A marriage of inconvenience

Lately I have been wondering what has come over the opposition in Gambia. But the thought of the perilous condition under which they operate leaves me with little basis to blame them entirely for the predicament that faces the country.
As time unfolds, reasons of passed and present happenings reveal themselves. One very important thing that recently captures my attention is the delirious ranting that continues to come from that tragedy of a figure, Waa Juwara. I can remember someone at the heart of the APRC establishment confiding in me in those hopeful formative days of the now almost whacked opposition alliance grouping, the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD), that this guy had been planted within as part of plans to frustrate efforts to achieve the real purpose of the alliance.
Unfortunately for Gambians that malicious intent was achieved, thanks to Waa’s unbecoming and premature behaviour all over the place. But after such an epic malevolence achievement, I expect this guy to keep quiet and enjoy his benefit, the reward of appointment, first at the ridiculous position of a local government area councillor, and then as a governor. But that is not Waa. It is only death that will silence him. That is one of the negative implications of studying in the former Soviet Union and failing to upgrade oneself. Jammeh knows this very well about Waa. No wonder he threw him at the Lower River Region where he is likely to have problem making telephone calls. Besides, what are political puppets for? To be used and dumped; that is all. Between Yahya Jammeh and Lamin Waa Juwara, it is just a matter of time. All I have to say is that this is a marriage of inconvenience we are witnessing.
I assume the rest of the opposition people in Gambia equally know this about Waa, and that is all the more reason why I do not expect people like Ousainou Darboe or Femi Peters and the rest of the opposition community to react to him, because when you do, you are only helping him in legitimising his worthless views. But more importantly, you are giving him the voice he so desperately desires.
The man is so desperate for a platform to voice himself out that he is capable of luring half-baked reporters to publish whatever nonsensical statement he utters in the name of freedom of speech.
I have the feeling that what I have found out to be a dangerously erroneous piece of news published by the respectable AFP news agency must have come from no one order than Waa. He is of the habit of cornering reporters and enticing them into giving him space to make irresponsible statements. I do hope that AFP will have the courtesy to question their person in Gambia and find out about the authenticity of that report. We do not know AFP for this sort of erroneous publication.
Yes, there is/was a coalition of five political parties that formed what is now called NADD (National Alliance for Democracy and Development) and not National Democratic Alliance Movement, which in fact has never existed in the Gambia as a political party, before or after independence. I have searched throughout the World Wide Web; the conclusion of my finding is that it is only AFP that published such a joke and demeaning release, which I blame on their clearly unethical reporter. Such a statement could only have come from a sell-out like Waa Juwara. It is therefore unfair for it to be portrayed as a statement from the Coalition. It sent shock waves through my spine.
Even as that article was been published, a section of the opposition in Gambia, which forms part of NADD, was battling with that very same government for campaign space, despite the spacious nature of Serrekunda. How can it be correct under such circumstance to report that the opposition is calling on Gambians to support a vicious government?
And for Waa Juwara to say that the opposition in Gambia is dead, as published on the Daily News in Gambia is a shameful indictment on himself, for someone who spent his whole life in the opposition wing, despite been the master political scientist he considers himself.
His unwarranted condemnation of respectable and principled people like Femi Peters in that interview further exposed a deep seated feeling of jealousy and hatred Waa harbours for Peters; but it also tells the real side of a frustrated bigot.
I hope you have come to the ultimate realisation that your days in Gambia’s political platform are over, because you have joined the wrong group. As a neo-Nazi-like bully, you have no place in a vindictive system like the APRC, because, (1) you are no asset anymore and you have no political followership; (2) you are mouthy, and president Jammeh wants people who will do only what he tells them to do; (3) you are obsessed for power, and president Jammeh thinks he was sent down to die for Gambians in that State House in Banjul; (4) you are intolerant, and two intolerant people can not fit in the same boat - the simple physics rule – (like charges repel, unlike charges attracts); (5) you are a thorough-bred tribalist, and Jammeh can not watch you outshine him in that game. By the way, you remember what you said to Baba Jobe at the entrance of the High Court in Banjul when he was being escorted to his cell in Mile 2 after been sentenced? That Jammeh is anti-Mandingo? What has changed since then, Waa? Or are you trying to fool the present Grand Master of Gambian politics? Remember, he has spent all these years reading contemporary literature, while you wallow in an illusory feeling of supremacy in political science with your old fashion Soviet Union theories.
I have spoken to many people who, at one point, were so much convinced that you were sincere in the stance you took; so much so that they could even shed their blood for your course. But your present demonstrations of dishonesty have made them shun politics as a practice. So stop fooling yourself with the thought that you have a political base, you have none. You can never do what people like Yankaba Touray has not done.

