Gainako Newspaper

Once again, Gambians are showing their timidity when it comes to
facing the glaring deficiencies of our grossly imperfect democracy by
attacking a newspaper gutsy enough to point out that yes, tribalism
does exist within the pungent environment of political stagnation that
Yahya Jammeh has concocted after 14 torrid years of misrule. To
hear them tell it, critics of the Freedom newspaper's recent illustration
of political appointees tainted by a common denominator, that of being
Jolas, are concerned that all in all, these reports are just stunts that
have no merit and possess the latent potential to incite internecine
mischief. As the British would say, this is plain poppycock.

Gambians are sensitive to a fault about how the imaginary good name of their country is seen and
perceived by others and amongst themselves and this not only shows political naivet� but also reveals
the biggest impediment to national development and the building of a credible juggernaut of an
opposition to the blight and malaise proffered by the parasitic Jammeh outfit.

To attack the glaring incidents of Jolas at the head of bureaucratic units is a civic duty and anyone
feeling squeamish about the deed is akin to the wily French administrators of the colonial era who in
their bid to maintain hegemony over their African and other foreign subjects invoked the ideal of
assimilation and attempted to neutralize the tribal links indigenous Africans had with their unique
backgrounds. This ideal was exposed as a deadly fallacy because in the end, the notion of assimilation
was so hypocritical and so contrary to the tenets of the French revolution of 1789 that revolts broke
out in French Indo-China culminating in the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 when the French army
was defeated by Vietnamese forces led by Ho Chi Minh. The suppression of tribal identity despite
festering undercurrent tensions also had deadly implications when the Yugoslav socialist federation
disintegrated in 1992. Hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Croats and Bosnians perished in the ensuing
civil war that ground to a decent halt after the Dayton Accord was acquiesced to by the warring
parties in 1995. An even better example is the Rwandan tragedy of 1994 where the legacy of French
overlords downplaying tribal differences on a selective basis led to a million souls slaughtered, a
culmination of ethnic grudges that were ignored as mere historical footnotes.

The lessons of the above mentioned calamities should be that as uncomfortable and even sometimes
confrontational as the topic might be, us Gambians need to assess the unsavory nature of our
characters and the seeping of convoluted tribal factors into our daily lives. To ignore this taint on our
national psyche and to bash those who are brash enough to say tribalism is being perpetuated by
Yahya Jammeh is akin to reacting like the crowd that kept mum when the emperor walked around
naked until the precocious kid pointed out the obvious. There is a difference between detailing the
prevalence of tribalism for nefarious ends and the need to monitor the onset of ethnic patronage before
it gets out of hand. Frankly, the way so-called Gambian editors, commentators, columnists, opinion
orifices, and rampant blowhards overreact at the whisper of possible tribalism is a disgrace. It shows
an unwillingness to confront a stumbling block to overall Gambian unity and it this wimpy characteristic
that has doomed any decent venture to right Gambia's political and economic ship.

If Zimbabwe's stalwart opposition were to behave like The Gambia's so-called anti-Jammeh political
groups or worse even its nascent exile media, no one would have been exposed to the inequities of
economic and political power between the Shonas, Mugabe's tribe and the Ndebele who migrated to
present day Zimbabwe during another ethnic tension filled migration, the Mfecane. If Zimbabwe's
MDC had heeded the timid prescriptions of a press akin to say, Gambia's online media scrum, then no
one would have imagined that legally, it won the last presidential and parliamentary votes in a gallant
display of bravery and organization only to see its triumph stolen under the pretext of a need for a
runoff scheduled for June 25th 2008. The saddest ace up Yahya Jammeh's dirty sleeve and which this
writer has pointed out again and again is the fact that when push comes to shove, Gambia's opposition
and media, with the exception of a rare few, do not have the courage and resolve to challenge the
Jammeh regime efficiently enough to effect simple political change such as due process in the arrest
and detention of political prisoners and of any citizen for that matter. If Nelson Mandela and his
anti-apartheid colleagues were offered the services or moral support of Gambia's opposition parties
and so-called media, they would politely refuse. They know to have toppled Apartheid, one had to
show unblinking daring and principled agitation, admirable traits Gambia's opposition and press
heartbreakingly lack.

