The beginning of the end

Yahya Jammeh has never been so alienated and frustrated

We are slowly but sorely arriving at the meaning of the recent onslaught that saw the Gambia’s security hierarchy severely bashed, with the ignominious removal of the man everyone would agree was hitherto Yahya Jammeh’s most trusted ally, General Lang Tombong Tamba. At the time of his removal, a number of theories emerged, subsequently overshadowed by the one perpetuated by Yahya Jammeh himself through GRTS, with the help, of course, of his rather subservient dummy, Momodou Sanyang. And it worked, you know. Even if it was for just a short period, as present revelations suggest.
I am not blaming the helpless bully, Sanyang, for this, because anybody else in his place who wants to stay longer, unharmed and without being worried about going through the horror so many well intentioned Gambians have suffered in the hands of Jammeh’s hounding attitude will have to submit nothing short of their integrity to the dictator. But Momodou Sanyang’s incontrovertible penchant to perform according to the wishes of his demigod, which translates in his obstinate willingness to sacrifice the love of even his own family for the company of Yahya Jammeh, which makes it understandable why he is ever willing to sacrifice innocent souls, portrays an altogether loathsome character in his own right. As a result, GRTS has become such a tool for Yahya Jammeh’s mediocre propaganda agenda, targeting the mindset of the masses in such a way that given its calculated unrivalled position in the broadcasting industry in the country, majority of Gambians have no choice but to listen to all the misinformation it continues to pursue. No offence to the many genuine members of staff of GRTS, some of whom I had the honour of working with. We are all just victims of circumstances.
But like I have always held, sooner or latter, we will get to see the truth. Every indication is that the Jammeh media propaganda machinery has failed woefully. The signal we are getting from Banjul strongly suggests, if anything, the beginning of the end of the fascist establishment led by a clearly perturbed, insecure and alienated common dictator. But it might take just some time more before the system ruptures in the faces of all those who fail to pay attention to the imminent wind of change that blows on the direction of Banjul.
But it is also important to understand that Yahya Jammeh views and treats his presidency as divine order, and he will stop at nothing, absolutely nothing, to ensure his stay at the ‘thrown’ until such a time when he will no longer need the seal of the Gambia government to perpetuate his criminal profiteering and terrorist activities in Gambia, around the West Africa region and beyond. But again, if anything, with recent development, it is now clear to all – be you in the security or the civil service - that Jammeh has never been, and he will never ever be the dependable person he has tried by all means to portray himself as. It is now clearer than it has ever been that no matter what you do for the man, you can’t be saved from his treacherous claws when he can no longer restrain his despicable urge for betrayal. Thankfully, this is an underlying reality that seems to have sunk in the brains of some section of Gambia’s security establishment.
General Tamba’s removal, for instance, has never been the result of alleged poor living condition of security personnel, contrary to the pack of lies Jammeh single-handedly perpetuated under the nose of the generally weakened media in Gambia. If so why was IGP Ensa Badjie, Jammeh’s present preferential puppet within the country’s security establishment, spared? We all heard the same Yahya Jammeh condemning the situation under which the police at the Police Line in Banjul lived. What made the police so different from the military that the only way Jammeh could possibly demonstrate his anger was by subjecting the guy who rescued his dented pride from the hands of a more sober Colonel Ndure Cham to such a miserable situation?
And if the problem with General Tamba had been financial malpractice, as has been rumoured in some other quarters [and Yahya Jammeh and Momodou Sanyang tacitly encouraged that by their uncouth failure to come out and give Gambians a convincing reason for that absurd performance of the president against Tamba], the General certainly would have been arraigned just like the way Colonel Gibril Bojang, who allegedly squandered state money illegally allocated for use on Jammeh’s personal business, was dealt with.
The simply fact is that Yahya Jammeh lost every reason to rely on his once trusted security ally, and for failure of any genuine reason to get rid of him, he came up with the petty charge of soldiers’ bad living condition. Was that the first time Jammeh was getting in close contact with Gambian soldiers to allow him get first hand information on their living condition? If so then he has more to answer for as the self-styled minister of Defence than the sacked General. Of course, there have been so many reasons for soldiers to complain about, and Jammeh is very well aware of all of these. Take for instance selection of personnel for peace keeping missions in war-turn regions and also how their remuneration is handled. The corrupt practices of the security chiefs in this area are well known to Jammeh. If he actually cares about the men, he can intervene in that area.
Having stripped the general out of fear, Jammeh remained uncomfortable with him around, freely moving about. Realising the miscalculated move of humiliating so influential a person who probably commands more respect within the security of present day Gambia than him, and weighing the dangers associated with such a foolish move, Jammeh is forced to cook something against his former protégée.
But come to think about it, isn’t General Tamba’s treatment enough of a wake up call for the already traumatised security establishment in Gambia? Isn’t this a worrying phenomenon that it never does matter what one’s rank, political, tribal or religious affiliation is, it could be just a matter of time before you are framed by some one you are a threat to and face the wrath of Jammeh’s insidious demeanour? Even if you are a private officer, when you get commissioned some day and excel in your area, you will attract the invidious side of Yahya Jammeh. Aren’t these enough reasons to have our securities thinking of a way out of this mess?
If anything, reports of arrests of people like the notorious Bombarde and Amadou Samba of all people confirms the state of mistrust that currently wrecks Jammeh’s clearly handicapped government. Every well informed Gambian knows what Amadou Smabda means for Yahya Jammeh in the business world. But Jammeh fails to come to terms with the fact that Mr Samba’s trademark is business … and Jammeh’s blatant disregard for the country’s constitution, which has allowed him to usurp authority in every sector of the country’s business community, has turned him into a corporate opponent of Amadou Samba. There is so much at stake with any possible drastic action against Samba. But let’s cross our fingers and see what comes out of his latest arrest.
By the way, for those of you who have been yarning for convincing evidence of the ownership of the Daily Observer, this is a good time to read between the lines. If Amadou Samba actually owns the newspaper, you would expect it to cover his arrest. But I assure you, you will never see that, because Amadou Samba certainly does not own the Daily Observer; Yahya Jammeh does.
While these arrests will certainly not be welcoming experience for relatives of the detainees, it reveals to the world how oppressed and dissatisfied even those within Jammeh’s inner circle are, in spite of the wrong impression that is being given by the few who hide behind the freedom their man, Jammeh, denies his people back home, which they utilise to misinform the outside world.
The prevailing situation in Gambia has exposed Jammeh’s loosed grip on power. He clearly no longer knows who to trust and who not to trust. Within few months the heads of the three most important security units in the country were either removed or questioned. This clearly suggests nothing less than mistrust between Jammeh and his supposedly trusted allies. Who else does the dictator trust? Yahya Jammeh has never appeared so alienated. Certainly he is on the verge of ruining himself, making it easy for Gambians to reach our long standing goal – his removal and subsequent trial, alongside his closest accomplices in the hate and financial crimes they have committed against Gambians.
As a leader, the danger of surrounding oneself with a pack of uninformed, greedy buffoons is that they wreck your reign with acts of selfish in fights that only rain misery on the masses. People like Momodou Sanyang will do everything to undo innocent and more productive Gambians, while protecting his own thieving son, who now reigns over the Gambia’s US mission, the son who consciously commits financial crimes in connivance with Yahya Jammeh.
These might not be new information, but they serve as strong reminder for the world to know how Yahya Jammeh, thanks to his total incompetence and disregard for wisdom, has been governing the Gambia. You can not defend a judicial system under which big criminals like Lamin Sibi Sanyang are pardoned and less important once like Col. Gibril Bojang get such phoney trials and sentencing. Why would anyone have respect for a leader who imposes himself on those he leads, treating them with such loathsome indifference and disrespect? Why would I respect a leader who shamelessly lies without looking back for a single moment?
And to those who bask in the spoil of such a vicious system, when the inevitable change occurs in Gambia, which by all indication is right at the corner, none of you who have caused innocent Gambians to suffer will be spared by an acceptable justice system.
Let the government in waiting take note of this, because if they too fail to bring a much needed justice for Gambians in the event of a change, they shall be judged by the prevailing situation.
If we must make true our desired dreams for the benefit of our subsequent generations, we must as well learn to hold our leaders responsible. Re-institution of sanity in the justice system of the Gambia must go alongside subjecting Jammeh and his criminal cronies to justice. They must answer for what they have and continue to cause Gambians. If your hands are cleaned, you have nothing to worry about. Rest assured.