The Next Revolution

Africa's latest brand of dictator

The problem with Africa is that its entire leadership core is a composition of contradictions, rendering it quite a compromised entity to making any form of judgment on individual states immersed in crises. This is very much responsible for the constant upheaval that engulfs its many innocent people. Count out the few countries that are, to a reasonable extent, democratic in their dealings, and you will come up with the shocking realization that they constitute far less than 10% (not based on any empirical calculation). How do you expect that kind of a minority to prevail on the largely guilty, conning majority? This is the underlying factor behind the continent’s seemingly interminable woes.
In the latest predicament facing Africans regarding Guinea Conakry, for instance, while the UN and other governments outside the continent are calling for real justice (U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling for Camara to ‘‘apologize and step down’’, the International Criminal Court signaling preliminary investigation into last month’s massacre of innocent civilians, and the United Nations looking into the possibility of establishing an international commission to look into the murderous act by Camara and his gang of murderers), African leaders are busy taking a line that will clearly only help prolong the junta’s stay in power.
“In view of the atrocities that have been committed, and the steps taken by the CNDD (Guinean government) authorities to acquire new weapons, the authority decides to impose an arms embargo on Guinea,” said Mohammed Ibn Chambas, president of the ECOWAS commission.
Is that all we expect from ECOWAS … arms embargo? What a mockery of justice and democracy!
As if all this was not enough of insult to the people of Guinea, President Chambers went on to say, ‘‘ECOWAS would direct its mediator, Burkina Faso’s President Blasé Compaore [another matchless character of contradiction] to ensure that “those who hold high offices in the transitional authority will not be candidates in the forthcoming presidential elections.”
How can the involvement of someone like Blasé Compaore in any serious matter like this make any serious appeal to anyone. No wonder the likes of Captain Dadis Camara and the megalomaniac ‘‘Professor’’ Yahya Jammeh will never take these regional bodies seriously. And for the latter, bragging about his lack of respect for these regional bodies is a commonplace. The case of the situation in Niger makes a sad addition to the continent’s mounting quandary. And all this plays well for these leaders to reduce these regional bodies into a state of disrepute. The truth is that if the conduct of Camara’s men is any reason to have him step down and be tried, very many of his colleagues who have presided over similar atrocities will be guilty of the same charges. President Yahya Jammeh’s government, for instance, still has to answer for the gunning down of over a dozen innocent young students in the year 2000, not to mention the many disappearances and torture of opponents. Therefore, it is no surprising that no African leader will make any comment that encourage talk of stepping down or possible trial. And for Dadis to apologize for his misdeeds! That is just not in the blood of a typical African dictator.
One thing our leaders have gained reputation for is their undue disregard for assuming responsibility for their actions. The best thing a person like Captain Camara could have done was to resign in the wake of the massacre of over 150 of his citizens by his own men. But no! Instead of this, he and his men set themselves to manufacture a death toll, with the aim of playing down the effect of their callous act, blatantly denying a reality the whole world witness on a broad day light. And as usual, the routine has been for African leaders to tap on taxpayers’ money and embark on unnecessary journeys in the name of sub-regional discussion, only to emerge with such comical communiqués.
Even as these futile discussions are being held at the regional level, rogue outsiders are ignoring no chance to keep the junta in power, in pursuits of their own selfish gains of course. And again, African leaders are showing signs of encouragement for this by their total silence on the outrageous move by the Chinese to pump billions of dollars on the junta leaders in the name of some frivolous mining investment - another form of the so-called ‘blood diamond’ saga.
By all indications, ordinary Africans no longer have hope on the bodies they were supposed to look onto as their last resort for solace. This leaves me wondering what else is there for us as a people at the mercy of our largely apathetic leaders.
Perhaps a new body run by some of Africa’s finest breeds (the likes of Wolley Sonyinka, Kofi Anan, Chine Achebe, Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, Kenneth Kaunda, etc.), independent of African governments, and its disposal a special military powerful than the existing ones under the total control of unrepentant dictators, might be good. In case you are wondering where such a body will come up with funding, well, I suppose this will be something peace loving nations who want democracy, like the US, will want to support. And certainly there are so many African dissidents abroad outside the continents, enough to add up to the many disgruntled people on the continent itself to make the military core. The Niger Delta front in Nigeria, for instance, will be willing to join a course that is sure of righting the wrong they have been fighting for for ages. The marginalized Southern Sudanese are another eligible force to be reckoned with.
And for those remain frustrated pro-African unity institutions and individuals, this will serve as a sure way of gaining a dream that has continued to escape us for centuries. What we need to do now is to commence the lobbying work. Call this the next revolution.

A popular revolution will make a difference

Jammeh’s latest move, an executive gimmicks?

