Gainako Newspaper

In these United States, the preaching of a pastor or two could
determine who the next leader of the free world will be. Candidates
Barack Obama and John McCain have been dogged by
controversial statements voiced by their high profile religious
backers, the Revs. Jeremiah Wright and John Hagee respectively.
While the controversial aspect of their teachings are open to
debate, there is no denying that in The Gambia, religious leaders
are guilty of an utter dereliction of duty and conscience that make
the rants and raves of American church leaders tame in comparison.

Yahya Jammeh has been emboldened by the embarrassing silence of imams, priests and reverends,
custodians of moral and religious guardianship, and the result has been the emergence of a peripatetic
god complex on his part. Before readers jump to a conclusion and issue a fatwa for The Watchman's
head similar to Salman Rushdie's plight in 1989, I ask all to lend me some ears.

For starters, let's begin with equal opportunity secularism by examining the role of 2 of the world's
major religions that affect The Gambia specifically, Christianity and Islam. One of the biggest blights of
Christianity was the Spanish inquisition, the name given to a fundamentalist tribunal established in 1478
by King Ferdinand and his queen Isabella to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms. This
inquisition became particularly notorious for acting as an instrument of repression against the significant
Spanish Jewish, and the Muslim populations after the last battles of the Reconquista, and for
essentially dehumanizing and enslaving the native populations of North and South America as the new
international power extended itself to the new world's continents.

Fast forward history and the sad events of 9/11 2001, a crime committed by Muslim terrorist Osama
bin Laden and one sees an episode that not only tarnished the name of Islam but resulted in a great
loss of life as Afghanistan was attacked and occupied by Western powers, Iraq was assaulted in the
ensuing paranoia against the Muslim world and the exponential occurrences of terrorism have
effectively rendered planet Earth a much different and grimmer habitat.

These shameful epochs of religious history reflect a powerful fact: that belief systems and those who
serve as their figure heads play a significant role in the course of nations in times of peace and most
crucially in times of war or national crisis. Hence the questions: why is it that religious leaders in The
Gambia who were accustomed to the relative tranquil of the Jawara years maintained silence during
14 years of immoral and ignoble misrule by the Jammeh chain gang? Was any explicit condemnation
and pressure brought to bear against The Gambia's wayward "authorities" when 14 students were
murdered in cold blood in 2001? How come we never hear the moral weight of the mosque or
ministry in agitating for the release of political prisoners detained without due process? Have the
Catholic church, Anglicans, Muslim brotherhoods and sects voiced concern over the senseless
annihilation of fellow African citizens of Ghana? Which priest or sheriff is making pronounced edicts in
aid of Fatou Jaw Manneh?

The dearth of significant action on the part of The Gambia's religious authorities betrays a lack of
confidence on their part in believing that they can be assertive enough to positively amend Yahya
Jammeh's disorderly conduct but they are mistaken. The most significant political breakthroughs of the
last century were engineered by a coalition of religious and civic groups who proved spectacularly
successful in dismantling tyrannical politico-socio economic especially during the height of the Cold
War.

Take Poland for example. During the cold war, the Solidarity Movement, a coalition of labor unions
and the highly influential Catholic church led by Lech Walesa, organized a series of boycotts, sit ins
and demonstrations that eventually led to the fall of the Communist Soviet puppet junta in 1989. It
should be noted that this religious resistance to the soulless, spiritless and godless system called
Communism produced one of the most significant religious and political figures of our time, Pope John
Paul II. His visits to Poland gave moral sustenance not only to the foes of Soviet rule but encouraged
Nicaraguans to resist oppressive Sandinista governance, and even Mikhail Gorbachev the last head of
the USSR stated that without the meddling of Pope, the Soviet Republics might have still been intact.
Further, to illustrate an action on John Paul II's deed s that affect us Africans directly, he supported
the Jubilee 2000 initiative by Bono of U2 to alleviate debts of poor nations.

Closer to home, the Mourides of Senegal guided by their powerful leader, the caliph, exemplify
beneficial involvement in affairs of the state. Like his predecessors, the grand caliph is politically
cautious. Per the New York Times, his father, Sheik Bamba, who is remembered for opposing
colonial rule, established a pattern of collaboration with the French after returning from exile. The
French, benefiting from the stability that the Mourides provided, allowed them to thrive. After
independence, Senegal's presidents also relied on the Mourides for political backing and gave them
great autonomy in return. In 2000, the day after his election, President Abdoulaye Wade, himself a
Mouride, paid a high-profile visit to Touba to receive the grand caliph's blessing. Mr. Wade, who said
in an interview that the grand ca liph had never asked him for any favors, comes here every few
months.

