Gainako Newspaper

Dear Ms. Jaw Manneh:
Let me begin by making an honest confession: sometimes, us
Gambian media types, commentators and opinion suppliers
don't see the big picture and get bogged down by trivial
distractions. Today, I want you to know that despite the
ongoing concerns about what happens to The Gambia during
and after the Yahya Jammeh debacle, I still think about how
to boost your morale, how to facilitate your release from the
grips of a horrendous potentate, and to emphasize ,above all,
that you are an absolute hero to all of us who love our country
and ,most importantly, cherish freedom and dignity.

Some might wonder why I branded you the Athena of African journalism but this should be a
no-brainer. Who can't help but admire this Greek goddess of war and wisdom; daughter of Zeus, who
defied the other deities and intervened in the Trojan war on behalf of her Hellenic kin, and who rests
immortalized atop the Parthenon presiding over the great city named after her? Fatou Jaw Manneh,
you are a present day Athena, fighting for the right to expression, defying the idols of injustice and
tyranny as you keep watch over a republic, a nation that needs the likes of you if it is to survive and
bequeathed to the next generation full of innocent promise.

I have become cynical about the motives of those who of us write online or elsewhere for show, for
vacuous validation and for insipid and unwarranted attention. I have wondered why those of use who
blab online hardly ever take the time to mention your name at least once as an acknowledgement of
what we owe you in exemplary courage and professional indebtedness. Maybe I'm asking too much
of them. Maybe by continuing to write and opine, they tacitly honor your inconvenient disposition at
the hands of a malicious dictator. Maybe I'm just too intense in repudiating political idiocy and expect
my fellow mortals to do the same. But I still have my suspicions.

In the end Ms. Manneh, I believe that the side of righteousness, which you so magnificently represent
will win out. You are no match for the incompetent commissars of the NIA and your serenity in the
face of vigilante threats is a welcome contrast to the cacophonic groveling of the Fatou Jahumpa
Ceesay ilk. You far surpass all of us in displaying an epic daring by going into the lair of that hideous
beast, Yahya Jammeh, and not flinching as he roared, yapped and defiled himself in a failed bid to
intimidate you, to cow you into submission just like he did to the alleged men who crawl in and out of
his cabinet like worker ants toiling at the behest of a craven overlord. You have won already just by
sticking to the tenets of truth, class and composure.

Go to sleep every night and know my prayers and the fierce protection of the gods keep guard over
you lest the wolves and murderers of Banjul's goon squad want to pounce. As for Yahya Jammeh,
he'll roam the bloodied halls of state house unable to sleep at night. His conscience won't let him
slumber until he makes his peace and surrender to his greatest and most honorable adversary to date:
Fatou Jaw Manneh.

In Admiration,

The Watchman.

Author can be contacted at gambiaswatchman@gmail.com

..........................................OPINION
Hope for a New Gambian on
The Horizon:By Kebba Sanneh "Nyanchor "�May 23rd, 2008
Revelations would come to show that the meandering river that kept
our deep and darkest history, suffered, swelled and busted its banks
in anger and utter frustration of been polluted with and by the blood
and flesh of her children. The same world would come to pass and the
dark clouds of rain that blocked our views to the bright and wonderful
celestial cluster of stars in the distant world above, would too give way
for all to see. The after rains that would erode the land, wash down
everything along its way, running into the river would reveal the bones
and remains of the victims buried under shallow graves, accused of
crimes they never committed, sacrificed for evil courses and butchered
for love of power and selfish bloody rituals.

The river that shall come to keep and rebury those secrets would be finally rendered the respect and
majesty due. The late night, lengthy cries of the children of the river, that was hidden from the common
man, carried out in the dark of night, by men of the Pharaoh against the common citizen under the
commands and directions of the ruler of the river, shall be revealed to all, but with tales of heart
breaking narrations of horror and brutality that all scriptures revealed, of the nature of dictators in the
past and those to come. It would come to pass with a blink of an eye, so swiftly that the Pharaoh
would call for the protection of his wealth when his life would matter less to him. He would be
destroyed while trying to accumulate and squander what belongs to all. He shall succeed in the
beginning and claimed all of God's favour, to be of his own making, for he would be ungrateful and
insincere towards the poor and the weak. He shall be calling for the recognition of the people he
despised and envied so much but in the process increasing and magnifying his evil intentions to the
status of claiming to be the god sent to his people, like claimed by the ancient kings or Pharaohs of
black Egypt.

