History bears us witness that all progressive nations have had to go through periods of darkness. Some went through cycles of bitter wars; civil, political and religious and had to almost rebuild their societies from scratch. We do not have to look far into history to reference ample evidence to back our assertions. In fact some of the most progressive societies with full fledge existing democracies where freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are guaranteed to their people had to go through some of the ugliest of social, political and religious upheavals to get to where they are today.
The United States of America one of the leading democracies in the world had the ugliest chapters of political, social and economic battles before its’ citizens began to enjoy political freedom, liberty, safety and security. This nation of over 200 years had the most inhumane history of slavery and discrimination buried in its political and social history with the most assassination of its political leaders to boast of. Yet, after fighting a bitter civil war and going through a turbulence civil rights resistance and political divide among its various regions, it arguably now have equal access for its citizens to participate and shape their political future.
South Africa as recently as a decade ago was reeling from Apartheid where a minority few brutally oppressed the majority and denied them rights to participate in their political discourse. Several prominent leaders and ordinary citizens were mauled in the streets and killed for simply demanding participation in the civic, political and social lives of their nation. Like the civil rights leaders in America, it took brave and conscious citizens of South Africa who put their fears aside, lives and everything on the line to regain their independence and freedom from minority rule and oppression.
In Africa, countries like Siera Leone, Liberia, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria just to mention a few have had to go through brutal military dictatorships before some degree of political sanity was restored in these nations. Some witnessed the killings of hundreds of thousands of their citizens in the streets. These nations were each ruled by brutal dictators who were willing to eliminate their citizen opponents at any cost. Today, those dictators with all their greed, power and quest to suppress dissent in their countries for political gains can disgracefully only be traced in the foot notes of history.
In Gambia one of the smallest nations in Africa barely half a century old from self-rule, this beautiful nation and people are witnessing an ugly chapter in our political history. The accidental rise to power of one or few citizens who wants it all to themselves is not totally unprecedented. We are taught in biblical terms that when god created the universe he gave us two complimentary things to compare and contrast. He created good and evil, life and death, joy and sorrow and in humans he gave us two minds to use in our lives in association to our fellow human beings. With these human tendencies leaders emerge, some serve their people as commanded by common decency and others defy common wisdoms to pursue their own selfish agendas at whatever cost. It is under this context that Gambia accidentally found itself under the leadership of Yahya Jammeh who has turned out to be everything he spoke against and the reasons for overthrowing the Jawara government. Pronouncements such as “ruling a country for 10 years is too long; accountability, transparency and probity, you can hold us accountable for our actions, we are not politicians, we will return to the barracks when our work is done” etc… remains fresh in the minds of Gambians. Yahya Jammeh has betrayed every single pronouncement he made at the time and has even gone beyond to consolidate his power. The betrayals, deceptions and lies are no one’s responsibility but Yahya Jammeh himself alone who made the promises and failed them without hesitation.
Fellow Gambians, despite the darkness and the deceptions our nation is going through, there is reason to be optimistic that Gambia too will be freed from the shackles of tyranny. At no time in history has our nation produced so many educated, entrepreneurial and successful citizens who are spread across the globe contributing immensely to the global economic, political and social development. At no time in history has our nation emerge with a young population willing to sacrifice resources and time to educate and engage our citizens through media outlets and social media. At no time in history has our citizens being so connected with their fellow citizens both on the ground and international. The advent of social media is a blessing that has allowed every political and social Gambian issue to be discussed widely and openly among our citizens. There is nothing that President Jammeh or future leaders can do to prevent this. Their every action will be laid bare thus forcing transparency and accountability of public officials.
Yahya Jammeh may be onto his own plans to rule the Gambia with iron fist for as long as he can; curtail the local media to a virtual halt, but it cannot be discounted that we are building a culture of media fraternity where everything will be openly discussed and settled through a citizen discourse with the media playing a central role like any other advance democracy. Call us an optimistic, but with the combination of an experienced and skillful Gambian citizenry and young vibrant enlightened population deeply concerned about the future of our country, Gambia will see light at the end – Not in the too distance future. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “We may not get there with you, but we as a people will get to the promise land” Gambia too will close this ugly chapter and restore respect for rule of law, freedom, liberty, dignity and opportunity for all our citizens. This must be seen to come true that all Gambians deserve freedom, security and equal treatment before the eyes of the law. Yahya Jammeh may think he is riding high, but the freedom of a determined people cannot be permanently suppressed. Thus truth crush to earth shall rise again!