By Mathew K Jallow In the aftermath of the aborted effort to restore democracy and rule of law in the Gambia, the regional body charged with ensuring political stability and economic integration, did something rather dramatic and an antithesis to the objectives of the organization. The recent visit to the Gambia by ECOWAS chairman, Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama, to solidify diplomatic relations with Yahya Jammeh’s murderous regime, highlights the pathology of indifference that is so pervasive among the cabal of African leaders. Clearly, President John Mahama must have buried his head in the sand to be so criminally…
Author: Gainako
By Abdul Savage FIRST and FOREMOST, let me state here my position again, the thousandth time now, that I do not discount the use of force to take over a government. For God’s sake, Yaya Jammeh staged a coup, used force, to take over the previous government. SO, I do not discount it. Anything is possible. BUT, I DO NOT support, I DO NOT condone and will never be part of anything and everything that involves coups, or any violent method to take over a government. PERIOD. That is my belief and conviction. I know what the use of…
By Foday Samateh “Six armed men wearing masks came to the printing works at 2:00 a.m., fired shots into the air, and ordered the employees to lie on the ground. One of them then set fire to the new press…completely destroying it.” The police didn’t investigate the crime much less arrest the suspects, to one’s surprise. The incident above sums up Alagi Yorro Jallow’s Delayed Democracy: How Press Freedom Collapsed in The Gambia. The author was a winner of prestigious awards for excellence in journalism, and earned the unenviable distinction of being arrested over…
In the aftermath of the alleged effort to dislodge the tyrannical regime of Yaya Jammeh, Fatou Jaw Manneh, a Gambian journalist and activist profiles Jammeh. Fatou who doubles as publisher of Maafanta.com, is also a victim of the very tyrannical system. In her venting out piece and constant crying for justice, Fatou have the following to offer about the young military man who overthrew power in 1994 and crept slowly to a fully grown dictator. Without much adore, please read Fatou’s “Gambia Coup: What a miss!” Gambia Coup: What A Miss!!! By Fatou Jaw Manneh, Phoenix, Arizona. Damn!!When news of…
Cultural Loss: What will be for our successors? By Yero Jallow With the world getting to the next level of civilization and development, it is very easy to predict the loss of our valuable cultures in the near future, if a greater part has not been lost already. For those bored with the pounding of the politics here and there which is a noble call to duty, here I share a historical fact about the Fulbe, as shared by the Fulani Diva Ina Baba Coulibaly and storyteller Bokarr Hammadou Farina. I too, listen to music, but more to my take…
Will the Minnesota Federal Courts Deliver Justice? Part 3 By Yero Jallow The case for Cherno Njie, a Texas Real Estate businessman, has raised some questions. Our records show that Mr. Njie was arrested around the beginning of the year. The author of this piece gathered from reliable sources that the trio (Cherno Njie, Papa Faal and Alhagie Saidy Barrow) will be all tried in the Minnesota Federal Courts. The question is why is he still not in Minnesota? Why are things a little mute about him? What will justice look like for Cherno Njie? Let us establish the fact…
By Ignatius C. Olisemeka Without ever knowing or meeting me, Buhari gave me a chance. As I now write, I have never met him one-on-one. We have never spoken to each other. It is an extraordinary experience of an unusual man. I was sitting on my desk in the Ministry of External Affairs, 40 Marina Lagos in 1984, when I received a letter appointing me Ambassador to the United States of America. My place of origin did not matter. Incidentally, I am from Ibusa, a famous town now in Delta State, then in Bendel State. My religion did not matter…
Press Statement John Kerry Secretary of State Washington, DC February 6, 2015 I’ve been Secretary of State for two years now and in all my travels, one of the most horrific and searing things I’ve witnessed is seeing firsthand the destruction to young women’s lives wrought by female genital mutilation and cutting. It has to end. We have to speak out. We cannot be afraid to talk about this and, uncomfortable as it may be, call it by its name: violence, plain and simple. This tragedy spans the globe, including many migrant and diaspora communities…
President Barack Obama became the first black president 25 years ago today — of the Harvard Law Review, that is. The New York Times shared a screenshot Friday of their 1990 profile of Obama, which ran after he became the first black student elected to preside over the Review. Obama was 28 years old at the time. In the 1990 interview, Obama told the Times that he believed his election showed “a lot of progress.” “‘It’s encouraging,” he said. “But it’s important that stories like mine aren’t used to say that everything is O.K. for blacks. You have to…
Alleged Coup Plotters Released Conditionally! By Yero Jallow Alleged Coup Plotters in the Gambia on December 30th 2014, Alhagie Saidy Barrow and Papa Faal were released conditionally today in St. Paul and Minneapolis Federal Court houses respectively. Barrow and Faal are charged for allegedly violating the U.S Neutrality ACT, after an attempted coup to dislodge the tyrannical regime of Yaya AJJ Jammeh. This reporter was in court and files this report for readers. Both defendants were represented by their lawyers. The court hearing was accompanied by tumulus solidarity from cross-section of Gambians in Minnesota and out of State. The Release…