This is not good enough! I reject this strategy and I hope all in the struggle for ‘A Democratic Republic of The Gambia’ rejects it sooner than later. We have lots of options and many well rounded who will do a better job. More importantly though, the individual doesn’t even matter any longer – what we need is to create the requisite human capacity capable of living a life of democracy. I said before and will say it again – democracy is not just a fanciful governance arrangement but also a lifestyle of a people. That’s what we need to be. This struggle cannot not/should not/will not settle for anybody but Yahya. Yahya is only a problem to the extent he’s created by the core problems.The recent efforts suggest the old PPP guys were given some leadership role to craft the path of our struggle. They’re certainly not Jawara (The Head) and not even among the founders of PPP. However they’ve condoned PPP undemocratic rule and fueled or ignored abuses of citizens, the misappropriation of our coffers and encouraged moral society decay. Jawara and PPP were tasked (supposedly) by Gambians to take us to the dreamland and failed abysmally. With OJ and BB Darbo made in-charge (or members of a Steering Committee) of our struggle is that not taking us back to July 21, 1994. Maybe that’s what this struggle is after all about for some – a return to Jawara’s Gambia. This must be about making The Gambia a ‘Functioning Democracy’ – nothing more nothing less. This struggle is at best going in full-circle and/or rolling backward.
How can we assume these people can put us on the right path? Or are we incapable of defining these problems and craft ‘A Comprehensive Democratic Vision’ that we will fight for day in day out. These were same people who cried to death for Jawara to stay at the Mansa Konko Mansa-Bengo. Is that not telling the nation they cannot lead? Why do we think they are the better to craft the right path of the struggle after an almost 20-year hibernation in the case of Mr. Darbo? They claimed Gambia would sink 6ft (Yahya’s terminology) without Jawara. Goodness both they and Jawara to be still alive 20 years after out of power and Gambia is also still here. I would wish the Imams or Praises of their denominations kick them out their Mosque/Church. Both Mohammed and Jesus are gone and the earth is here after almost 2000 years for the former. The point is their rationale was anti-theology.
Yahya is a very bad guy by any rational measure. However, Jawara and PPP created Yahya. They did not mainstream democracy but hide behind flawed elections to legitimatize their stay. They formed a National Army from the coffers of the nation for their selfish misguided so-called security need. Refer to the Senegambia Confederation debacle. Buying arm, ammunitions and uniforms for youngster to run between Yundum and Lamin singing is not best use of poor farmers money. The cost of maintaining an armed forces should have been employed into one of the productive sectors, say agriculture that support livelihood of over 85% of our people. The only good of the army is employment for the few thousands. The worst besides the prohibitive cost it placed on our coffers is these youngsters using their uniforms to abuse everyday citizens at any opportunity. The Gambia would not/should not have need for war by our geographic make up and if we do we will be consumed. Senegal is the only possibility and they can conquer us in a matter of hours with their army or just by allowing Cassamance population to walk across the southern borders while the north gets invaded by people from Kaffring and Kaolack areas walk across the border. One needs no Political Science Degree to see that. Our Vision of A Democratic Republic of The Gambia is one with no army but well trained, division (compartmentalized) and equipped Police Force. Besides how secure are Gambians with all the sophisticated/complex security apparatus and costs. From Sadibou Hydra to Ousman Koro to Daba Marenah to April 200 Student Killings we are not told what, how and why people died, disappeared and/or killed. Maybe Yahya is the only safe person the whole country – amazing.
It is a scary preposition to learn that at least in part Raleigh Conference has outsource the search for solutions to our problems to former PPP Senior Officials – BB Darbo, Omar Jallow (OJ), and Buba Baldeh by placing them in a Steering Committee to craft the Plan of Action. In addition to these gentlemen was Dr. Momodou Lamin Sedat Jobe and Dr. Janneh. Both were recently team members of the Yahya enterprise. They must have condoned the wrongs or ignored – I don’t know exactly which of that 2 is worst. Can they claim no personal wrong doing during association with Yahya? I’m very skeptical and you should be too. Dr. Jobe was one time a strong defender of Yahya’s policies. I have no personal knowledge of Dr. Janneh and I was told he is true to our struggle. Someone told me he thought he could better fight the bad system from inside. I will buy that rationale if only he fall victim of such Yahya trap, but its 10s or 100s now and the latest is Lawyer Jobateh, the now former Attorney General. He was only recently defending political detainees of one sort or another. I hope to soon have the opportunity to ask Dr. Janneh few questions before I can past opinion if he is true to our cause or one wolf in sheep fur.
Certainly they’re Gambians, hence have all rights to participate how they see fit. But any struggle they lead is definitely not the right struggle, at the least for me. One would even assume, if true redemption hit them after the overthrow, within the last 20 years they would have use their knowledge, connections and influence to aggressively advocate the Plight of The Gambia to the International Community and the counterparts in other countries they came to know during their tenure. No! They went hibernation.
Folks………something is fundamentally wrong. Until we take a critical look at our actions/efforts it all empty noise/rhetoric.
We’ve a complete different ‘School of Thought’ to address these problems. We hope to share at a Teleconference. Please make time to join and share for or against.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
5:00pm – 7:00pm EST
Conference Call # and Code: (605) 475-5900 & 416 565 6#
Involvement, Comments, Suggestions, Questions
God Blessed Gambia
Burama FL Jammeh
facebook.com/Burama.jammeh
twitter.com/bfljammeh
810 844 6040/810 772 1628