In few places in West Africa is Islam so well organized and politically powerful as in Senegal, a
country at the same time considered the region's most open and Western-oriented. There are four Sufi
Muslim brotherhoods in Senegal, each led by a cleric called a grand marabout. It is through the
marabouts that the faithful -- most of Senegal's 10 million people -- practice this mystical form of
Islam. The brotherhoods have had friendly relations with the state and, as essentially moderate groups,
have helped provide it with an unusual degree of political stability.

''It is only in Senegal that brotherhoods dominate to such a degree, where they are inseparable from
Islam,'' said Khadim Mbacke, a Mouride who is a professor of Islamic studies at the University of
Dakar. Perhaps more than other Muslims in Africa, Mr. Mbacke said, the brotherhoods have adapted
Islam to African culture. Brotherhood members follow a strong leader, in keeping with African
tradition, and leadership is passed down through sons. Among the Mourides, because many of their
early leaders were peanut farmers or traders, those practices became essential to their way of life.

Now the key, word associated with the Mourides is stability. By virtue of their civic involvement and
the credibility and power of their caliph, an influence successfully built over many decades, the
Mourides, more so than Senegal's legislature, the Assembly Nationale and its supreme court, the
judicial arm, have acted as a watchful check on the executive president. To put it more succinctly,
Senegal's religious leaders have put their considerable cachet to good use instead of manipulating it for
disastrous ends. They are in a partnership of almost equality with the state, a fact not lost on proud
Mourides who send remittances to Touba to keep the prestige of their order intact. Some might argue
that the Casamance region disproves this fact but that conflict has complex ethnic dimensions to it and
with the exception of rogue factions, the violence has lessened somewhat and is not a national
conflagration the likes of Biafra or Somalia.

Hark back to The Gambia and one finds the contrary. The so-called religious leaders kowtow to
Yahya Jammeh's foolish whims and initiatives, scurrying to state house like dutiful inferior subjects
every time he wants to use them as mere photo op props. The Christian leaders don't say much to the
unruly head of state as long as their diocese maintains its membership and ecclesiastic aims. The
Muslim elders shy away from vocal opposition to executive misconduct for fear of the various many
punitive actions the Butcher of Banjul might mete out to them because essentially in the same vein that
he capriciously dismisses alkalos, intelligence apparatus chiefs, ministers and even his wives, Gambia's
idiot of state can ostracize and stigmatize them within the religious comm unity. Yahya Jammeh struts
around in white to signify his "purity" and cannot seem to let go of his prayer beads. In secret, it
wouldn't be a surprise if he fancies himself the leader of all Muslims in The Gambia.

It is clear that so far, Gambia's homegrown media and opposition, its exile anti-Jammeh coalitions and
influential citizens have failed to introduce political changes by dint of pressure tactics on the
disgraceful Jammeh administration. With their moral authority, widely held respect, and immense
devotional following, Gambia's religious leaders can pick up where the rest have lapsed in making sure
some sanity returns to the socio-economic confluence that is our state of affairs. They can do so
effectively only they call on their faith to give them courage to lead us from this cruel wilderness of
national despair. If they don't think so maybe they'll be inspired after making a phone to that great
dismantler of an evil system, B ishop Desmond Tutu. All Gambians should contribute to make this
possible.

Author can be reached at gambiaswatchman@gmail.com

.THE AFRICAN DILEMMA:
..Hunger and poverty reduction through economic 'growth';
the paradox of the market system.:By Alasana Njie (London, UK)........May 27th, 2008
"Twenty percent of Africa's children will die before the age of five" 'Every year six million children in Africa die
from malnutrition before their fifth birthday'. 'More than 800 million people go to bed hungry every day and of
these, 300 million are children. Of these 300 million children, only eight percent are victims of famine or other
emergency situations. More than 90 percent are suffering long-term malnourishment and micronutrient
deficiency'.
The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which attempts to guide, not
determine, the economic development agenda of developing countries for the medium term, and which
should serve as the foundation for long term development, encompassed the following:

(1) To eradicate 'extreme poverty and hunger'.
(2) Achieve universal primary education
(3) Promote gender equality and empowerment of women
(4) Reduce child mortality
(5) Improve maternal health
(6) Combat aids/ malaria and other preventable diseases.
(7) Ensure environmental sustainability
(8) Build a Global Partnership for development.