What would make anyone lose sight of the fact that President Yahya Jammeh was bound to come up with something that would serve as a fitting distraction of the attention of the Gambian public from a self-inflicted nightmarish experience caused by the previous weeks’ horde of misfortune? There was a seemingly unending condemnation of his latest eruption, threatening to eliminate human right defenders; prospects of indicting him for gross human right violations gained momentum as human right groups intensified their moves; his plans to get the ECOWAS Court compromised thrown out of the window; and, as if all that was not enough, rumours too strong to be rumours went all over that a largely edgy military core was up to something dirty.

Since nobody among those around the president was ready to put their job on the line (and I will not blame anyone for that), the president had a tormenting air of guilt all over him as he would not have anyone to talk to him about this. And so to dilute the compounding feeling of tension within himself, he was desperate to create a scene that would keep the Gambian public (the media included) busy deliberating on. The so-called unexpected visit of parts of Banjul and its outskirts, military barracks included, was just a perfect way of starting this. As usual, Gambians will have to be made to believe that President Yahya Jammeh is not to blame for the fact that things aren’t going on well. And the characteristic threats of sacking, sacking and sacking ‘‘until I have the people who are ready to work…’’

Surely the living condition of soldiers in the barracks isn’t enough reason for any sensible commander-in-chief to axe their army chief. So, then comes the technical problem that prevented the presidential entourage from attending the UNESCO conference. General Tamba, the man credited for the famous abortive Col. Ndure Cham coup, was sacrificed.

This whole thing is getting messy and confusing. But wait a minute! Could this evolving situation be the ploy to legitimise the execution of the promise to clamp down on human right defenders? Well, journalists, opposition figures, human right defenders, beware, this could well be an executive gimmicks, because what is happening in Gambia is tantamount to a state of emergency. This is the line of action in the wake of every reported attempted coup.

But President Jammeh hasn’t been good enough to see that he can’t play this game well, because anytime he tries it, it only helps to accentuate his overall responsibility for the existing problems Gambians are going through. This, Gambians have become well aware of.

I think that what the Gambia needs today is not only a government of trustworthy people, but one with a leadership that is good enough to make a choice of the right people to work with for the achievement of its goals. In either way, both Yahya Jammeh and the APRC have failed Gambians woefully. They say ‘show me your friend and I will tell you who you are’.

It is a well known policy that President Jammeh does not tolerate any divergent voice around him. You can only get a ministerial post by being an ardent APRC supporter, and that would mean demonstrating unbending allegiance to the party’s supreme leader, His Excellency Rt. Lt., Rt. Cap., Rt. Col. Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh.

The question now is, by the number and frequency of changes we have experienced since 1994, is it not fair enough to say that the APRC lacks all its takes, in terms of human resource, to provide Gambians with their basic needs?

“I am sick and tired of going to tell people what they should know for themselves and come and tell me?’’ President Jammeh is reported to have said to journalists, a statement these very journalists have reported time and again by the very same president. It just serves as an indictment on his rule as it shows that either the people he works with have lost confidence in him, or he has lost confidence in them. It goes to prove that the APRC no longer has what it takes to steer the Gambia’s affairs forward. All Jammeh has to do now is to resign; that is if he is really a democrat. I can imagine him dismissing this suggestion of mine as democracy bullshit! Never mind.

True, true there is every reason to complain about the state of affairs in Gambia these days as nothing is working at all. But in my own opinion it is also somehow unfair for anyone to put the blame squarely on ministers or permanent secretaries, or security chiefs. The fact is that civil servants have been hired on the basis that they just have to serve the person of the president and they will be ok. That explains the situation of the Gambia police force. Forget about the structure. That force is among the most undisciplined in the sub-region. The whole world knows that if there is any security officer in Gambia who needs disciplining it is the head of the Gambia’s police force.

While I would not rule out the eminent existence of discontent within the ranks of the military (as the rather biased distribution of position within the security forces is enough to cause rancour within), I do have a strong feeling that Jammeh probably made up his mind at the last minute not to attend the UNESCO meeting as there happened to be bigger stakes for him being present at the Independence Stadium instead. What matters at the end of the day is what Gambians think.

Take a look at that photo on the front page of the Daily Observer’s Wednesday 7^th edition, 2009, and you will see the powerful message embedded therein with that huge number of people at the background. But hey, my experience as a journalist at the Daily Observer is enough a reason not to have me carried away by such gimmicks.

Since the GFA got information about the coming of the trophy, they must have laid down plans to transport Gambians from the interior, who are busy working on their farms. But I do also know that 50% of those who eventually turned out at the Stadium did so purely out of their adoration for the game. Unfortunately their presence there has been exploited by Jammeh. And an innocent General Tamba and his men have been sacrificed.