The children of the river Nile who suffered under past pharaohs in manners and conditions similar to
ours came to past. So those of the children of the River Gambia under the current Pharaoh would also
come to past. In the mean time, lessons learnt from the past are meaningful only to those of wisdom
and God's guidance. The river Gambia and her children shall come to be rendered the respect due
and all those with an iota of doubt about the coming of this wonderful and rejoiceful day, must not
allow pessimism generated from a decade and four years of the reign of the Pharaoh, become a
continuous cumulonimbus clouds hanging and blocking their sights to the heavens above. It would be
the day when Gambians of all works of life from Kanilai to Katamina, Essau to Lamin Koto Koina to
Kartong, would appear in mass to celebrate and pray for all those who lost their lives, their property,
their dignity and their God given rights to a Pharaoh who served demons, fed crocodiles while his
people starve, dine and wine with hypocrites and parasites when orphans cried for a meal. They, the
Gambians would be seen in a mass number celebrating the glory, greeting and shaking hands in
forgiveness and brotherhood with the wonderful words of SALAAM ALAIKUM, peace is upon to
you.

Who can deny the day when ours too would be history, history based upon what we lived for and
what we died for? The only thing certain in life is death. It is no longer a question of death, but what
death finds man doing, in other words, the end justifies the means. The Gambia has every reason to be
proud of her self for producing and contributing to the development of mankind, in his desires and
aspirations to move this world further for the common good of all. We can be seen and be heard
among men of quality and ladies of dignity in all parts of the world. Our Engineers, Doctors, Lawyers,
Technocrats, Nurses, Social workers and Teachers, professionals and academics abroad and at
home, I say we can rise again after the final blow is given to this bully. It is therefore not the time to
despair; it is not the time to surrender and certainly not the time to compromise with the Pharaoh. It is
in fact a moment of hope and steadfastness. The Gambia is doing it right when her Pen and Ink are
becoming bullets in the hearts of the dictator like the God sent birds from "SIJJIIL" with pebbles from
hell, dropping on Abraha's army of Elephants and destroying them, in Abraha's quest to conquer the
Kaaba and the Meccans. Newspapers blocked, online censure ship on the increase, we are seeing the
Pharaoh's candles burning out. He is running out of fuel, the lies are not working; the grandboubous
are becoming uncomfortable, justice is slowly creeping into his door, covers of mystifications unveil
and the naked truths are rearing their shiny heads, paranoia fuelled with Godlessness, YES he would
be worried. We shall rise and we shall soon rather than later be in command of our destiny, our future,
our aspirations and desires to fulfil the will of God (ALLAH), which is to do nothing order than to
worship HIM and HIM alone, not helpless idols and self imposed demigods consumed and blinded by
devils, to whom they say their prayers to. A new chapter is about to be opened, but only those guided
in spirit, committed to their beliefs, their minds speak the language of clarity, their hearts the language
of justice, their conscience the language of truth and their will speaks with the language of conviction,
would finally be in the good history of the republic of the Gambia and they would become men and
women who had a life to live for and they would have reasons, genuine reasons for dieing for.

Long live the Gambia. Long live the fundamental structure of the Gambian workers. The struggle to
restore and repair the damage caused during all these years must be our fundamental goal.

Kebba Sanneh (Nyanchor)
Stockholm Sweden

.........................OPINION
.........Our Goal in Life
................................By Isha Fye��.May 22nd, 2008
All Praise is for Allah, and peace and blessings of Allah be upon His beloved Messenger
Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

We are grateful to Allah subhana wa ta'ala for giving us the opportunity to sit in His remembrance. For
truly it is a great favour indeed that despite all worldly distractions He has brought us to His House
(mosque). Then sat us in His dhikr. And by sitting in His dhikr Allah subhana wa ta'ala helps us to get
closer to Him and for every Muslim the true goal in life is to attain the pleasure of Allah subhana wa
ta'ala.

Apart from that we all have a common interest, that we would all like to love Allah subhana wa ta'ala
and we ourselves would like to be loved by our Lord Most High.

Now is it not strange that a person has a certain desire or goal in life but doesn't make any effort to
achieve it?

Surely it is a basic rule in this world that when a person has a particular interest or hobby, he does not
waste any time. He spends most of his time in an activity that will help him achieve his goal. For
example if a person wants to be good at a particular sport, he would play that sport very regularly and
often spend a lot of money and time on trying to achieve his objective.

So truly if our objective in life is to be loved by Allah, and we also know that this can happen through
doing His dhikr in abundance, then why is it that we not make ourselves busy in His remembrance?

The formula for achieving this is straightforward, Allah subhana wa ta'ala has stated in the Qur'an
'Fadhkurooni adhkurkum' (Remember Me and I will remember you). It is stated in a Hadeeth that
Allah remembers His servant as soon as he remembers Allah.