Any anthropologist would simply point out that tribalism on Yahya Jammeh's part is an instinctive and
cultural proclivity within kin based societies where personal and family bonds play an integral part in
forming the overall structure of the clan which in turn contributes to the formation of the tribal unit. The
Scottish clans, Italian families and Japanese Yakuza all highlight this fierce devotion to filial and
common history bonds that has been a hallmark of their operation for good and, at times frighteningly
so, for worse. Discussing African tribalism has become taboo because those who make ill advised
ploys to do so are ill-equipped, point out the primordial as opposed to the practical aspects of it,
obfuscate some facts in order to subtly paint their kind as superior, and in most cases, cannot even
discuss the convoluted dimensions of ethnic politics due to mixed feelings about experiences they had
personally endured. As much as I appreciate P.K. Jarju's integrity as a contributor to useful exchanges
on the political fate of The Gambia, his attack on Pa Nderry Mbai's Freedom newspaper was
unwarranted and borne out of the sensitivity that has no place in objective assessment of societal
events and which should be a feature best left to the biggest cry baby of them all Bubacar Sankanu.
There is no denying that no matter what the Freedom newspaper publishes, critics, circling like starved
vultures always swoop in to make a big deal out of nothing. What's gives here? The fact that Yahya
Jammeh does not trust anyone but his Jola clansmen or the fact that illustrating this deliberate act
shames all of us into confronting our own inherent tribal biases?

The crux of the matter, what needs to be undertaken by all concerned parties is to realize that in the
end, Jammeh's political power can only be entrusted with very few trusted lieutenants and the more
oppressive and decadent his marauding becomes, the less likely he is to buy into the notion that
Wolof, Fula, Mandinka and other people of Gambia's various nations will tolerate the indecent abuse
of power. Jolas on the other hand will put a blind eye to the unethical misappropriation of state
resources because they have more at stake to lose and better yet, they know come what may that
Gambians are sick of Yahya Jammeh but not angry at Jolas just for being Jolas and the spirit of
forgiveness among us is greater than alarmists give us credit for. Which Mandinka, after Jammeh's rule
will go after a Jola neighbor to right a perceived wrong committed during the tenure of his kinsman?
Which Fula man will dump his Jola wife in the event Yahya Jammeh is booted out of state house just
because he was mad at the stupid dictator all along? How many of us Gambians will make a list of
Jolas to kill after the tragic-comedy of Jammeh governance just because the Freedom newspaper
rightly showed the tribal penchant of Jammeh in positioning Jolas at crucial loci of power? Do these
commentators who are so enraged about Freedom newspaper's listing of powerful Jolas in the
Jammeh era honestly believe that Gambians are akin to bloodthirsty Rwandans who turned on each
other at the urging of hate filled radio broadcasting and mob pressure?

Let's not become too prudish about evolving the discussion of ideas and tools to enact change in The
Gambia. Let's not use our bully pulpit of newspaper ownership and publication to print only those
ideas that fall in line with our personal biases and preferences. Let's not suppress the urge to explore
revolutionary and evolutionary paths to effect much needed transformation in the socio-economic
matrix of The Gambia. Let's understand that without fully confronting the ghosts of past failures and
dereliction of civic duty, us Gambians will be part of the sad string and cycle of countless African
nations who when given the chance to positively change their histories opted to live in fear and
tyranny. Let's understand that as much as the topic might be explosive and downright painful at times,
a national dialogue on socials ills such as tribalism is necessary to prevent worse case scenarios and
preserve the cherished welfare of our small but proud republic.