Re-Challenging the editors and Diaspora oppositions

I normally would not respond exclusively to individual pieces of articles. I have decided to do so in the case of this gentleman, Omar Jallow of Raleigh NC, as published on Freedom Newspaper Online, Thursday October 8, 2009, only because, unlike the rest of those who have done something that attracted my attention, he has put up some very good and salient points that I would not want to pass without discussing as it will be of very great importance to all.
By the way, Jallow, thank you for the wonderful piece of advice embedded in your article occasionally lined up with mild premeditated attacks. I appreciate your bravery and show of literary prowess.
Having said all this, I am a little bit concerned about your tendency for suppression of free speech. I must remind you at this point that you are in a country which was founded on the basis of fundamental values that included free speech. The guarantee of these values is what made you and all the online Editors-in-chief you are chastising encouraged to resettle there. Nonetheless, I do accept the fact that as human beings, we all have our buts. It is the individual advantages that we possess that make us prevail over one another in terms of our thinking. I just intend to point out a few things I think you should take note of for your future articles.
In fact, at first thought I was going to write to you through your personal mail because I did not want to get drawn into a cyber battle with somebody who is clearly looking for cheap popularity, which I know will not only discredit me, but will also add on to my already regrettable feeling of disappointment. Yes, it was me who described President Yahya Jammeh as noble or what have you. I even went further to reproof the editors at Freedom for being too personal against the president, and I still stick to that view. I however did not say no body should criticize the president or any other person in his government, did I? I am in a situation, and this situation was caused by people who work with President Jammeh. Remember I promised to share my experience with the rest of the world. When I recount my problem, you will be certain to have me mention President Jammeh. Is it my fault that the president continues to harbor and glorify people who have the blood of innocent people in their hands? Or could it be that it is because they carried these crimes on his behalf?
I do not know when you left Gambia, or under which circumstances you left in the first place, but you sound to me like one of those opportunist Diaspora Gambians who take advantage of situations like this only to have the president’s attention for possible appointment or something. This is attestable in your statement ‘‘I am openly inviting the APRC government into Raleigh and you better trust me on this with no strings attached the turn out will be overwhelming.’’ And you went on to put you number at the end of the article hoping to receive a call sooner or later from State House in Banjul. Well, I tell you what, you are the kind of people Jammeh falls for so easily. But let me warn you, find out what has become of the people like before you try it. I swear you might regret it. Yahya Jammeh will use you and then dump you! And then you might not be able to return to North Carolina because you probably have overstayed your visa now.
I want you to understand one thing, Jallow; I was never a registered member of the APRC government because I was not interest in political position. If I supported Yahya Jammeh I did so purely out of genuine feeling. I probably have done so many things more beneficial for the president and his government than you might have done. And I did all what I did with the genuine feeling that he was the right guy. My change in attitude today is as a result of a feeling of disappointment. So you do not sit there and preach me as if you love the Gambia more than I do. I do not need any position from Yahya Jammeh. So I do not give a damn (sorry for my language) about what he feels. Even if I am going to die in exile, I am resigned to that fate. I have a story to tell, and I am going to tell my story. Do you know that my blood brother is behind one of the papers you commended for doing good job because they did not lose sight of the need to highlight our sporting achievement? In this world, we all can not be on the same path. I worked at the Daily Observer, a paper owned by Yahya Jammeh. And I tell you what; it is a crime there to mention the name of anybody that is seen as opponent of the president. It is no secret that President Yahya Jammeh detests seeing his opponents being made mention of. What a pathetically selfish attitude of a leader of a whole country. This is part of the story I have to tell the world. So if you do not want it, you can go and tell Yahya Jammeh to put a stop to his murderous spree that is responsible for the making of so many online editors-in-chief and Diaspora oppositions. Sorry, I maybe sounding aggressive now, but it is because I hate people who always take advantage of other people’s unfortunate plight and advance their selfish course. I am afraid, that is what you are.
I am happy, however, that you agreed that we should criticize one another but constructively. But do you know that constructive criticism is what the government you claim to be supporting refuses to accept?
And please, just a point of correction, I have never been recruited by any online paper editor to criticize Yahya Jammeh or the APRC. I am a man of independent thinking. Do you know that all the articles you read online which are authored by me are actually on my personal blog Justice For The Press? I am not a sellout, so I do not need to appease any online newspaper editor as they have nothing, absolutely nothing, to offer me. We only happen to share a common goal, and that is how to cleanse our country of the dictatorship there. I accept that you are entitled to you opinion by describing editors of online newspapers as using their media to settle personal scores, but do you also know that this Yahya Jammeh you support is a master in that? I served as editor-in-chief of the Daily Observer, where I have evidence of him getting personally involved in using the paper to strike at his opponent abroad, people like the Senegalese President Abdoulie Wade. And of course, you are right to say that ‘‘there is nothing wrong with criticism if it is genuine, because it will make the person in question deliver from his mistakes.’’ I just want to point out here that in the case of Gambia, I am afraid, it is no more a matter of mistake…For how long is the free world going to be appealing to a man who has no respect for genuine decent? Ours is a matter of getting rid of the dictatorial regime. Simple and straight forward! Besides, you criticize and hope for change from a government that tolerates criticism.
The more I read your article, Jallow, the more I get a reinforced feeling that you have no idea about what is happening in Gambia, which makes me wonder if you have any genuine reason to say anything on this matter.
You went on to say ‘‘I also happen to notice that with the exception of the DAILY OBSERVER, THE POINT, GAMSPORTS, GAMBIASPORTS none of the other online papers is covering the sports in our country, as if that is not part of nation development.’’
Again, do you realized that the Yahya Jammeh you support hates all these papers you mentioned except the Daily Observer, which is because he owns the latter? Have you asked why no journalist from the independent media is allowed to report on presidential affairs other than Daily Observer and GRTS? Please do and get back to me.