Commonwealth SG says Gambia is under investigation

Commonwealth S G

The secretary General of the Commonwealth has reassured human rights groups and individuals concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in Gambia that the country is under investigation for death threats made by its leader, Yahya Jammeh. Kamalesh Sharma made this revelation at a news conference, Thursday, on the eve of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Trinidad and Tobago.

Yahya Jammeh has been under pressure to withdraw what seemed to be his most widely condemned statement, made last September, in which he threatened to kill people who identifies with human rights defenders ‘‘to destabilize my country.’’ Jammeh remains characteristically defiant against the overwhelming outpour of international outcry that continues to put Gambia constantly on the spotlight for the wrong reason.

Kamalesh Sharma told journalists at the International Financial Centre in Port-of-Spain that respect for human rights is a core value of the Commonwealth. “I would like to say that we are in discussion with the Gambian side and that discussion continues,” the Trinidad and Tobago’s Thisday Newspaper quoted him. Secretary General Sharma’s statement came after a controversial statement by the incoming Commonwealth chairman, Trinidadian prime Minister Patrick Manning, who sought to relegate the Gambian issue to a domestic matter that needed not be discussed at the CHOGM.

The government of Trinidad and Tobago announced Jammeh’s eventual absence at the CHOGM earlier, after coming under intense pressure from human rights organisations in India and Trinidad and Tobago who demanded that the Gambian dictator be banned from attending the summit of the former British colonies, which commences Friday, 27 November, 2009.

After bowing out, apparently for fear of what he might meet ahead of him, coupled with fears of his possible overthrow amid intense speculation of coup plot at home, Jammeh is reportedly been represented at the CHOGM by Foreign Affairs Minister Ousman Jammeh.

Gambia is on the spotlight alongside Uganda, whose government proved difficult to yield to pressure to abandon a ridiculous Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 which is currently before the Ugandan parliament. This law effectively calls for the killing of HIV/AIDS infected gays and lesbians. This similarity in disregard for human rights in both Gambia and Uganda apparently explains why President Yoweri Museveni, who is the outgoing chairman of the Commonwealth, has been particularly apathetic to calls for action against his Gambian counterpart.

Museveni is expected to officially handover chairmanship of the Commonwealth to Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago, who has himself wasted no time in identifying with the reproachful trend of indifference to human rights violations by tyrannical governments like those of Uganda and Gambia.

“The statement of the [Gambian] president essentially related to domestic matters in Gambia. They will not form part of the agenda at CHOGM,” Patrick Manning told the press briefing on Thursday, much to the obvious disapproval of human rights bodies and concerned individuals.

Commonwealth Secretary General Sharma’s statement of assurance is seen as a Cushion, aimed at dispelling reasons for fear and more uproar by a seemingly unrelenting force against human rights violators.

Sharma told reporters that the Commonwealth is in the process of strengthening and expanding its various institutions.
"A lot of Commonwealth voices have been raised," he said. "But one point is clear: Respect for human rights is a core value. We are in discussion with the Gambian side. As far as Uganda is concerned, this is before their parliament and I'm hopeful that the various voices raised when this is debated will bring forward all the issues of discrimination and vulnerability."

At least Sharma’s statement serves as source of encouragement for
Caribbean Centre for Human Rights executive director, Diana Mahabir Wyatt, who reportedly disputed Manning’s view on the matter. She said that they were “in contravention of the Harare Declaration” upon which the Commonwealth was founded.

Maja Daruwala, executive director of the India-based Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, described the Trinidadian prime minister’s statement as misguided.

"It's a great pity that the leader of a country with a good record on human rights would miss the opportunity to show real leadership," she was quoted by the Ottawa Citizen.

"As the new chairman of the Commonwealth,’’ she added, ‘‘he [Prime Minister Patrick Manning] has failed an early test. It is not only disappointing but against all Commonwealth principles. He is dismissing the cries of ordinary citizens who are asking their leaders for basic human rights."

To add on this, another voice critical of the unresponsive view of the Trinidadian prime minister, Royal Commonwealth Society director Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, whose group is said to have released a critical report about effectiveness of the Commonwealth, said he was shocked by Manning's remarks.

"The Commonwealth is about shared values and principles everyone has signed on to," Director Sriskandarajah said, "so if they can't be discussed here, then where? If a member state falls short you either help them or sanction them in some way. If the Commonwealth stops being about that, we've lost another leg of the Commonwealth stool."

‘Gambia’s situation an embarrassment’

