By Demba Baldeh, Commentary
President Jammeh and his badge of Security personnel on meet the farmers tour
The political obituary of the regime in the small West African state of the Gambia has begun. Gambians have all but officially rejected their President Yahya Jammeh and his failed regime. For 20 years Gambians have witnessed the musical chairs that has entertained and accommodated only one person and his gang of insecure security personnel. They have patiently endured the lies and deceptions of a leader who has nothing to offer but empty rhetoric, threat and brutality on his own people. Some even gave him the benefits of the doubt, answered to his calls to serve the nation which resulted in their sacking, arrest, torture, imprisonment and ultimately their demise which in many occasions leads to death.
Well, it appears that Gambians have had enough. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words; and if the photos and receptions Yahya Jammeh is receiving on his annual meet the farmer which should be better describe as ‘exploit the farmers tour’ are to go by, then the verdict is in. Gambians have gradually but finally woken up to the realities of their situation. For far too long Gambians have flooded the corridors of Yahya Jammeh hoping for a better life. What they got is a continuous deterioration of their living conditions, their family values and most importantly the disintegration of their families. All the youths and majority intellectually sophisticated has fled the country leaving behind the most vulnerable in society – the elderly and the children.
The reality of the matter is that Gambians timid as they may be simply have had enough of the blatant negligence and abuse from one man and a gang of few security personnel who cannot compete on a level playing field. While a few are still running after him for his crumbs majority are sick and tired of the indiscriminate abuse, arrest and torture of citizens. Everything in Gambia works towards Jammeh’s desires and anything less is squashed to suit his needs and desires. He has no sense of responsibility or empathy for his people. All he cares about is his well-being and nothing else. It doesn’t matter whether you are a loyalist, an opponent or simply a decent citizen going about your business, Yahya Jammeh goes after you when and where he wants.
The million dollar questions citizens must ask themselves is how do you really warm up to someone who wakes up every morning and insult you, dehumanize you and treat you like a criminal? How do you warm up to a leader who wants everything to himself, including taking away your inheritances, your land, your homes and what is left of your dignity? How do you wake up and warm up to a leader who tells you in your face that you are worthless, your children are worthless and “I own this country” and therefore you must do what I want and when I want it? How do citizens genuinely serve a leader who is suspicious of everybody including his own family and who acts on impulses calling it “my security blanket”? How do citizens continue to morally support a leader who utters nothing but lies and deceptive statements including threats to wipe out citizens who stand to challenge his authority? How do a people wake up and continue to support a leader who imprisons his opponents and detain others with impunity even if they are acquitted by a court of law (Mamburay Njie comes to mind).
How long shall security personnel continue to protect a leader who sees everybody as a threat to him and who has consistently for 20 years smeared, arrested, tortured, jailed and killed top security personnel to maintain his power. How long will a nation continue to allow one man who uses religion as a ploy to divide, incite hate and exploit the weakness of religious leaders to his own advantage? How in the world would a dignified people continue to morally support a leader who denied even death citizens the dignity for proper burial in their own land? Better yet, how much humiliation, dehumanization and enslavement can citizens take from one leader whose source of power rest in the hands of the people? The answers to these questions and the realities are slowly but surely sinking in for Gambians.
The fact that Jammeh is barely amassing handful of crowds to welcome him despite his intimidating tactics and preplanned sermon for District chiefs, commissioners, village alkalos and heads of police stations to the State House before embarking on his tour tells the whole story. The people are finally saying we have seen and had enough of the deception and lies. All the cash being dished out to poor farmers and religious leaders are doing little to bring the crowd out to welcome Jammeh and his military entourage. He could even be seen wearing full military gear under his white gown terrified of the very people he has claimed to serve so well. The Jammeh story in the Gambia has reached its maturity stage and as the saying goes everything that has a beginning has an ending. This chapter in Gambian history is predictably coming to an end sooner rather than later as the writings can visibly be seen on the wall.
In Effect, there are only two things that are holding political change from happening in Gambia. One, the lack of a formidable opposition that cannot figure out a viable method to effectively stand up to the status quo and win the hearts and minds of the people to demand political change. While the political opposition rightfully believes they are doing everything to challenge Jammeh’s regime, reality indicates that they are simply too weak financially, too beaten up and the leadership structurally deficient to the level that they cannot convince ordinary citizens that they are for real. The second obstacle to change happening in Gambia is a citizenry who are too self-centered and lacks the civic education and political will to demand to be treated with respect and dignity by their government. Thus the people are divided and conquered leaving them suspicious of each other and therefore don’t trust each other anymore. So they turn to their torturer and exploiter for protection. It is almost like the devil you know is better than the one you don’t even if the one you know is your worst enemy.
The third component that could potentially has the economic and political power to mobilize is the Diaspora constituency consisting of mainly young intellectuals and season elites who are still indifferent from the political and economic reality of their people. This group if properly mobilized could be a catalyst to political change in Gambia. Therefore while Jammeh’s political obituary is slowly being written by the Gambian people, Jammeh will not go down peacefully. His legacy which is already the ugliest in that nation’s history will not be written on a plain single white paper. His anger and resentment of everything Gambian and decent will go down but not without a heavy price. The Gambian people will have to muster more courage to abruptly end his reign once and for all. Anything that takes his departure for granted will terribly be disappointed. Jammeh will have to be forced out of power but he will never give up power even if he remains the only one standing. He is and will always be in denial of his disconnect with the reality of the Gambian people. Leaders can only lead when the people allow them to do so. Slowly but certainly the titanic Jammeh has been riding is sinking and there is no turning back.