Subhanallah, can you imagine the Lord Most High, The creator of the Heavens and the Earth
remembering you? Indeed that is great thing. And this method for achieving our objective is so easy
that it almost defies belief.

In a Hadeeth transmitted by Bukhari it is stated that Abu Hurayrah radhiallah anhu narrated that
Allah's Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said "Allah Almighty says, 'I am towards My servant as
he is towards Me. I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me alone, I remember
him alone. If he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than it."

...CHELSEA REJOINDER
.............................By Omar Jallow.........................May22nd, 2008
EDITOR,

I will be sending CHERNO BABA JALLOW a VICTORY PARTY
INVITATION and I hope that he is ready to hop the next flight to Raleigh,
because this is going to be a DOUBLE for MAN UTD .We know who
the real champions are in ENGLAND and sure will be the EUROPEAN
CHAMPIONS too.

ROMAN ABRAHAMOVIC did really change the game in the PREMIERSHIP by splashing money
buy the best players in the planet, but you cannot buy a championship, I have to be determination not
where by own team mates are fighting for a FREEKICK (BALLACK & DROGBA)who are one of
the best in the game does not look good for CHELSEA.

The only players I am most concern of are MICHAEL ESSIEN and CLAUDE MAKELELE,
because if they get their ridim they will neutralize the midfield and that is going to be the main factor in
the game.For RONALDO chelsea have to chopped him off to stop him,because everyone is saying
that he does not perform on big games and he has to prove everyone wrong ,because it could not be
bigger than the CHAMSPIONS LEAGUE,so lets go RED DEVILS, put the icing on the cake and
lets tell ROMAN ABRAHAMOVIC that he cannot dictate the ball ,when the whistle is blown for
ninety minutes.Prediction 2-1 RED DEVILS.....

OMAR JALLOW
OMARR29@AOL.COM
919 539 2463

..................................Commentary
......To Chelsea, With Love
................................By Cherno Baba Jallow..........................May 21st, 2008

I don�t know what the cumulative effect is, but the antipathy in England
towards the Chelsea football club is confounding. Whenever I visit England
and I am discovered to be a Chelsea fan, it is like I have violated a taboo.
Some people look at me as if I were an alien descended, say, from Pluto.
And I am astonished. It is hard understanding it.

This attitude towards Chelsea is something between unfathomable hostility and
total jealousy. Perhaps it has to do with the paradox of success: It encourages
untrammeled competitiveness but also breeds resentment and nibbles away the
sympathy of under-dog status. Chelsea, under the ownership of the Russian
billionaire Roman Abramovich, is a successful football club, at least from the
standpoint of entrepreneurial nimbleness.

Chelsea has gone through cyclical changes and in the language of business
cycles, the team, now encamped in Moscow for the European Championship
League final, is on the verge of reaching its peak, its summit of competitive
international accomplishments. This is the team�s first ever appearance in a
Champions League final. �In September, when Jose Mourinho left and Avram
took over, we never would have imagined that we would be where we are
now,� Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck told soccernet.com recently.

Of course, Chelsea over the years, had to, in fits and starts, emerge out of the doldrums of football
lethargy. Until 1996, Chelsea�s record was less than stellar both in local and foreign tournaments.
Financial crisis and relegations threatened the team�s fortunes and standing in English football. When
the former Dutch international striker Ruud Gullit took over as player-manager, Chelsea was finally
put on the road to capacity-building. The team rebounded with a 1997 FA Cup victory. Gullit�s
successor Gialunca Viali built on the team�s embryonic successes and won the League Cup and Cup
Winners� Cup in 1998 and the FA Cup in 2000. Viali�s fellow Italian successor Claudia Ranieri had a
less than impressive record but it was more than compensated by the accomplishments of the tetchy
yet determined Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho was a winner, or some would say, whiner, during his coaching stint. He cavorted media
attention and by dint of his loquaciousness, created endless cycles of frenzy and chatter in English
football opinionland. But Mourinho was a doting coach. He remained steadfast in his quest to make
Chelsea a force to reckon with in English football. He dreamed big and cast his sights far and wide.
Under his watch, Chelsea won the League Cup in 2005 and again in 2006. And in 2007, Chelsea
won both the FA Cup and the League Cup. It was his wish to take Chelsea to the European
Championship final, a feat now belonging to his successor Avram Grant, formerly Chelsea�s Director
of Football.