Director of Common Wealth Foundation

Small Gambia continues to feature in every human rights discourse around the world these days, all be it for the wrong reasons. And in no region is this so true at this particular point in time than in the Caribbean, where heads of states of former British colonies are gathering for the heads of government meeting in the Trinidadian capital of Port-of-Spain. The Gambia has since come under a series of attacks, in the run up to this meeting, for death threats made by its leader, Yahya Jammeh. It appears that that statement of his offended more people than has so far has been highlighted. This, according to the Sunday Guardian of Trinidad and Tobago, is translating into more penalizing prospects for the country.
The Sunday Guardian reported Sunday 22nd November, 2009, that information it received indicated that Gambia could very well face expulsion from the Commonwealth because of the widely condemned statement made by its increasingly unpopular president. It said it had learnt that the Commonwealth Secretariat had put forward recommendations for dialogue with the Government of Gambia surrounding the infamous statement Jammeh made, threatening to “kill anyone who tries to destabilize my country.”
The Trinidad based Caribbean Centre for Human Rights as well as the India-based Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative have since been championing calls for the Commonwealth leaders to withdraw any invitation for Jammeh to attend the CHOGM. Although Trinidad’s government has not responded favorably to that call by the human rights bodies, it has since announced that the Gambian leader was not expected as part of the West African nation’s delegation.
The Sunday Guardian described the Director of the Commonwealth Foundation, Mark Collins, as outraged by Jammeh’s comments. It quoted him as saying that ‘‘no leader is above the law.’’
The Common Wealth Foundation is an intergovernmental body, established by Heads of Governments in 1965, and it works with civil society organizations to promote democracy, advance sustainable development and foster inter-cultural understanding across the Commonwealth. Its leader's condemnation of Jammeh suggests the very existence within the grouping what the more diplomatic minded leaders would rather not discuss openly.
Mr Collins, who was speaking in an interview at the University of the West Indies, Second Decade Debate, hosted by the International Relations (IR) Department of the school, stated that the Gambia’s situation was an embarrassing one for the Commonwealth.
“No one is above the law. The rule of law is one of the key principles of the Commonwealth. I will be very surprised if action is not taken against the President of Gambia,’’ Collins said.
He added, “He [Jammeh] has very strongly-held views, and there are concerns about what was expressed on television by the Gambia leader. His comments will create an atmosphere of fear. Human activists are defenders of rights for education, proper health care, freedom of speech and much more. What does he mean by saying these things?’’
Collins went on to say that all free-thinking people are aware of the fact that there are some areas of human rights still surrounded by controversy, like cultural expressions, and sexual preferences. And these issues, he added, are being discussed.
“Why would the President of Gambia make such a statement?’’ he queried, adding, ‘‘it reflects badly on the Commonwealth.”
The Common Wealth Foundation Director concluded by saying that he expected the issue to be high on the agenda for the Commonwealth Action Group (CWA) at the People’s Forum.

Human rights activists not given up on Jammeh

CHRI Director, Maja Daruwala

Despite his carefully calculated maneuver to save himself from the obvious hullabaloo that awaited him at CHOGM, Yahya Jammeh still has much to worry about, if the words of Maja Daruwala, Director of the India-based Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), are anything to go by.

Mrs Daruwala has vowed that the issue over the refutation of anti-human rights remarks by Yahya Jammeh is not over. Her declaration, as published by Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, came shortly after the authorities in the Caribbean nation, host of next week’s Common Wealth summit, indicated that any decision to take action against the Gambian dictator for his threatening remark will be rest in the hands of heads of governments.

“We are not going to make a pronouncement on it. If it comes up at all (at CHOGM) it will be a matter for the heads (of government) and by consensus, it will then be referred to the Commonwealth Ministers Action Group whose responsibility it is to assess violations of the fundamental principles of the Commonwealth,” Trinidad and Tobago Foreign Affairs Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon was quoted as saying earlier on Wednesday.

In an apparent response to this development, the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian quoted the CHRI director, who was preparing to depart for the summit, as saying that “This does not end the matter, there is still a welcome for the delegation from the country whose head of state has done nothing to repudiate his widely-publicized statement or deny it or try to explain it.’’

Describing Jammeh’s infamous and widely condemned statement as ‘‘a clear rejection of the fundamental principles the Commonwealth holds dear,” the human rights activist lamented the continued “silence from the Commonwealth, its secretariat, its outgoing and incoming chairs’’ despite “the urgings of civil society and serious concerns voiced by very serious people like the special rapporteurs of the UN and the African Commission for Human Rights, which made a joint statement against the remarks.”

Daruwala’s CHRI has been among a growing voice of discontent against the Gambian leader who continues to wallow in his pride, defying voices of wisdom to withdraw his widely condemned threat against human rights defenders.

Although there is reason to believe that Yahya Jammeh’s decision to stay away from the CHOGM can not be removed from obvious security threat against his increasingly unpopular government back home, mainly caused by his unconventional style of ruling which has earned him a substantial base of opposition even within a traditionally conniving security forces, it is also clear that his decision not to fly to Trinidad and Tobago has to do with his idea of saving himself from embarrassment.

Nonetheless, Jammeh has reasons to think about the fact that the fray is by no means over. According to the Trinidad and Tobago Foreign Affairs Minister, who indicated that she will be representing her country on the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), it would be up to this organ to determine whether Jammeh’s recent statements breached the Harare Declaration and if any action should be taken against him.

Jammeh will not attend CHOGM meeting

Did he bow down to pressure again?

Reports have emerged that Gambia’s tyrannical ruler, who is currently putting up with the most ferocious of opposition from the international community for an irresponsible statement he made last September, will not be attending the Common Wealth heads of state meeting later this month in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago.

As reported by the Caribbean Daily News, on its Wednesday 18th November 2009, Trinidad’s Foreign Minister has confirmed that Yahya Jammeh will not be among the 53 leaders attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGOM). The reported however said that the Gambian delegation would be led by its Minister of Foreign Affairs.
This news will surely be received with relief by human rights groups, notably the India based Common Wealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and the Trinidad based Caribbean Centre for Human Rights (CCHR), which have been at the forefront of the global campaign to bar the Gambian dictator who shocked the whole world with death threats for anyone who identify with human rights defenders. These organisations have been urging the Trinidadian government led by Prime Minister Patrick Manning to withdraw any invitation to the former military lieutenant who in 1994 overthrew a democratically elected government only to become a world wide recognized witch hunter, terrorizing innocent people, many of whom were old and feeble.
The CCHR as well as the CHRI have been opposed to Jammeh’s invitation to the Common Wealth heads of state summit for the statements he made in September on Gambian television, threatening to “kill anyone who wants to destabilise this country”.
CCHR executive director, Diana Mahabir-Wyatt, a former independent legislator of Trinidad, said earlier in a statement that the Gambian leader’s violent declaration should not be condoned by her country.
“(Jammeh’s) statement openly repudiates the commitment which this country has always upheld, to adhere to the rule of law and the judicial process,” she said, adding “it is also a violation of the principles that the Commonwealth stands for and to which Trinidad and Tobago and the Gambia have subscribed by signing the Harare Declaration”.
The CCHR also said then that its chairman, Senior Counsel Desmond Allum, had written to Prime Minister Patrick Manning, as host of CHOGM, “asking him to withdraw any invitation to the Gambian tyrant, to attend a meeting in their country unless he withdrew his unbecoming statement.
A similar appeal was addressed to the outgoing Chairman of the group of former British colonies, Ugandan leader, Yoweri Museveni, by CHRI director Maja Daruwala, who called on the Ugandan leader to intervene over his colleague in the club of African dictators.
“In view of the universal condemnation and concern at the statements of the President of Gambia, CHRI strongly urges you to seek a clear repudiation of his (Jammeh’s) statement and a strong re-affirmation of his commitment to the values of the Commonwealth and in the absence of this to strongly recommend that no invitation be extended to the President of Gambia to attend the upcoming CHOGM in Trinidad,’’ the CHRI director’s statement read.
Given Yahya Jammeh’s disposition for arrogance and defiance of international statutory concurrence, it has since been obvious that he would not withdraw his ludicrous statement. It was therefore a matter of either the Common Wealth forfeiting its authority and principals to the wishes of an unrepentant oppressor or its sends a clear message that its principles take precedence of over those of individuals.
Jammeh is well known for his undesirable lust for self-aggrandizement, flamboyance and his uncompromisingly intolerant attitude towards freedom of the press. In April 2004, he called on journalists to obey his government “or go to hell”.

