By Mathew K Jallow Nothing about the Gambia’s herd mentality is organic. That happens only in the movies and the animal kingdom. But again, Gambia’s recent history is an unending movie; a perpetually written and rewritten script that changes with the mood and emotional disposition of one person. Yet, it takes a tremendous amount of moral courage to drift away from the truth, particularly in cases of undeniable evidence, but the Gambia’s contemporaneous story is like an act that inhibits the resolve to defy the ubiquitous and paralyzing fear, marked by powerlessness and an indifference to reality. The naiveté, or better…
Author: Gainako
Ahmed Atef, Tuesday 29 Sep 2015 Since plans for its production were announced years ago, talk has not ceased about the Iranian epic film Muhammad: The Messenger of God. The film was written and directed by Majid Majidi who is considered one of Iran’s most important filmmakers, and whose repertoire includes The Children of Heaven (1997) that was nominated for the foreign-language film Oscar, The Color of Paradise (1999) and Baran (2001). ‘Muhammad’, the first of a planned trilogy, focuses on the prophet’s early life. Throughout the film, we see the prophet dressed in white and depicted from the back…
By Dr. Samuel B. Artley, DMD. FAGD Patriotism in modern day Africa is at its lowest. African patriotism will become a phenomenon for every African when unification is reached. At that point it will not matter what the racial orientation is, whether it is Arab, Caucasian, Indian, or black African; the bottom line is African will be the nationality. That will be a patriotic phrase that is simple and straight to the point. Hence the unnecessary need for further explanation, such as X-Y-Z lies next to Ghana or is that West, East, South, etc. On the flip side, today…
Pic: Hage G. Geingob Namibian President 29 September 2015 – The UN has played a significant role in reducing conflicts on the African continent and in other parts of the world was a message underlined by a number of African leaders who addressed the United Nations General Assembly today during the annual general debate. “Namibia is a child of international solidarity, midwifed by the United Nations,” Hage G. Geingob, the Namibian President, told world leaders from the podium. “After the termination of South Africa’s mandate over the then South West Africa, the United Nations assumed direct responsibility over Namibia.”…
By Binneh s Minteh Former Army First Lieutenant In the past decade alone military establishments or units of military establishments in West Africa have either destabilized or threatened the state in many aspects. These units have resisted the people’s demand for change, overturned election results or used indiscriminate force against citizens demanding more rights and freedoms. They influenced politics and left a legacy in part, which continues to shape the role of the military establishment in political transitions. In 2008, a military junta led by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara led a coup after the death of long time autocrat…
Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh is heading to New York to attend a high level discussion among civil society and government representatives at the United Nations Secretariat on Tuesday, September 29, as part of the Community of Democracies. Dr. Janneh, who is coordinator of Coalition for Change – The Gambia (CCG), is participating at the invitation of Tom Malinowski, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. The United States has recently assumed the presidency of the Community of Democracies. In concert with the country’s “continuing commitment to President Obama’s Stand With Civil Society initiative, the…
The Spotlight: Amadou Sanneh By Yero Jallow Gainako’s spotlight for this week is none other than Amadou Sanneh, jailed UDP Treasurer, currently languishing at the notorious Mile 2 Prison, at the political whims and caprices of the Jammeh tyranny. Sanneh, an Accountant by profession, is both a Citizen and a progressive Gambian, whose rights and fair treatment must be advocated for. For refresher, Sanneh was handed the heavy imprisonment of 5 years around December 18th 2013, and since then, appeals on his unfavorable imprisonment to the Appeals Courts in Banjul proved unsuccessful. He was accused of…
Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday praised the President of Senegal, Macky Sall and his Benin Republic counterpart, Boni Yayi, for their efforts to restore political order in Burkina Faso. Buhari gave the eulogy at an extraordinary meeting of Heads of State and Government of Economic Community of West African States held in Abuja, Nigeria. The Nigerian president also lauded the efforts of the President of Ecowas Commission, who was also in Quagadougou to find amicable resolution to the political stalemate in Burkina Faso following a military coup in the country on Thursday. He noted that the presidents undertook a…
By Baba Galleh Jallow Every revolution is inspired by outrage. Outrage at the specter of a small minority in power oppressing a large majority of citizens. Outrage at gross injustices and often unbelievable socio-economic and cultural hardships majorities endure under oppressive political regimes. Revolutions succeed not only to the extent that they are also inspired by a burning desire to politically empower the powerless majority so that never again will they be oppressed by a minority, but also to the extent that they genuinely follow through and actualize such popular empowerment. The nation always bears within itself the resources…
Press release Issued: 18/09/2015 For Immediate Release Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial technique to extract resources. While there is some evidence that fracking contributes to economic growth within the United States, there are many more challenges of governance in the developing world. However, few studies consider the prospects for governance of fracking in the developing world, in particular in African countries that are rich in shale gas. The research published in Governance in Africa presents a conceptual framework to analyze hydraulic fracturing in Africa, applying it to the cases of South Africa and Botswana. Ilia Murtazashvili and Caitlin Corrigan (Graduate…