Ahead of the January 19 expiration of the legitimate term of President Yahyah Jammeh of The Gambia, tension is beginning to mount in the tiny West African country with citizens migrating to neighbouring nations. Morocco has offered a partial asylum to Jammeh should he decide to relinquish power.

In the midst of the uncertainty, Jammeh has announced a 60 days state of emergency. He did not give details of what to expect during the period but his latest stance suggest he is unwilling to step down and would rather dare the ECOWAS military might being assembled all around Gambia.

Nigeria’s newest warship, the NNS Unity, has set sail towards The Gambia ahead of possible military intervention over President Yahya Jammeh’s refusal to accept election defeat and step down when his term expires on Thursday, reports the BBC.

A Nigerian military source tells the BBC that the patrol vessel is currently sailing off the coast of Ghana after leaving from the commercial caital, Lagos.

The initial aim is to put on a show of force rather than to launch an attack.

Senegal is preparing ground troops ahead of Thursday’s deadline.

The Gambia’s tiny army is no match for the regional powers. In recent years, President Jammeh has been promoting his loyalists, including army chief Ousman Badjie,  to ranks beyond their competence.

This has further downgraded its military capabilities.

The regional body, Ecowas, has sad that military intervention will be a last resort to bring an end to the political deadlock in The Gambia.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has been leading mediation efforts to persuade Mr Jammeh to hand power to former estate agent Adama Barrow, who won the 1 December election.