Calls to contain Yahya Jammeh gains momentum

Sometimes it appears as though our memories fail to serve us well. We either seem to overlook the significance of history or we are guilty of deliberately ignore it altogether. But it so happens that catastrophes that have resulted from bad governance have never happened spontaneously; we have overtly watched them built up over the years and … boom! It all happened.

When, for instance, the rogue Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel leader, Foday Sanko, sauntered his way to destroying his country Sierra Leone, he baffled the whole world with words like ‘my country’, ‘nationalism’, ‘freedom’, ‘peace’, ‘development’, lock, stock and barrel. Even when his roguish forces showed initial signs of going out of their way, engaging in extrajudicial killing, the demented chief of Africa’s most notorious insurgents clung on to his continued denial of the obvious. And interestingly, the whole world continued to look on as Sanko and his men forced their way all through, leading us to what we all ended up witnessing.

This is how rogue elements elsewhere in the world, like Sudan’s Beshir, and even Hitler, hypnotized the world and settled down to halting progress in favour of a period of annihilation.

One character very common with such people is their impregnable belief of superiority that they are the only way through which development of their generations is attainable. This is a trait that is so true about Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia, described by the London based News Time Africa as ‘a senior mem­ber of the African Club of rul­ing Dic­ta­tors’.

Jammeh view of the ‘July 1994 Revolution’ idea he continues to nurse appeals more important to him than what February 1965 means for the country. The set of illusory beliefs he has accrued over the past decade and a half have molded him into a potential threat to not only the Africa region but the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, very few people are seeing him in this light. Perhaps because of Gambia’s insignificant role at the international arena, very many significant pronouncements he has made has gone largely unnoticed or ignored. And he has apparently been taking this silence as a sign of inability or indifference on the part of the civilized world, giving him more reason to continue. This might have well played a role in what is arguably his most criticized statement, which he made last September, threatening to kill any one in the country affiliated with human rights defenders.

But if anything, that statement has altered the image of this former army lieutenant turned tyrant in one of Africa’s poorest nations. Jammeh’s infamous September death threat continues to hunt him, as the free world continues to rally against him for a remark he feels so big to retract despite growing calls for him to do so. Knowing very well the egoistic nature of the man, I am no surprise at that.

But calls for the international community to reign on the Gambian leader have assumed an intensified state with Common Wealth affiliated human rights bodies calling on the grouping of former British colonies to ban him from attending its forthcoming heads of states meeting in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago.

The Common Wealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has petitioned the Ugandan president, who is the outgoing chairperson of the grouping of former British colonies, urging him to call the defiant former Gambian military lieutenant and coup leader turned president to order.

In an open letter to the Ugandan leader, which appeared on the Sunday Vision, the Sunday version of The New Vision, a pro-government news paper in Kampala, Maja Daruwala, India based Common Wealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) Director, said ‘‘Jammeh’s statements flout the jealously guarded Commonwealth principles.’’
“In view of the universal condemnation and concern at the statements of the President of Gambia, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) strongly urges you to seek a clear repudiation of his statement and a strong re-affirmation of his commitment to the values of the Commonwealth…,” the CHRI Director’s letter reads.
And he added, “In the absence of this, we recommend that no invitation be extended to the President of Gambia to attend the upcoming CHOGM in Trinidad.”
There are indications, however, that Jammeh may have already received his invitation. According to Trinidad’s Newsday, when asked on Monday 16 November if the Gambian dictator has been confirmed for attendance at the meeting, Trinidad’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Mariano Browne, who is the head of a Cabinet committee charged with organising the event, said, “I don’t know but I’ll check.”
The minister went on to say that any such decision is entirely rest in the hands of the prime minister and the Common Wealth.

The CHRI have had a similar statement published on The Gambia Echo, a Gambian owned online newspaper based in the US, effectively attempting to spark a debate among a growing online dissident community on the issue. Although there is no sign yet of this happening, it will be crucial to reflect a much desired action from the very people who wants a change in the status quo in Gambia.

Trinidad’s Tuesday, November 17^th edition of Newsday, headlined: ‘BAN GAMBIA FROM CHOGM,’ highlights an additional voice at the international front.

In this article, the Caribbean Centre for Human Rights (CCHR)’s executive director, Diana Mahabir-Wyatt, said Jammeh’s violent declaration should not be condoned by her country.

“Jammeh’s statement openly repudiates the commitment which this country has always upheld, to adhere to the rule of law and the judicial process,” Mahabir-Wyatt said in a press release issued on behalf of the CCHR, which lists a highly respectable Justice Rajiv Persad as a director.

“It is also a violation of the principles that the Commonwealth stands for and to which Trinidad and Tobago and the Gambia have subscribed by signing the Harare Declaration,” the former independent senator said.
Accordingly, a letter has already been sent to the Trinidadian Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, as host of CHOGM, “asking him to withdraw any invitation to Yahya Jammeh to attend a meeting in this country unless he withdrew that statement.”
This latest campaign looks like the beginning of a change in approach to Yahya Jammeh’s attitude to international treaties. But given the records of an organization like the Common Wealth, there is very little reason to hope for what the free world expect.
If there is going to be any action in favour of the request by the human rights organisations, the Ugandan leader, who unfortunately is part of the shameful breed of self imposed dictators on the continent, will have to be behind it as the outgoing chair of the Common Wealth. But this is not likely.

Weather a serious debates ensues on this matter or not, it remains to be seen what the Common Wealth, an international grouping that seems desperate to assert itself, will do to restrain a looming catastrophe in the latest repressed nation on the African continent.

But members of the Common Wealth and any other responsible international body must realize that they owe a fundamental obligation to at least safeguard the principles they set for themselves. Jammeh’s presence at a meeting bringing together a group of people that include responsible leaders will send an unfavorable message to the rest of the world, and such institutions will be effectively stripped off their natural authorities of safeguarding the interest of the hundreds of millions of people they are out to represent.

To people like Musevine, in spite your record as the head of state of Uganda, one will be inclined to believing that as outgoing chair of such a respectable international body, you will want to leave a legacy much stronger in conviction than ever before and will not want to be remembered for failure to act. Yahya Jammeh’s government is a nightmare for Gambians; he ought to be restraint.

The other side of a common dictator

The professor of deception

The other day I was discussing with a friend of mine, our discussion centered on the many missed opportunities that abound for citizens of the Senegambia region, which remains far out of reach as a result of the mostly abrasive relationship between the two countries. Or is it the countries or merely the leaderships? Like my friend who hasa dual Gambian and Senegalese citizenship put it: ‘‘the common people are barely aware of their (the leaders) trivial personal problems, yet the implications are felt by us.’’
Just a couple of days or so later, I bumped onto a well authored article giving an academic view of this very same subject. I felt impressed. But it left me immersed in bemusement as to what would limit so much needed understanding and cooperation between the two leaders of what are arguably the two most identical countries in the world. It soon downed on me that there are more to the situation surrounding Gambia and Senegal than some of us might care to know.
Not so long after, on October 20, President Yahya Jammeh made headlines, calling on an imaginary audience of belligerents to halt fighting in the Southern Senegalese Region of Casamance and to resort to the discussion table. An official presidential statement from State House in Banjul aired on the Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS), quoted the president as saying, ‘‘both parties to the conflict should know that the solution to the problem of Casamance is not a military one. The Gambia, as a peace loving country, cannot be indifferent to the escalating violence in Casamance…’
This statement by the Gambian leader was met with a strong force of dismissal from so many quarters, not least from among his own compatriots, all of whom appeared unanimous in their belief that despite portraying himself as some kind of a mediator, Jammeh is in fact a part and parcel of the problem in the Casamance region.
Because of some unwarranted behaviors of Yahya Jammeh towards his Senegalese counterpart, I am inclined to believe that there is some truth in all these allegations against him regarding his role in the Casamance affairs and his status as an impediment to potential integration of the two people. Take a look at this headline story: ‘IMF scandal rocks Senegal…Wade’s reputation discredited.’ It appeared on the Daily Observer, a paper owned by Yahya Jammeh. But the fact that he owned this paper is not the issue here; the issue is that it is him who passed the directive that this article be published, as a way, I guess, of amplifying Wade’s political woes. This news item apparently hits the headlines towards the end of October. The Daily Observer is only publishing now, after Jammeh apparently came across it.
Earlier on February 8, 2009, the same paper published another article ‘‘‘I am not a Freemason anymore’’ - President Wade’, again at the directive of Yahya Jammeh. I was there then. He ordered that we search for the news and publish it. What for? - was the question that then lingered in the minds of everyone there. Even some people who portray themselves as arch supporters of his criticize this rather baffling attitude of his.
In May 2007, a similar scenario occurred which cost some innocent NIA officials their job, thanks to the hurtful nature of a conceited president. An article had been published on the Daily Observer the previous day, which could only have set out to set alight the two countries. That incriminating article had been penned by Yahya Jammeh himself in his office, on his table at State House, and given to the then editor-in-chief for onward submission to Dr Taal, the then MD of the Daily Observer, for publication. The order was that the article be published verbatim. And so it was.
Taken aback by the move, and knowing very well the relationship between the Daily Observer and the Gambia government, and what the article will mean for the relationship between his country and Gambia, the Senegalese ambassador in Banjul apparently became convinced that this was not fitting. He contacted some one highly placed within the Gambian security establishment. Eventually some foolish senior NIA official ordered a couple of his men to take up the issue with the Daily Observer. Just like it had been published on Freedom on its May 18th 2007 edition. Both Dr Taal and the editor-in-chief, as well as the senior news editors at the Observer then knew very well that the article was from the desk of the president, yet they would not tell the innocent investigating NIAs who were there on assignment, only to find out how the story came about. Eventually the information reached the president. He ordered that all the NIA officers and their superior who assigned them be sacked ‘‘for daring to investigating the president.’’
How on earth could these people have known that they were investigating the almighty, vindictive president? As a matter of fact, those junior NIAs never got to know the reason for their sacking. They were innocent, executing an assignment they had been tasked to do, in the interest of safeguarding regional peace, a peace that had been put at risk by the head of state.
This is how many people, very many people in the Yahya Jammeh government since 1994 to date, have had their jobs terminated. And the impression we get is that these sacked people are the bad ones. No!
The special interest Jammeh shows in these kind stories demonstrates his wily and vile feeling for Wade and the rest of the Senegalese people. You can not hate an innocent leader and you claim to like its people.
Now if you were in the place of the Senegalese president, who is old enough to be his father, how would you treat such a person who is supposedly a brother to you? I do not know if Wade is doing something similar to Yahya Jammeh, or if he is aware of this irrational behavior of someone who portrays himself as the ‘champion’ of piece in the world, but I am quite certain that the political maturity in Senegal would not allow Wade to indulge in such, and beside, the Senegalese president has got far more important issues to deal with than to indulge in this kind of nonsense.
This sort of mortifying small-mindedness is the distasteful side of Yahya Jammeh his supporters do not seem to know about. Or are they just ignoring it?
I believe President Wade, like every other human being, feels just as bad as Yahya does when something of this nature is highlighted about him. Nonetheless such are a frequent occurrence in the Senegalese press, and despite occasional outcry by members of the press, the situation is far above 100% better than what you can find in Gambia. Gambians do not even have the right to what the constitution guarantees, let alone matters on the person of the president. This explains the level of proliferation of Gambian owned online papers abroad.
But the point I am trying to make here is that Yahya Jammeh is fund of preaching decency, yet it turns out that he very much subscribes to this sort of unethical behavior. In Gambia the media is wrong only when it focuses negatively on Yahya Jammeh. The narrow minded president himself uses the media to blast at his opponents or insults the whole, and sometimes the whole world, and he does not see anything wrong about libel or deformation until he becomes the victim.
For those of us who have been around long enough to know some little about this man, his dishonest preaching for peace in the rest of the world is typical of him, despite his global condemnation as an epitome of a repressive Africa. Paradoxically, the words ‘peace and stability’ have become permanently part of his vocabulary, yet all his dealings from the dawn of the day to sunset are full of contradictions of threats of torture and killing. How can you claim to want to bring peace to someone else’s country when yours is in disarray in the first place? Isn’t that hypocrisy in the highest form?

A word for Surata Marong and co

This is intended to be a precise and simple response to Surata Marong’s letter, published on Freedom Newspaper, November 7 2009. I have resolved not to serve as a reason for any political scavenger to attract Yahya Jammeh’s attention by provoking my engaging them on whether I should be writing about the man or not. I have gotten a couple of similar missed placed pieces that I preferred not to respond to, because they do not worth wasting my time for. It’s that Surata raised some fundamental issues that made me feel obliged to put him through what he obviously does not know about the man he calls a ‘blessing’ to Gambians. In fact, he knows nothing about Yahya Jammeh other than what he sees written or hear about him. Whether he is blessing or not, let’s leave that for posterity to judge.

I believe all of those who clamor about Yahya Jammeh and how his rule lay on the line the future of Gambia have legitimate reasons one way or the other to do so, but those who criticize him based on their experiences have an even solid raison d'être to do so. That is the club I belong to. I assure you, Surata, that the best you can do is to listen and then make a fair judgment. This is not to say support or sympathize with me or any other aggrieved person over Yahya Jammeh’s misrule. What I mean is learn to appreciate the reality of things, however unpleasant they might be for your liking.

