National Assembly chambers in Banjul, before he was finally laid to rest at 3:00pm at the Jeshwang Cemetery in Kanifing. Hundreds of mourners including the vice president and minister of Women's Affairs, Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, who deputised the Gambian leader; speaker of the National Assembly, Abdoulie Bojang; Cabinet ministers and foreign diplomats; among others, all gathered at the National Assembly to pay their last respects to the deceased, who was described by all the speakers as a man who devoted his entire life serving the nation and humanity.
It could be recalled that the late Dr. Gaye passed away on Thursday December 2nd 2010, at the Banjul International Airport, as he was about to be evacuated to Dakar, Senegal, for medical treatment.
Speaking at the solemn laying-in-state ceremony, VP Njie-Saidy, on behalf of the Gambian leader, described the late Dr. Gaye as someone who lived a selfless life to serve humanity, and a very good person. She further described Dr. Gaye as a great and illustrious son of The Gambia saying, "in Islam, we have hope on someone because of the way the person lived his/her life. The late Dr. Gaye lived a selfless life to serve humanity, so that gives us hope that Allah will grant him peace in Al-Jannah'.
She added that they have lost a great friend and colleague and extended sincere condolences on behalf of the Gambian leader and entire government of The Gambia to the bereaved family. She also prayed that God grants them fortitude to bear the great loss. VP Njie-Saidy also highlighted the proactive stance taken by the Gambian leader to restore the health condition of the deceased. In a citation read on his behalf by the VP, President Jammeh described the deceased as a man with wealth of experience both as a social worker and a medical practitioner during his years of active service.
The citation reads: "The late Dr. Abubacarr Gaye was born on the 26th of September 1951 in the Village of Barra. After completing Primary School, he attended Maburaka High School in Sierra Leone between 1960 and 1965. He later proceeded to the former USSR, to attend Patrice Lumumba People's Friendship University in Moscow between 1967 to 1973, where he did his A' levels in Russian Language, Mathematics, Physics, Biology, Chemistry and History. After going through intensive training, he trained to become a general doctor in medicine. Dr. Gaye has had a wealth of experience both as a social worker and a medical practitioner during his years of active service. After graduation, he did his internships at the Department of Clinical Studies, Ministry of Health in Sierra Leone from 1974 to 1976. After his return to The Gambia, he worked at Bansang Hospital in CRR until 1981, when he took up private practice.
Dr. Gaye also worked as a surgical assistant at the Tallinding Ahmadiyya Muslin Jama'at Hospital from 1998 to 2004. Dr. Gaye, was appointed as Minister of Health and Social Welfare on October 30th 2009 and that his appointment did not come as a surprise to all those who knew him. During his tenure in office he reformed and restructured the entire health sector as it was at a time when the staff moral was very low. In his first month of office he embarked on a comprehensive tour of every health facility in the country as a way of getting first hand information on the state of the health service in The Gambia. His leadership skills and ability to manage and direct has contributed in no small measure in the development of the health services delivered in the country.
Dr Gaye has over 30 years experience as a general practitioner with an in-depth knowledge of tropical medicine. His leadership's skills and ability as a communicator never eased to amaze all those he has had contact with him. His untimely death which came as a shock to the nation is an irreparable loss.
Speaking earlier, Abdoulie Bojang, the speaker of the National Assembly, said it is with deep sense of sorrow and sympathy to receive the people in this august gathering to laying-in-state, the remains of their beloved colleague and comrade in governance, the late Dr. Abubacarr Gaye. "As honourable members of this august Assembly, we are particularly touched by the untimely demise of the late minister of Health and Social Welfare for two reasons," he said, maintaining that the deceased was never found wanting in the executions of his duties as part of his cabinet appointment and that he will also probably be best remembered for being a man of great of character, very modest, as he always told the Parliament what he was sure of and always made himself available to Parliamentarians on any issues for clarification during question and answer sessions.