Mo Ibrahim Index: Gambia ranks 19th

The Gambia, according to the 2009 Ibrahim Index of Governance, published today by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, an organisation committed to supporting great African leadership, ranks 19^th out of 53 African countries.

The Ibrahim Index is Africa’s leading assessment of governance, established to inform and empower the continent’s citizens. The Ibrahim Index measures the delivery of public goods and services to citizens by government and non-state actors across 84 indicators of governance. Those governance indicators are grouped in four overall categories: Safety and Security, Participation and Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity, and Human Development. All 53 of Africa’s countries are then ranked according to their total scores across the categories. The 2009 Ibrahim Index of African Governance shows that half of Africa’s 10 best performing countries are in Southern Africa.

Gambia’s performance in the 2009 Ibrahim Index of African Governance

In 2007/08 Gambia scored 55.1 out of 100, and was ranked 19th out of 53 African countries. Within the West African region, Gambia was ranked sixth. Gambia scored above the West African regional average which was 51.7. Gambia also scored above the overall continental average which was 51.2. At category level, Gambia scored just above the continental average in the Safety and Rule of Law, Participation and Human Rights, and Sustainable Economic Opportunity categories. But in Human Development Gambia's score was much higher than the continental average, which was 53.8.

Category	2007/2008 Score (out of 100)	Overall Rank (out of 53)	Regional Rank (out of 16)
Safety and Rule of Law	57.7	24	8
Participation and Human Rights	49.8	27	11
Sustainable Economic Opportunity	48.5	23	5
Human Development	64.6	13	4
2009 IIAG	55.1	19	6

Across the Index:

· Mauritius tops the 2009 Ibrahim Index with a total score of 82.8, ranking first in all four main categories. Cape Verde is ranked second with a total score of 78.0. Seychelles is ranked third with a total score of 77.1, followed by Botswana with a total score of 73.6. South Africa is ranked fifth with a total score of 69.4.

· Somalia is the worst governed country on the continent, with a total score of 15.2. In 52^nd place, Chad has a total score of 29.9, while Zimbabwe is third from bottom in 51^st place with a total score of 31.3.

· Southern Africa is the continent’s best performing region, with an average score of 58.1, followed closely by North Africa with an average score of 57.7. West Africa is ranked third with an average score of 51.7, followed by East Africa with a score of 46.9. Central Africa is the worst performing region, with an average score of 40.2.

· Central Africa is the worst performing region across all four categories. All seven Central African countries are ranked outside the top 20 in the 2009 Ibrahim Index, with all of them except Gabon performing below the average for the continent.

Reflecting important structural and methodological improvements to the Ibrahim Index over the last year, the 2009 Ibrahim Index includes a new framework for assessing governance, and improvements to make the index more reflective of current governance realities. For the first time, in 2009 the Ibrahim Index covers all 53 countries in Africa. It also includes data from 2008, making it more current than any other assessment of African governance.

The full Board of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation convened in Cape Town this morning for the launch of the third iteration of the Ibrahim Index. Mo Ibrahim, the founder and Chairman of the Foundation, says:

“The 2009 Ibrahim Index gives us the clearest – and most current – snapshot of governance performance on the continent we have ever had. With Southern Africa outperforming North Africa, we can see a picture emerging that fundamentally challenges our perceptions about Africa. Our objective is to generate debate about what we can expect our governments to deliver in our name.”

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation is supported by a research team at the Foundation, headed by Dr Hania Farhan, a Technical Committee of representatives from key African institutions, and Dr Daniel Kaufmann of the Brookings Institution, who co-produces the Worldwide Governance Indicators. The Foundation also draws on the expertise of an Advisory Committee of academics drawn from institutions across Africa.

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance was created in recognition of the need for a robust, comprehensive and quantifiable tool for citizens and civil society to track government performance in Africa. The development of the Ibrahim Index reflects the Foundation’s long-term commitment to support African ownership of the governance debate, to develop capacity in African institutions, and to improve the quality, reliability, and availability of data about Africa.