I have never argued on the basis that Yahya Jammeh can or cannot develop the country more than Dubai, as he seems to fantasize at any given opportunity. Every single individual who is distressed about the status quo in Gambia today has a unique reason. Ask anyone of them and they will tell you. You might be right to say that ‘‘When it comes to getting things done in the Gambia, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers.’’ However, architects are what we lack in the country today, because they are all being chased out as a result of innate hate been perpetuated by Momodou Sanyang and the likes. What kind of democracy is this that we are talking about?

When I joined the Daily Observer, I did so because I wanted to be a journalist not a politician. However, I recognized the fact very well that I was bound by an editorial policy which I respected fully. But even that would not save me from being accused of receiving critical information about Yahya Jammeh. If a leader thinks he has nothing to hide, he has nothing to worry about what people write. I have come to believe now that this is not like Yahya Jammeh.

Yes, we rejoice seeing our leaders being bold, but I hope you are not taking pleasure from saying this of Yahya Jammeh who takes such awkward decisions, backing them by the constitution. What is bold in sacking innocent people after they have been falsely reported to be opposed to your ideologies? If he really wants to sack people who are not working, there are many of them serving at all levels of government. All they do is misuse tax payers’ money.

I find it interesting that you would understand the fact that ‘‘Thrust is just like a virgin, once you lost it you can never regain it,’’ yet you can’t appreciate the fact that people like me who criticize Yahya Jammeh today are doing so based on a lost trust. It was you who recognized that in my interview on Freedom that I was polite and very specific of what I wanted. I guess that was because I tried to speak the Freedom editor out of frequent personality attacks and verbal assault on the president. Please, do distinguish personal attack from issues. You can not discuss political issues on Gambia today and don’t have to mention Yahya Jammeh. He forcefully dominates everything. Is it anybody’s fault that he is being discussed? I precisely attempted to speak Pa N’dery out of verbal assault of the president, not against attacking his egocentric tendencies.

You might be right that something about me has changed. You are not the only one who has said so of late. However, contrary to what you feel, I did not pass any specific ransom demand as such. I expected that when people make such serious allegations against people close to you, if you really are what you claim to be you ought to find out and not be arrogantly dismissing them. Jammeh’s statement, as published on Freedom, when he came to the US, left me disappointed, and if you have been following my writings well you will realize that it was after then that I started going the way I have been going. Such statement tantamount to endorsement of the lethargic and anti-progressive advice he is getting from Momodou Sanyang and his likes. Have you asked yourself what could cause me to accuse Momodou Sanyang, some one of my father’s age?

You sounded as though you were not expecting me to say anything after my interview with Freedom. I am afraid; you are making a big mistake. The only full time job I have known and love is journalism. Now tell me, if I do not write on Gambian affairs what do you expect me to write on? Gordon Brown and British politics I guess. I tell you what; some other people might get carried away by your praises for Yahya Jammeh, but certainly not me. I lived in that for close to two years working at the Daily Observer. I got the opportunity to see both his good side and his bad side. While you can play your game well with the hope that some day on return to Gambia you will get compensated, I do not need a job from Yahya Jammeh. Get that right. So, I will write my mind out regardless of how either you, Yahya Jammeh or whoever it is thinks.

Internal politics, like you put it, might be everywhere in the world, including where you are in the UK. But between you and God, you know that they do not report people on the ridiculous false allegation of receiving information critical of a leader whom the whole world knows can not stand divergent views. Do you know what that means to the reprehensible NIA of the Gambia? That was what Pa Malick Faye and Momodou Sanyang did to me. Pa Malick had his own agenda, and as far as I am concerned, he is not an issue to me except to say that he did that, just like he and the rest of the satanic trio, which includes himself, Sanyang and Dr Saja Taal, sacrificed Chief Manneh. I only make mention of Pa Malick when I talk about the Issue of Chief Manneh, because he was part of the cause of his disappearance. Those who think it is because of grievance that I am talking certainly do not know that I was not sacked, I ran away for my life. And you probably might want to know that I could have remained editor-in-chief of the Daily Observer up until now, but only at the expense of my conscience. Momodou Sanyang tried to lure me into that. By the way, is it correct to say this is internal politics when it involves Sanyang who doesn’t work there?

I think you deserve my advice, not the other way round. Since it is obvious that you do not know anything about me, please do find something else to say.

I am of the firm conviction that what I have contributed to Yahya Jammeh and the APRC government, you Surata Marong hasn’t done half of it. So if I change, it behooves you to fine out why I have changed. That way you can make an informed decision on your wasted time of support for Yahya Jammeh and his dictatorial tendencies. And like you and some other distraught guy in Raleigh North Carolina in the US, Pa Malick is not going to get mentioned by me only to have Yahya Jammeh appoints you people. If you want that go to Gambia and strive by yourself. That way you will get a better idea of what it is like living in that kind of situation. Wa Salam!

A popular revolt or the court of God

Let’s talk politics when it is time for politicking, and let’s talk seriousness when issues of significance are brought forward. While there has never been any doubt that Yahya Jammeh’s government, as a matter of fact Yahya Jammeh himself, is directly responsible for the killing of Dayda Hydara and the many murderous acts in Gambia, this latest revelation, implicating his must trusted body guard, Alhagie Martin, must not by any means be treated lightly.

Of course it is an allegation, like the editor at Freedom said. But what are allegations for? The whistleblower knows very well that just by naming Alhagie Marting, the accused is not just going to be handcuffed and sent to jail. He knows Yahya Jammeh will not sanction the accused because he (Jammeh) sent him, according to the report. This is certainly only meant to be a very valuable piece of information that could kick starts an investigation into the matter. They say that every allegation comes with some degree of truth. If Martin is not directly responsible, he certainly has an idea about the whole thing.

As for me since the day I became irreversibly convinced that Gambia government, through agents Momodou, Dr Saja Taal and Pa Malick Faye, was responsible for the continued disappearance of Chief Manneh, in spite of Yahya Jammeh’s categorical denial on GRTS earlier, with his infamous bead and mysterious book in hand, I lost confidence in the man and all what he says. Of course before that I had had reasons to believe that many things, very many things, were amiss in that country. But I had always gone with the feeling that he was largely innocent of them, and I do not think I am alone in that. What I experienced within my last days in Gambia confirms that all what these agents of death are doing are being done in his name. Otherwise the least he can do is to question them like the way he orders the questioning of suspects of anti-APRC feelings. When allegations are made against his cronies, Yahya Jammeh does not question them. Why?

The first thing that comes to my mind now is Jammeh’s immediate next move after this startling revelation. My fear is that Colonel Martin might go the same path as the blood thirsty duo (who were poisoned to death after serving as Yahya Jammeh’s executioners, effectively effacing valuable evidences) whom the whole of Gambia knows where behind the tortures and extra judicial killings that took place between 1994 and the time of their own ignominious demise.

