When Yahya Jammeh came to power in 1994, being a university graduate, a lawyer or a doctor was the sole preserve of the Banjul Wollof and Aku elite. 

He was not very happy with this and quickly set up a commission to look into the feasibility of pioneering the country’s first-ever university after 30 years of no university under Jawara. 

The so-called experts told Jammeh a university was not feasible for The Gambia at the time but the former Head of State would not accept that. He went ahead and started a university in partnership with Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Canada. 

Many people spread rumours that the graduates would not be recognized abroad but the rest, as they say, is history with the university producing doctors and top academic scholars that went on to do graduate studies in top universities around the world. 

Here are some top graduates from The University of The Gambia:  

Kebba Jammeh: Kebba got his Bachelors degree in Economics and Finance in 2012. He later moved to the University of Essex to do his Master’s and PhD in Economics. He is currently a consultant at the World Bank.  

Samba Bah: Samba got his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of The Gambia and he is currently pursuing his doctorate in Education Administration at Ohio University, USA.  

Nfally Fadera: Nfally graduated with a degree in Political Science before proceeding to Westminster University in London to bag a Master’s Degree in Communication. He later worked as a senior communication officer at the Office of the President. He currently works at the OIC Secretariat. 

Some of the students who graduated from the extension program with St. Mary's University include former minister Momodou Sabally, Dr Assan Sarr - a professor of African History at Ohio University and Yankuba Darboe of the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA).