Of recent, I have sought refuge in the serenity of taciturnity. Reunited with my fellow countrymen in the underworld; where we voluntarily remain oblivious to the obvious ubiquitous. Despite, the myriads of thought provoking issues, we remained unperturbed. We feebly watched and read few opinionated kinsmen grapple with issues of pertinence for us. We sought sanctuary in serenity, tranquil and peace; that elusive Elysian utopia.
But this is earth; where everything has evolved to cause chaos, disturbance, distraction, provocation and agitation. The temperatures fluctuate rapidly between the extreme acmes of freezing and sweltering. Especially, when a man named Jamus Jammeh is unfortunate to be an emperor.
Serendipitously; I have found my pen again to scribble. My conscience to reason; vision to envisage; predilections to deduct; courage to err; chutzpah to deride and be derided; aspiration to inspire; zeal to learn; pride to share; and hope to defeat despair. Welcome to my thoughts!
Much happened in my hibernation. King Jamus prefixed another title to his ever elongating name of everything. He bragged of being a Dictator; probably, the first to admit that infamy in humanity. He justifies it simply, by juxtaposing it to “a vampire”. But how he had not surprised us, for we knew the fool would not know that he is more of a vampire than a dictator!
But that was not the end of the chronicle. There was a successful Gambian congresses in London, Raleigh (North Carolina), and Sweden. Baba Leigh was arbitrarily arrested and detained only to be pardoned for being illegally detained. This Jamus is full of mysteries! One wonders how he scripted that palaver.
They said the congresses ushered in unity. We are united in one common zeal, goal, and aspiration for a Gambia free from Yahya Jammeh. The last time, I made the news headlines, was for the same aspirations, but differently expressed. Then it was Yahya Jammeh must go in thirty days. The ultimatum of our now deposed Monsieur Le President Sidia Bayo. Oh boy! How, I wished Jammeh had complied with the ultimatum! But he may live to regret his obstinacy.
However, in an irony, we almost banished before Yahya Jammeh, who was given the ultimatum!
Nevertheless, 2012 still stands tall, as a year to be remembered in this struggle to uproot Yahya Jammeh. Not just for the emergence of the Monsieur Le President on the scene or his ultimatum, but for the unlawful executions of the death row inmates of Mile 2. And the subsequent release of Dr Ahmadou Scattred Janneh.
The downside was that Monsieur Le President, Sidia Bayo, was not as genuine as he presented himself. Instead, he is a cunning fiddler. A rogue! His heart was not at the place of his mouth. His was a business enterprise; whilst ours was a genuine strive for freedom, democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights in the Gambia. Bayo is reported to have enriched himself from his political stunt. He is rumoured to have earned over a 100,000 euros from the plight of the Gambian people. We talk of Yahya Jammeh being the only heartless Gambian!
In fact, if we think Sidia Bayo is worst, we may need to think again. There are many like him stationed at vantage points in Senegal. They do not only yearn to scam your money, but sell your soul to the Gambian monster for a super.
In the Gambia, a man called Swandi Camara from Brikama, and Law Jarjue from Kiang Massenmbeh (both ex- Gambian – Liberian fighters), are men to watch out for if you do not want to have your throat chopped by the Dictator. These men have no conscience left in their souls. They longed for our souls in exchange of monetary gains. They will sell their mothers to Jammeh for a dime. These men make our struggle more challenging.
Senegal is, as a friend puts it, a buffer zone. Where, cruel creatures lay bait for the desperate souls of Gambia. It’s a lucrative and thriving business enterprise, which involves some unexpected senior officials of the Senegalese regime.
It’s like the reincarnation of Greek mythological world, where we squared up to the notorious mythical monsters of: Chimera, Hydra, Sphinx, Minotaux, and Cyclops. But we have no Hercules to slay the Hydra, or Theseus to slay the Chimera, or Odysseus to slay the Cyclops Polyphemus. All we have is ourselves.
Nevertheless; removing Jammeh is not as cumbersome, as it may sound. It’s simply avoiding these unscrupulous creatures along the way and get to the dictator. And without a doubt, removing Jammeh is now a faarida (a religious duty) on every Gambian. It’s a yoke fastened to our necks by the almighty. Undoubtedly, it looms larger than our comprehension. But we must take solace in the knowledge that Allah places no burden on his slaves, except that which they can carry. This, be not words of my mouth but those read from the Holy scripture of the Al-Quran; Chapter one, verse 286. All we need is the zeal and tenacity. We will capture Jammeh in a coward’s den, fear stricken! We will find in him, the worst of a coward extant. And will not catch him with dry pants!