Jammeh’s thousand and one paradoxes

Even as I pondered over President Yahya Jammeh’s recent UN General Assembly address, trying to make sense out of the pack of ironies that characterised his message to world leaders, I couldn’t help wondering the implications his presence alone at the assembly would have on the very important issues been discussed therein. The rule of law…universal justice…fair play…etc, etc, are certainly very pertinent issues, but unfortunately President Jammeh is not the right person to deliberate on these. He is on record more than one occasion, renouncing these tenets. Besides, how can you preach in another man’s house when your own is in disarray?

Consequently, the only thing Yahya Jammeh succeeded in doing by taking part in the UN general assembly meeting was making laughing stock out of Gambians, whose sweat made it possible for him and his delegation of praise singers to attend a meeting that is meant for leaders of respectable characters and values. I have the feeling that Jammeh was only seeking cheap popular in imitation of his newly found friend, a man he briefly fell out with as a result of his arrogance, Colonel Qhadafi, and the master theatrical moron of Latin America, Chavez. But the Gambian leader failed woefully simply because he failed to realize that the only thing those common comedians of leaders have succeeded in doing was to make their people subjects of ridicule. Yahya Jammeh should take a little bit of time to think over Qhadafi’s latest U-Turn…after years of misery in the cold. You can not feed the hand that feeds you!

As usual, I received tones of mails from friends of mine from other countries… ‘‘Your moronic president is at it once again’’, one of the provocative mails reads, just minutes after Jammeh’s address, which I watch live through the internet.

While I can distance myself from Jammeh’s statements, I can not deny that Jammeh is the head of state of the Gambia, which is my home country. True as that may be, how can I contest such insults when, I myself, am a typified victim of the woes caused by my head of state? I will never even give it a try.

One thing Yahya Jammeh failed to realized is that there are a lot of lessons he can learn from the many democratic leaders he addressed at the UN with such verve of typical arrogance. The very opportunity he continues to deny the Gambian people (the people he derisively refer to as my people) is what he enjoys by going ballistic on the free world, whenever he is given the chance. But where is that taking us to, as a nation of civilized people?

I want to make this clear – the only reason why Jammeh continues to have the little support he enjoys among some section of Gambian population is that he has succeeded in portraying himself as the freedom fighter he has never been against a negligent West. This he tries to highlight in all his speeches. But what these Gambians who support him on these fail to realize is that the man is just playing double standard, the same crime he accuses the West of in the case of China-Taiwan standoff, Israel-Palestine crisis, Cuba and the US relations and the US-Venezuela relations. The man is hypocrite! Simple! Even though he pretends not to want to have anything to do with the West, he and his wife prefer to have their children delivered only in Western hospitals, not the supposedly good hospitals he has built as part of the achievements of the almighty July 22^nd Revolution. Despite the fact that many Gambians wallow in destitution, First Lady Zainab Jammeh can shop only in world class shopping centers in the very West her Pan-Africanist husband condemns as home of the imperialists.

Plans to have Jammeh tried

Plans of having President Jammeh to answer for his alleged crimes are indeed reassuring. At least, it will give him the chance to defend himself, a luxury he has denied thousands of Gambians and non Gambians. It remains the task of all of us, Gambians, to sit back and take serious look at the deteriorating situation in our country. One thing we can do, for example, is to renounce the insolent move by the apathetic Gambia government to amend the jurisdiction of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, an institution this very same arrogant government refused to obey.

Contrary to what some of us are made to believe, the government represents only the interest of Yahya Jammeh and his wife and children, not even the interest of the people around him who support him in executing his crimes against the rest of the Gambian population. If the justice department of the Gambia were genuinely concerned and representative of the citizens, they would not have approved of this demand to have the Ecowas Commission look at this case, because I know it is the idea of Yahya Jammeh, and it is nobody else’, to forward such a derisive demand. But has only accentuated his short sightedness, as far as I am concerned.

I have a few questions for the committee of Ecowas Commission that is hearing the demand:

Ø What else would the government of the Gambia of all people argue for that the Ecowas Court should only have jurisdiction in respect of international instruments ratified by the respondent country if it is not to attain specific hidden motives of the self style grand master of the country?

Ø Is it not a shame that the Gambia government suggests that in human rights cases, the ECOWAS Court's jurisdiction should be made subject to the exhaustion of domestic remedies? How many cases have been exhausted with genuine remedies? What would encourage aggrieved Gambians to go through the pains of seeking justice from international bodies if they can achieve their goals locally?

Ø Is the Gambia government’s suggestion that cases should only be admissible if instituted not later than 12 months after the exhaustion of local remedies not a way of prolonging pains in the many aggrieved citizens who may want to seek rapid justice?