Let’s say all this is all speculation. But it is certainly a case that has been forwarded. If the free world is really serious about bringing Dayda’s killers to book, and effectively putting to an end, once and for all, this madness that is going on in Gambia, this issue should be taken up seriously. Martin should be questioned and investigations commenced to that effect.

Before 1994, cold-blooded murder was relatively unheard of in what was a relatively peaceful Gambia. Potential criminals have over the years become spirited and encouraged by government sponsored acts of terrorism. Yes, terrorism!

If after the heartless acts of murdering an innocent and harmless journalist – if this latest allegation is true - Martin could go ahead and attempt to take the life of another person in the form of a harmless lawyer, he should be stopped by all means immediately. I am not an authority in Psychology, but the basic knowledge I have in it let me know that people like Martin, having been used to spilling blood, are prone to the urge of committing such sickening crimes. And since Yahya Jammeh has used you, he has an edge over you, which he uses as a bargaining tool. In this case since Martin can not escape punishment if he is found guilty, he certainly will not come forward to tell the truth by himself. And Yahya Jammeh will continue to have him do anything he desires.

No wonder the guy is constantly distressed. Someone who used to be closed to the system presently at the Daily Observer once remarked that Martin suffers from some Psychological trauma. According to this person, Martin has engaged in a lot of ‘‘dangerous operations.’’ I am now trying to make a link. These are not my words; that are those of some one who knows how the system operates.

Some deadly drunken and obviously ignorant security personnel told me in Kanilai, ‘‘we do not care what anybody else thinks, all we care about is what the ‘Oga’ (meaning Yahya Jammeh) wants.’’ I was unfortunate to exchange words with that brut of a beast as I negotiated the release of a journalist friend of mine from one of the independent papers, who had smuggled himself, as it were, into Kanilai. I was speaking of course as a student leader having led a group of students to the president’s farm. Imagine this guy was in Kanilai to cover activities of the president’s agricultural venture which are supposedly aimed at uplifting Gambians from poverty. But as far as the Jammeh government is concerned, according to that military man, the Daily Observer and GRTS are the only media that reports well about the president, his party and his government, and therefore these are the only media they would consider.

This guy threatened to ensure that this particular media house got into some trouble, bragging that it would just take him seconds of call and the house of that paper would be ransacked by the NIA. I talked him out of that, with the detained journalist friend of mine my priority.

‘‘Imagine the number of young Gambians who would lose their job if you do that,’’ I appealed. He had promised that he would make sure that the boy was transferred to the NIA, saying to me, ‘‘you know what will happen if he gets there.’’

The threatening calls I got from Momodou Sanyang, the closest murderous agent of Yahya Jammeh today, is another topic of discussion.

All these go to show the degree of treachery that characterizes the consciences of the people who claim to love the Gambia more than the people who supposedly installed them into power. This madness must stop!

And I want to observe the fact that this revelation, given its time of emergence, when members of the security forces in Gambia are clearly the most disgruntled and uncertain …. must have come from some one within who knows exactly what happened. The sheer preciseness and simplicity of the letter also explains a lot.

One way Gambians in the Diaspora can exert pressure on these murderers bunch and discourage them from their act could be to engage foreign diplomats to adopt the same policy they have been adopting in countries like Zimbabwe and Kenya – travel ban and if possible freezing of assets. These people prey on Gambians and make money out of it only to go abroad and buy properties with blood money. This madness must stop!

In conclusion, I just want to say that one day all these people will face justice; if not in the court of the people in a popular revolt, then obviously in the court of the Almighty God. The ignoble role they are playing in the Gambian scheme of things will never go unnoticed.

Enduring legacies are left to be noticed by sincere God fearing humankind, and, that is measured by posterity. Where are theirs?

This is just the beginning. The day you will find yourselves behind bars, with your cronies testifying against you, then you will realize that God really exists.

Stemming abuse of public property?

Last Thursday, November 5 2009, another minister took oath of office to serve ‘‘without fear or favour, ill will or affection.’’ Dr Abubakar Gaye became part of the rank of Gambian ministers as the new minister of Health, replacing recently sacked Dr Mariatou Jallow in the most unpredictable government on planet earth. A ‘‘difficult task,’’ Yahya Jammeh himself admitted, when presiding over the swearing ceremony at State House.
A very important thing about this development is that quite a number of important issues were raised at the cabinet room, interestingly by the president himself as when it comes to talking, he dominates such gatherings. Corruption, mismanagement of public properties, drug theft, etcetera, are frankly regular happenings in today’s Gambia.
However, even before he would officially assume his duty, Dr Gaye naively suggested the obvious; that is, that the oath of office doesn’t actually matter as far as serving Yahya Jammeh is concerned. The president himself has become the greatest desecrator of the Holly Qur’an which he swore by as president, violating the rules on a constant basis.
As part of his acceptance speech, the newly sworn-in minister said: ‘‘I will thank our dynamic leader in whose heart God has placed me and has accepted God’s will to appoint me as the minister of Health. I am grateful and do hope that I will never disappoint you and you will never be disappointed.’’
While there is absolutely no problem thanking the president for bestowing hope on you, it is important to realize that you have been hired to serve the Gambian people. It is therefore worth noting that the concern here is the Gambian people, not the president. Yahya Jammeh barely knows it when things have gone wrong, when the people do not get proper medical attention, when negligent officials abandon their responsibilities. Corrupt officials, from the minister right on top, have put down measures to ensure that no such information goes out. All the talk of failure to meet responsibilities is nothing but cover-ups. The only explanation to all these endless sackings is that rogue elements and state-paid liars report people for demonstrating some anti-Yahya Jammeh or anti-APRC feelings. That is all! The quickest way to get sacked these days is by denying anything to anything relating with Yahya Jammeh or anybody related to him. That is why Kanilai has become a place of abuse of public properties.
The mention of God’s name as having influenced Yahya Jammeh’s decision is a very important factor that will guide Dr Gaye’s running of the ministry. Just like it has always been, the interest of the person of the president is the number one priority. As a matter of fact, unfortunately, things are only considered public properties, and their abuse condemned only when they involve all other people other than Yahya Jammeh, his immediate family and a select group of people in his best list.
This leaves me wondering if he (the president) really means it when he challenged the new minister to tackle the corrupt practice of using public health properties for individual purposes. The whole Gambia knows that Yahya Jammeh is the master in that today.
Nonetheless, probably all this is supposed to end as from now on. Dr Gaye though would certainly render a great service to Gambians if he begins by clearing the new Serrekunda Hospital complex of those so-called HIV/AIDS patients whose time is being wasted as they wait for the cure of an incurable disease. Nurses that have been trained and employed by state coffers are being used by Yahya Jammeh as theatrical objects in his shows of HIV/AIDS and other fantasy cures.
To the minister, at the end of the day what matters is what satisfaction you will derive from looking back after been sacked and say I have done this, this and that for the people, not for the president.
And I am just weary that we are set to lose yet another of our well trained doctors who will soon abandon his ethical principle to embrace the ridiculous claim of HIV and other diseases cure.