Chelsea has continued to record steady and incremental improvements over the years. If its
performance were to be graphed, it would show, save for Ranieri�s brief blemish, the trajectory lines
of a team on the up and up. And in industryspeak, this is buoyancy of managerial efficiency. Of
course, Abramovich�s sloshing funds, perhaps the envy of Arsenal�s stingy Arsene Wenger, have
helped catapult Chelsea to its current prominence. Finances are the antidote for cumbersome
undertakings, whether it is about undiminished visibility on the radar screen of American presidential
campaigns or continued relevance in the English Premier League.

It used to be said, in the distant past, that Chelsea�s style of play was just entertaining; it lacked the
depth to impact English football. I wonder if that holds true today. For Chelsea, with its blend of
international and local talents, has added a great flair to the game and to the pool of resources for
national utilization. Think about the steely resolve of John Terry or the menacing lethality of Frank
Lampard or the colorfulness of Joe Cole � huge assets to the English national team. Or how can
anyone forget the exploits of the jack-rabbit Gianfranco Zola or the tenacious Tore Andre Flo or the
goal-poaching resilient Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. We, Chelsea fans, remember.

Forget the haters. Forget the doubters. And forget those annoying Man U fans. We will ride with the
Blues till the end. Will the real Chelsea fans please stand up? Here we come, Moscow.

To write to the author, please send your comments to: chernobjallow@hotmail.com

................" PACO "
.....A Day in the Life of a Gambian Youth
................................... By Momodou Laama Jallow��..May 20th, 2008
" Every morning after his rigorous exercise Paco would stand facing the sea and gazing at the far distant.
Beyond the horizon he imagines seeing a glimpse of a shoreline, that perhaps forms the outline boundary of a
magical place called "Babylon", and perhaps even the the mythical place "Eldorado", that had made many
dreams possible. "
Six o'clock in the morning, Serekunda West, Paco jumped from bed, stretched
his arms and legs, lay on the floor and did a quick push ups to warm his body.
He then washed his face and hurriedly dives under the bed and took his running
shoes, a pair of warrior sneakers made by converse. Dawn on his favorite T-shirt,
the words "Who Dares Win" boldly written at the back and start running the 6
miles distant towards the sea.

Once at the beach, Paco would skip 200 times; run a couple 40 yards dash, 200 pushups in different
variation, and squat 3 sets of 12 each. This is the routine that has become Paco's regiment for the last
three months. This rigorous and intensive training was employed a month ago, when Paco met this
stranger. A tourist who saw him exercise observed his routine and thought Paco's technique and style
rather mediocre. This man, an Ex-British soldier gave Paco some new techniques in how best to
condition his body, even gave him a T-shirt as gift. Since then his body's response to this new
technique has been immediate and Paco now more confident than before has embarked on this
training with an added zeal.

His chess, now more defined, his waist a little bit trimmer, and his arms and biceps more muscular. Of
late he has started walking on his toes with his chess slightly in an upward position. His friends used to
joke that Paco's new walking style "inhaling" as they dubbed it is more an act of intimidation than
anything else. Of late many of his neighborhood peers (A neighborhood the boys dubbed "South")
have started leaving for distant places. At first, it was just a few, and then it seems every month
someone is leaving. Eventually it reached a point such even the astute Paco could not keep tab on the
exodus.

Paco knows that he is not stupid, even though he drop out of high school, but he is certain that he is
smarter than many people realized. Even though he does not have the papers to prove it, but who
cares about certificates these days anyway he muttered to himself when all that matters is success.
They seem to prove nothing especially in this age of laissez-faire Gambian liberalism. Who knows!
He wonders maybe the educational system he went through is somehow flawed in some aspects, but
he could not point to any specific area.

Ever since leaving school, he has embarked on some serious reading. He had read Neocolonialism-
the last stage of capitalism by Kwame Nkrumah, "Das Kapital" by Karl Max, even memorize the
"Communist Manifesto" He has been hanging more often with his favorite uncle Pa. A man who
worked for a Greek shipping company in the early 70's sailed throughout out Europe, Asia, and North
America. Uncle Pa even sailed into the Soviet Union on more than one occasion. In his narrations
Paco listened to Uncle Pa's adventures. Places like Antwerp, Cologne, Helsinki, Prague, Leningrad,
Copenhagen, Bremen, and London. and Tokyo seems very alluring. He imagined how beautiful these
places are and in contrasted to his own neighborhood. How different these major cities are compared
to his neighborhood he grew up, the neighborhood " South" he love so dearly much and yet can't
help wanting, the urge, the incremental feeling that maybe his luck lay outside the confines of this
neighborhood, perhaps even outside the boundary of his birth place. This Europe, this beautiful land
endowed with vast opportunities is a place Paco needs to be. This land of a thousand lights is no
doubt the new "Babylon".