Ø (d) Why would the Gambia government be concerned about anonymous cases? Do they want to look for ways of terrorizing and intimidating family members of aggrieved persons?

There has been so much atrocities committed that makes all of Jammeh’s threats far more than mere threats. But mark my words; we are all answerable to one God, Allah. Someday, we shall all answer for our deeds, right or wrong. May God have mercy on us all!

Lessons Yahya Jammeh must learn!

Under quite a compelling urge to go off with anger, I still continue to restraint myself against responding to some of the spurious comments I read almost on a daily basis about me and how I feel about Yahya Jammeh, his government and his perceived ‘Kingdom’ of The Gambia on the one hand, and on the other hand, my past record in the increasingly dwindling effect of a rather botched and negligible propaganda in the form of the charade the Daily Observer continues to champion.

What some people fail to realize is that since last August 11, I ceased to be part of the gang of believers of a vindictive system that holds absolutely no promise for the coming generations of Gambians out of my own clear conscience. My question now is, is it a crime to own up to one’s mistakes and tries to make up for them? Did I hear you say no? Then why would I not be left alone and be allowed to go on with my life?

If anything, I have learnt my lessons.
With my close to two years of working with an institution as close to government as the Daily Observer is, I can’t be more pessimistic about the feature of the people of this country, especially its youthful population. However, the difference of approach between me and some people in the struggle against the largely fractured dictatorship back home is that I am keen not to give the effort a personal dimension. That is exactly what attacking the person of the president, rather than discussing issues, will mean. That is why I am not going to get into that.
There is absolutely no doubt that President Yahya Jammeh, like any other leader of his kind, bears responsibility for whatever happens to his people. The only point I was trying to put across, however, which is indeed a very valuable argument, and I still stand by it, is that we could stop the trend of persecution that is presently tearing the Gambia apart by discouraging those, like the satanic trio (Momodou Sanyang, Pa Malick Faye and Dr Saja Taal) who carry out these acts, thereby saving the souls of innocent Gambians, while at the same time preparing the ground for the eventual institution of justice by making sure that all, including Yahya Jammeh himself, answer for their crimes against not only Gambians but the rest of the free world. Yahya Jammeh does not do the killing and torture, himself, he assigns blood thirsty people who execute it for him. If we are able to discourage these people, Jammeh will soon run out of murderous mercenaries to carry on with such assignment.
I am not the only one who worked for Yahya Jammeh and regretted it, am I? As a matter of fact, I have always believed, and I still hold on to that thought, that I was serving my country in the right way. I must acknowledge, however, that this would not mean innocence of the surging guilt. The mistake I seemed to have made was to have identified with an institution infested with people with the most callous of intents serving a leadership with an unassailable obsession for arrogance. This arrogance, if Yahya Jammeh does not take his time enough, will be the very cause for his down fall thanks to the very many ill-intentioned people that surround him today like marauding vultures, the people who go about vilifying innocent and more patriotic Gambians.
Contrary to what Yahya Jammeh preaches, patriotism is not about how green one is, it is about how much love one has for the country as a citizen and how one partakes in the effort of achieving the development we collectively desire.
I have said it over and over, and I will repeat it here…whatever I have written regarding Gambia and President Yahya Jammeh in the past, I can still defend them as they represented the true picture of the reality of what I was trying to highlight. I have never been and I never intend to be a sellout. So let no one try my courage.
I want to remind Mendy B that unlike him and his former colleagues of the so-called Ring of Still, I have not done or be part of any plot to destroy anybody or group of people, either based on ethnic, religious, political or whatever line. I wholeheartedly accept his demand for forgiveness for his part in the cycle of terror perpetuated by him and his former bosses. But I would want to ask Mendy B one question – what does he expect Gambians, especially those who have fallen victim of his gang’s alleged crime to do? Revenge? Certainly that is not what you want.
I must mention here and now that I share the same level of anger with many rightful thinking people out there. My anger, however, is not borne out of grudge or frustration; rather it is borne out of a genuine feeling of disappointment. Disappointment by Yahya Jammeh’s constant failure to do away with the enemies of progress, his consistent failure to dialogue, his consistent reluctance to see wisdom and follow the path of salvation, his unquenchable taste for self aggrandizement, which increasingly pushes him towards a makeshift feeling of inflated ego and idea of himself!
President Yahya Jammeh’s pathetic ranting; as manifested by the worldwide criticized and out-of-place remark he recently made about cutting his opponents’ heads off if they continue to think counter to his increasingly militaristic ideas, continue to gain momentum. As if he doesn’t see what I see. How can a leader be so callously indifferent that he does not consider his people, the people whose servant he is, as legitimate entities? Can he not think of the image Charles Tailor carries on with him these days? The former Liberian warlord, if anything, has more to do with bravery than Yahya Jammeh, because he had had to fight his way through to power. But today, far, far away from his many mansions and gigantic orchards, he occupies just a few meters of space he is entitled to, and anytime he is out of that cell of his, he is on handcuff. Nothing, absolutely nothing last for ever.