Politicizing corruption

Any success in pulling off the desired state of affairs in Gambia is enormously dependent on a genuine disposition to hold all sections of society accountable - accountable first and foremost to our consciences. This is the only sure way through which can be reached an appreciated system of governance that is based on the true aspirations of the citizenry.

Have you ever wondered why, despite the obvious humiliation that awaits appointees into the APRC government, there has always been a pool of readily available people to hire (No disrespect to the very few trustworthy people I have come across who worked/work with the government)? It’s because the same sickness of dishonesty, treachery and hate that plague the top is what abound at almost all levels of society.

To say that Yahya Jammeh is difficult to work with will be an understatement, but it is also fair to point out that he has people who help somehow to justify his ways of doing his things. Thanks to an entrenched fidelity to selfishness, some Gambians, even if they are oppressed, as is obviously the case for most Gambians today, are better-off keeping quiet. The reason? The system in place is a perfect one for them to subsist.

The APRC as a political party is the most corrupt institution in Gambia. I say so because I have seen, heard and experienced some of it. The number and frequency of changes that has been effected by the party’s supreme can also attest to this. Or are there other reasons for those sackings? I’d like to know. Additionally, Gambia’s position at 158 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s 2008 corruption index speaks volume.

An abhorrent attitude of arrogance within the leadership, unfortunately, has added to the difficulties in tackling this as it has made it impossible to pass on information to relevant authorities for appropriate action. Everywhere is infiltrated by so called APRC bigwigs, actually wielding powerful influence as far as the present government is concerned. A slight demonstration of honesty on the part of anybody is enough reason to get rid of you by all necessary means. Many people, very many people, have suffered humiliation just because they saw counterproductive acts been done, and in their effort to stop it, they were branded as the bad ones.

The son of Momodou Sanyang, ‘Director-General’ of GRTS, is one such person under the protective shield of his father who is sparing no chance in exploiting his deceitful influence over a president who rules with emotion rather than wisdom. Yes, Sanyang, if his own words are to be believed, does have influence over Yahya Jammeh.

Actually this article is not about Sibi, but just to make a common reference, was it not Lamin Sibi Sanyang who got arraigned on economic crimes related charges in Banjul? And all of a sudden we saw him reappeared stronger at the same place where he purportedly committed those crimes? If the APRC government under Yahya Jammeh is actually serious about stamping out corruption, like he stated on his facebook page as his mission, ‘‘Fighting corruption, witchcraft and H.I.V,’’ Gambia’s Washington mission is a good place to work on.

Certainly pardoning someone like young Sanyang and rewarding him in this manner is not a good example at all for some one who really wants to stamp out corruption. Is it not fair to say that it is morally wrong to treat Lamin Sibi Sanyang the way he has been treated? Some other people who have had to be prosecuted on similar or lesser crimes have had to serve their terms and they never got to be reinstated. Young Sanyang r even got to see the inside of the court; he was pardoned under so-called humanitarian grounds and effectively rewarded with another position, probably higher than what he had been assigned to, in the same mission. What kind of message is Yahya Jammeh sending?

But it is obvious that that terrorist of a director general called Momodou has been able to influence many of Yahya Jammeh’s decisions no doubt, and he goes about bragging about it.

But Momodou Sanyang is just one among a club of senior people at high position who use their position to perpetuate their acts of corruption and deception.

Take for instance the Gambia Football Association (GFA), as it is the latest focus of attention, although both the government and the bunch of ham-fisted crooks that run that institution are doing all they can to redirect focus away from it, the reasons being quite obvious.

By the way, I am not one of those fanatical football lovers, but our humiliating performance in Nigeria touched me just like it certainly did all other football lovers, and it has rekindled a lot of thinking in me. In my quest to make a sense out of it, I have established some similarity to the idea of exploiting politics to perpetuate retrogression.

What operates at state level, in many respects, has quite a bearing on what goes on in places like the GFA, GNOC and the many, many other Mafia-like institutions that abound in Gambia today. These unjust people have been able to succeed in their trade by infiltrating the APRC party – most, if not all of them, are by no means loyal to neither the party nor its leadership, but to their individual interest which to them clearly supersedes that of the greater Gambian people. Unfortunately, they will always succeed in their gimmicks because of the excessive pleasure the president derives from praise singing, which many Gambians have become accustomed to.

If anything, the appalling performance of the Baby Scorpions clearly suggests that something is amiss within the sport governing body of the country. The least you would have expected of members of the GFA is resignations – at least from within the executive rank. Hasn’t some one got to take responsibility? That is the way people who have scruples operate, anyway. That way you do not only give chance to others to learn from your obvious mistakes, but you also demonstrate a feeling of remorse and responsibility.

The more I read about the team now, the more it becomes clear that since after our commendable performance in Algeria, we had been set to end the Nigeria tour dismally. And all indications are that the GFA top officials are responsible for this; no matter what they say today in defense of their records. Instead of resigning, all the GFA did was to come up with some demeaning press release, packed with boisterous vocabularies, recounting past glories. As if winning the World Cup twice in the past is reason enough for a team to perform so badly without some one having to be blamed.

My indictment of GFA officials is based on inconsistencies I have realized which apparently stemmed from their reluctance to deal properly with the so-called MRI test.

After Algeria, a responsible football association would have been able to know who among their players were likely to make it to Nigeria. In this day and age, the argument that birth certificates are not reliable isn’t a tangible excuse. Since we are talking about national issue, hospital records can be exploited to establish facts about players concerned. But this is in fact not about not knowing the age of the players; it as about timeliness. Countries like Nigeria foresaw and did what they were supposed to do. There timely action allowed them enough time to prepare their new crop of players for the good job they are doing now. As I write now, Nigeria is beating New Zealand 3-0, and there is every reason, according to the able commentator, that, that they might extend that lead. But GFA would wait for about four months – April through September, before considering wasting money to carry out the MRI test.

Having carried out the test again, GFA officials refused to disclose the result, hiding behind frivolous talks of protecting the image of Under 17 players. What image? Since when did it become a source of discomfort for one to grow older? Could there have been some hanky-panky game by the football officials? Probably that explains report that eventually emerged that the team was forced to send off four players while they were already in Nigeria. Could it be that was why GFA refused to disclose the result of the early MRI test? So that it could include players they know quite well were unqualified?

And after the team had played it second match, it emerged that in fact the fans were still in Gambia. One begins to wonder what went wrong with Yahya Jammeh’s highly publicized offer of ferrying 350 Scorpion fans. Clearly they were waiting to see if the boys would make it far before state coffers would be tapped and the entire credit given to Yahya Jammeh on his so-called humanitarian gestures. This is how he has exploited national gains in the past and made them political capital, all at the expense of a rather naïve segment of the youth population. And he has largely been able to succeed in doing so thanks to the corrupt and largely incompetent and shameless officials within these institutions concerned.

So if we are to stem some of Yahya Jammeh’s tricks, we should be able to focus the pressure somehow on some of these people when there is the reason.