Speaker Bojang went on to describe the deceased as a gentleman par excellence, who will go down in the annals of Parliamentary history for politely speaking his mind. Speaker Bojang then used the opportunity on behalf of both sides of the Parliament, to convey sincere heartfelt condolences to the Gambian leader, Cabinet ministers, as well as the government and prayed that the departed soul rests in eternal peace.
The Majority leader and member for Serrekunda East, Fabakary Tombong Jatta, for his part, echoed similar sentiments and went on to describe the late Dr. Gaye as an illustrious son of the country. He added that the late Dr. Gaye was a patriotic and humble individual who was committed to the service of his people.
He further went on to explain that the deceased operated an open door policy, and believed in consultation with a view to transforming the entire Health Ministry, so as to ensure better service delivery to the people. Hon. Jatta pointed out that the late Dr. Gaye's personal interaction with people was good, while extending condolences to VP Njie-Saidy and through her, to the Gambian leader, the entire government of The Gambia as well as the bereaved family.
Sidia Jatta, the National Assembly Member for Wuli West, described the late minister as a man of value, who had served the cause of humanity. Hon. Jatta described Dr. Gaye's demise as a big loss to the country in general, particularly the people of North Bank Region, where the deceased struggled with all the little means he had to serve those people. Hon. Jatta like his colleagues described the late Health minister as a comrade who valued knowledge and used it as a tool to serve humanity. He joined the previous speakers in praying for the departed soul to rest in perfect peace and wished the late Dr. Gaye's family long life to serve humanity like their father.
Alhaji Abdurrahman Secka, Alhaji Tafsir Gaye and Matarr Jah, on behalf of the late Dr. Gaye's family, all commended the Gambian leader and his entire government for what they described as his relentless support to restore the deceased to good health. They all acknowledged the proactive stance the Gambian leader took to ensure that Dr Gaye's health condition improved, adding that they were really moved by the president's dedication to the welfare of the deceased, as well as Gambians in general. They also described the deceased as a true Muslim who spent his entire life serving humanity and the nation. They also prayed for the departed soul to rest in perfect peace.
Matty Bouye, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, described the deceased as an extra-ordinary gentleman, who according to her, because of his fashion, dedication and commitment to the health sector, brought an era of immense transformation, unity and solidarity to the sector. She continued: "One of his greatest ambitions was to ensure the attainment Millennium Development Goals in Health by 2015, especially in the reduction of infant and child mortality, the reduction of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other communicable diseases as well as the attainment of the country's Vision 2020 and PRSP11."
PS Bouye further went on to describe the late Dr. Gaye as a man of high integrity, honour and honesty, adding that he was also very much dedicated to national duty. The Health and Social Welfare PS then used the opportunity on behalf of her Ministry to extend sincere condolences to the Gambian leader, the entire government of The Gambia and the bereaved family; and prayed that God the Almighty grant the departed soul perfect peace.
The minister of Trade, Industrial Development and Regional Integration, Hon. Yusupha Kah, hailed the deceased as an exemplary man who lived his life serving his country and humanity. Minister Kah like other speakers said he knew the deceased in Banjul and also in Cabinet, describing him as a humble and contented person who believed in knowledge sharing. "We will certainly miss his contributions for we have always enjoyed his contribution and sense of humour," he said, while equally extending sincere condolences of behalf of his Cabinet colleagues to the bereaved family and prayed for the departed soul.
For her part, Fatou Lamin Faye, the minister of Basic and Secondary Education, reiterated the proactive role played by the Gambian leader to ensure that that the deceased health minister's condition improved as desired. The deceased, according to her, was a dedicated person who contributed immensely to the development of the country especially in the health sector. She prayed for God to grant him peace in heaven.
Baba F Trawally, the Amir of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at, also extended sincere sympathy to the entire government of The Gambia, the bereaved family and prayed to God to grant him peace in heaven.
Read original post here: Health Minister Laid to Rest
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