Don’t’ get me wrong, that is certainly not an image I would like to see of my former leader. Mind you, I remain among those Africans who hate to see that picture of the one time almighty Charles Ganky Tailor, for it degrades not only Liberians but the entire Africa.
But doesn’t that serve as a lesson enough for the remaining crop of dictators on our continent? I urge Yahya Jammeh to remember that he was brought to power by people he ended up betraying. People who genuinely share the same love for the country with him, people he feared so much so that he framed them in order to have a pretext to have them out of his way. No matter what is said or what people like us are made to look like, he is no better than us, and he does not love the country more than any of us do, as he always claim. If Yahya Jammeh does, then I challenge him to do away with destructive agents like Momodou Sanyang who has absolutely nothing beneficial to offer Gambia, yet they are hell-bent on denying the country its much needed human resources by making well deserving Gambians look bad.
I am well aware of the implication of making such remarks, for in the Gambia, democracy, which would normally guarantee my right to these sorts of opinions, has died since Jammeh began to reward Gambians like Sanyang and his gang of mischievous followers only to victimize good Gambians.
Nonetheless, the mere thought of the fact that it is my God-given right to express my feeling about how I think the Gambia should be run makes me feel satisfied. Whatever happens to me or anybody related to me will be taken care of by God, the Almighty.
I am ready to exchange the luxury of being home around my family for the opulence of being at liberty to express myself fully and freely. God in his mysterious ways might bring what most Gambians today yearn for, CHANGE! A CHANGE for the better!
Again, I just want to reiterate that I am not speaking here out of frustration…I am speaking out of disappointment. And I do not see that as a crime. I am extremely disappointed with a leader I have all these years believed was on the right path. But his continued negligence and perpetual denial of the sorrowful life Gambians experience on a daily basis makes me feel unforgiving to myself for been so blinkered over the years.
Even as I write, I can’t help imagining the number of people back home who will be astounded on discovering that it is my very self who is making these sorts of comments. But I expect that these very same people will see reason and see that the person we all looked on to with genuine feeling was not actually whom we thought. Think of how many people Yahya Jammeh has fallen out with. Would you want to argue that all these people were bad? Or that Yahya Jammeh has always been right in parting with all of them? No, I do not think so. It is only because of people like Momodou Sanyang, Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay, Ensa Badjie, among a horde of upstarts who have absolutely nothing to offer the Gambia in terms of expertise, yet they are hell bent on destroying those who have all it takes to make the country what is best for our children.
Can some one tell me what Momodou Sanyang has to offer Gambia? All he has been engaged on is to make life miserable for the many hardworking and dedicated staffers of GRTS and Observer, many of whom have been forced to find their way out of the system. President Jammeh is well aware of this, yet he continues to reward that idiotic character of a dolt. Mendy B was quite right in that Jammeh is satisfied with the work of Sanyang, otherwise he could have done away with him. Well, I also reserve the God given right to vehemently disagree with that crap of a situation. Sanyang can order the arrest and detention of people, just like he did to a colleague of mind, Abdoulie John, whose arrest was headed by the IGP Ensa Bajie himself, and get away with, yet no one is allowed to say it. Well, if it is wrong to say it, maybe Jammeh needs to be informed that Sanyang is guilty of framing him, because whatever he does he, he does so in his name. Ask the security chiefs and they will tell you. He ordered the arrest of Chief Manneh, he ordered my arrest and he order journalist Lamin Jaiteh’s arrest, he wrote John’s sacking letter saying that it was the directive of the president…he has done so many things in the name of President Yahya Jammeh. Let Sanyang deny these things if he thinks I am wrongfully blaming him. He can not. But I do know also that he has nothing to lose, at least until Yahya Jammeh’s already crumbling regime is out.
If you tell me you want to work with good people, it baffles me when I see you with people with blood on their hands. JT Kujabi and that master looter of a son of Momodou Sanyang, Lamin Sabi Sanyang, what benefit are they serving us?
Have Gambians asked under what circumstances that pathological thief, Lamin Sibi Sanyang, son of Momodou Sanyang, who went on trial for allegedly squandering millions of dalasis belonging to the Gambian people, was pardoned? These are the kind of people who are holding back our progress. It is not me, nor the growing dissenting voices abroad, or the many ministers, permanent secretaries, directors or other lower government officials who have been wrongfully sacked because they were reported by people like Momodou Sanyang and other crude sons of the Gambia within the APRC, for not been loyalty to you and your wife. I will die in poverty abroad, if that is what it takes, rather than dine in wealth amidst disrespect and submission to evil. I am proud that while others are succumbing to dictatorship tendencies, I have refused to be carried away.