Author can reached at gambiaswatchman@gmail.com

Letters from our Readers
.........................Tribalism
.................------------------------- COMMENTS -------------------------
Dear editor,
Permit me to raise concern over the recent stories about President Jammeh "Jolanising" the Gambia
government. In as much as Jammeh is playing the tribal card, the media should avoid commiting the
same crime Jammeh is being accused of. Jammeh may have employed his brethren to key positions
based on tribal lines but most of the names published on freedomnewspaper are either not Jola or
deserved their appointments. It seems people with names that could belong to the Jola tribe are being
picked on by fredomnewspaper for no reason. The online papers have done a good job in putting
preasure on Jammeh but there has been a lot of rubbish published as well. Journalist's primary
responsibility is to tell the truth and anything short of that is not acceptable. I decided to direct my
concerns to you because I know the freedomnewspaper editor will not publish my opinion. In the past
he reported stories that turned out to be blatant lies and he did not even have the guts to retract them
when he was proved wrong. Take a look at his reaction over the story of Journalist Ousman Dabo.
Instead of accepting he got it wrong, he tries to throw punches at Professor Karikari. The media
foudation's reaction was very clear and to the point but instead of simply writing a corrigendum he
went wild trying to defend the indefensible. Pk Jarju has written a good pice on the issue on
allgambian.net but am not surprised to see a negative reaction to the article.

Njaga Njie
United Kingdom

...........................Tribalism
....................------------------------ COMMENTS -------------------------
GAINAKO I think means the Shepherd should be sensitive enough to opinions expressed by
tribalist like Kebba Sanneh, who also was driven by Jankeh Wally across the south border just as he
is accusing Yahya Jammeh. It is not ethical to be using such a language. Even if the president is not
your star or you have total dislike of him please be matured enough to channel your idea in a more
disciplined way. Kebba no matter how out of touch you are I still love as a Gambian. Lets be rational
and not be so emotional, which brings us at nothing what so ever. It is quite clear that you ran into the
Gambia from Bissau fleeing from the Fula warrior Jankeh Wally. Do you really belong to the Gambia?
Discuss peace, progress and unity. Sanneh balana anyway your ancestors ran away and did not
resist. That is what is still haunting you in Sweden. Gainako I may be a cow gone astray, but please
help guide my fellows and me rationally. May God bless the Gambia.

Ala
USA
........................................NEWS
....HIGHER FUEL PRICE HAS DRIVERS
....COMPLAIN OF UNFAIR TREATMENT
........................By Solo, Banjul Correspondent.....May 25th, 2008
Pump price for fuel has surged up in the Gambia. The pump price
for petrol has gone up from 30 Dalasi to 33 Dalasi per litre; Gas
oil has gone up from 28Dalasi to 32 Dalasi and Kerosene has
gone from 21Dalasi to 25 Dalasi per litre.

Speaking to this reporter some commercial drivers most of whom
depend on the daily income from transporting commuters said the
increase is a big blow to their livelihood. They described the
increment this as unfair since the government has refused to consider
increasing fares because as they claim, the two must always go
together.

One commercial driver said, just recently essential food commodity prices have been increased
drastically and now the increase of fuel prices is surely going to affect them and make their life and
their families� lives miserable.

He was told that commuters also complain that drivers also refuse to transport passengers to normal
destinations; that instead of, for an example, going all the way to Lamin, or Sinchu Alagie, they would
stop at Tabokoto and then pick other passengers to Lamin thereby amassing double fares from
commuters. This driver insisted that that method is adopted by drivers as a last resort because as he
said, that is the only survival tactic that they can adopt in the face of this quarterly increases of fuel
without ever increasing the fares.

Another driver said this culture of increasing fuel on a quarterly basis with disregard to the feeling of
the commercial drivers or the vehicle owners has a negative impact because as he said those who are
sending vehicles to their relatives to do small business are now becoming discouraged and are
hesitating to continue to do so since as he said they are finding it difficult to make any profit. He said
many people think that commercial drivers are making a lot of money but as he opined, they are
mistaken because they do not put into consideration the cost of spare parts, pay of mechanics, income
tax, license, insurance cover, road tax etc and of course fuel cost.

This will of course have a negative impact as goods transported to the market are done through a
vehicle using fuel and therefore when fuel is increased; the cost of transport is also automatically
increased thereby jolting prices of food commodities further.

........................................................OPINION
Tribute to the Athena of African Journalists,
Fatou Jaw Manneh:.By The Watchman ...May 23rd, 2008
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

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