After almost nine months of being the target of agitations, the US Embassy in The Gambia has abandoned plans to construct a new compound around Monkey Park because of environmental concerns.  The US changed course even as The Gambian government defended the decision to allow the Americans to build a new embassy there. “We began a more in-depth review of alternative locations” the US Embassy said in a statement released May 18.

“Is this not a shame that another country needs to tell you that the site selected is not appropriate as per environmental concerns,” posted Sanusi Camara, author of Call Me Abou, featured in Port of Harlem.

The president of the Gambia Environmental Alliance (GEA), Momodou Inkeh Bah, told The Standard newspaper that a series of meetings had been held culminating the announcement. “We were the first to pick up a fight against the acquisition of that place. It was in my capacity as the chairman that I wrote to the ambassador seeking audience with her to discuss the issue,” said the Mandela Fellow.

According to Bah, the park has over 80 different species of birds and a habitat for a highly endangered monkey species such as the Red Colobus whose global population is significantly declining. The park is also home to indigenous trees and supports biodiversity and environmental science studies. Monkey Park, also known as Bijilo Forest Park, receives over 23,000 visitors per year, mostly from the United Kingdom, followed by Germany, Norway, and Sweden.

Bah is a 2015 Mandala Fellow. The Fellowship was started by the Obama administration and brings young African leaders to the United States for academic coursework and leadership training. He told Port of Harlem, “I learned that leadership is not only about being in position of authority, but that you have to be sincere and passionate about what you believe in especially if it's for the common good.”

During his American program in Richmond, Virginia, he spent several weeks at Virginia Commonwealth University learning about civic leadership and government. Bah and his colleagues also met with the governor and the mayor of Richmond. The program culminated in a weeklong conference in Washington, D.C., where President Obama spoke to the Fellows.

While in the United States, he also met his ChildFund sponsor Debbie Gautreau, for the first time, at her home in Massachusetts. “It was very emotional for me to meet the person who actually contributed to my future by sponsoring my education (in Gambia),” Bah said.

In hindsight, Bah said his educational support from an American citizen and the US government enhanced his abilities to be an effective environmentalist. His campaigns have included challenging the Gambian government over the building of the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center in Monkey Park and the Chinese over fish processing factories in Sanyang and Kartong.  

He added, “This position requires me to be selfless and straightforward in my dealings. Finally, any leader who changes their position base on who they're dealing with cannot be a trusted leader.”