Few days ago, Paco has gone to the immigration dept in Banjul to check on the progress of his
passport application, and at Denton Street he ran into an old friend Tam, (a classmate at
Mohammedan Primary school back in the day), just from Denmark, driving a new 190 c-class
Mercedes Benz. He has spent the whole day hanging with him. They even stopped by at Albion Place
to get a copy of DJ Cora's latest reggae selection from Germany before proceeding to Tobacco
Road. He has observed how Tam now more confident, even sound enlightened in his description of
many things about the world. How in his conversations his friend seems to demonstrate a new degree
of intelligence.

Few months ago, his best friend Dave has just entered Switzerland, and has sent him a picture of him
leaning back in the front of a nice car with bright lights all over the place. In fact a Paco thought that
his friend really looks good or rather "Fresh" (to use the parlance of the day) after just a few months
of leaving home. He has gazed into this picture perhaps a thousand times, and each time he saw
something new, something different. Like a consummate artist inspecting a canvas, Paco has
methodically looked at every details of this picture and every minute detail speaks volume to him
about the place, this "magical" he thought to himself is a certainly a place he ought to be.

His had received money from Dave and this enabled him to secure most of his travel documents a
bachelor's certificate, and a certificate of character. All that is left is his passport which he hoped to
get anytime soon. The last two years he has been a keen participant of the neighborhood's
"Naweetan" team. But this year, he has to be excused for Paco is getting ready for the ultimate, and
need both mind and body for his quantum leap into the "Babylon".

So every morning after his rigorous exercise Paco would stand facing the sea and gazing at the far
distant. Beyond the horizon he imagines seeing a glimpse of a shoreline, that perhaps forms the outline
boundary of a magical place called "Babylon", and perhaps even the mythical place Eldorado", that
had many dreams possible.

..............................................NEWS
FINANCIAL SCANDAL AT BASSE AREA
COUNCIL: By Solo, Banjul Correspondent��..May 19th, 2008
Sources close to this reporter reported that Mr. Momodou Lamin Jaiteh, alias M.L. Jaiteh who is
serving as the Director of Finance at the Basse Area Council, is said to have been transferred to the
Mansakonko Area Council with effect from the 10th of May 2008.

The Director of Finance at the MANSAKONKO Area Council was said to have swapped with Mr.
Jaiteh. Mr. Jaiteh was said to have received his transfer letter through a fax message from the CEO
that he was transferred.

What makes the Financial Director's transfer news is that he was said to have refused to sign
expenditures amounting to over 1,750,000 Dalasi that is said to be missing at the Basse Area Council
during the three months period when the management committee was responsible for the management
of the affairs of the council, at a time when he the Director was suspended. It was also alleged that
other officials at the council have also refused to sign the expenditures during the period. This, sources
said is what motivates the Governor to recommend his transfer to Mansakonko Area Council.

The question that now arises is, is there any financial misappropriation at the Basse Area Council
during the three months leading to the 2008 council elections. The state needs to investigate into the
affairs of the finance at the Basse Area council.The people are concerned.

.........WHERE IS RAMBO'S VEHICLE?
...............By Solo, Banjul Correspondent��..May 19th, 2008
Mr. Ousman Jatta alias Rambo, who is councilor of Old Bakau and Cape Point Ward was arrested
and detained for more than 14 months and kept in Police cells in various parts of the country.

Mr Jatta who is an opposition UDP stalwart was later detained at the Sare Ngai police Station in the
Wuli West Constituency and forgotten. By the time of his arrest Rambo's vehicle was also impounded
by the arrestors and parked at the Bakau Police Station.

So since the time of Rambo's release due to his discovery by the personnel of Amnesty International in
collaboration with a Foroyaa reporter some six to seven months ago, his vehicle an Audi brand with
registration No. KM 9371C could still not be given back to him by the police. He said he is informed
that the vehicle was moved to the police intervention unit at Kanifing but the vehicle is now declared
lost or missing as far Rambo is concerned.

According to Rambo as reported by the Foroyaa, he was in possession of his keys throughout his 14
months detention in Sare Ngai and else where. Rambo is reported to be distraught about the whole
thing as he claimed many of his valuable things were left in the vehicle.

There are a lot of speculations about vehicles being impounded by some Security forces and being
used by them and even after the release of the detainee, these people would not relinquish the
properties to their rightful owners.

The police and the NIA should mount an investigation into this matter so that the victim can access his
properties because this reporter receives information that the colour of the vehicle and it's registration
number have been changed to disguise its identity.

Copyright, 2006-2008: Gainako On-line Newspaper . Site Maintained by Gamway Computers