Development partners, which include amongst others International Monetary Fund, the World Bank,
African Development Bank and other donor agencies have agreed to have a greater degree of
coordination and collaboration, to make sure aid and assistance is more targeted and effective, to
achieve the set goals above. The general consensus is that a focus on 'sustainable growth' rather than
'redistribution' will provide the 'alchemy' for reducing extreme poverty in Africa and thus provide the
platform to achieving the other MDGs. Sustainable growth is perceived to be best achieved by
embracing free market policies and a meaningful, if measured, degree of economic and financial
liberalisation. To this end, there has been a shift from traditional IMF conditionalities, which used to
dictate what economic policies and reforms recipient countries should adopt and within what time
frame, to 'ownership' through the 'Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, which are designed and
determined by participating countries in consultation with IMF and donor agencies. The essence here
is that there has been a shift from 'conditionalities' to 'consultation/ partnership' in designing the
development strategies of participating countries, which are guided to achieve the MDGs. In order
word, instead of prescriptive policies, a broader framework has been adopted within which countries
can manoeuvre and formulate their own strategies for development, but to a certain degree, within the
confines of this framework towards markets systems and greater integration into the global economy.
This, its believed, will help promote the efficient use of resources but also growth and the benefits of
such growth will trickle down to the grass roots to help alleviate poverty and its related problems. It is
believed that markets will provide and drive such growth initiatives and government policies should be
designed to support such and also effect the integration of our economies into the global economic and
financial system (globalisation). What is undisputable is how the world economic and financial systems
are interdependent. Take for example the international financial markets. Financial sector liberalisation
means that global corporations and economies have become financially very closely linked. A speech
by Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve (US) has the potential to move world financial markets
within seconds following interpretation of his references to future growth and inflation. A set of
economic data releases such as CPI or Non-farm payroll in the US takes seconds, to affect bonds
and equities prices on the FTSE 100 (London) or the XETRA DAX Index (Germany). One will only
appreciate this impact if you are sitting in front of a trading screen /platform/ladder. The fallout from
the sub-prime mortgage market in the US, has put a dampener on all major industries, not just
financial services companies, around the world. From Northern Rock in the UK, BNP Paribas in
France to UBS in Switzerland to world food prices. The rapid growth rate of China and her need for
more raw materials and energy is driving world oil prices, which has hit an all time high of $135 and is
expected to rise even further. Her unprecedented construction boom has affected such raw material as
prices building rods, which is felt remote countries as the Gambia. Every major economic
development in any of the key player on the global economic scene will have a direct impact on even
the least economically insignificant country in the world.

It is without doubt that globalisation, particularly viewed from an economic perspective, has presented
the International economic and financial system with continuously evolving challenges, which includes a
greater degree of contagion volatility and instability in the global economic and financial system. But it
has also presented unprecedented opportunities for growth and development for those countries that
positioned themselves and their economies to effectively benefit from it. Those countries or economic
blocs that have been able to successfully realign, restructure or even undergo a fundamental
transformation to with stand these challenges and take advantages of the opportunities that came with
globalisation and the market system, have generally enjoyed steady economic growth, even if volatile
and with it, a fair degree of success towards poverty alleviation. The Asia Tiger economies are perfect
examples of this phenomenon. The export-led economic reforms undertaken by these countries in the
1980s and 1990s enabled them to take full advantage of the possibilities of an expansive global
market place. Today China, a country with a deeply entrenched history of communism (an extreme
opposite of markets and globalisation), is one of the most successful to have taken this path. And let
us remember, African countries in general, attained independence well before most of these Asian
countries but their record of growth is incomparable to African countries in general. The Chinese for
example never believed in markets, as a communist state. It was only in the 1980's that it started
introducing some market reforms, partly due to pressure from the IMF and US. Example in April
1999, when Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji went to the US partly to finish off negotiations for China's
admission to the World Trade Organisation. As part of this process, the US treasury insisted on faster
liberalisation of China's financial markets. It is true that China never adhere to the pacing of the
reforms insisted on by the IMF and the US but it has surely but slowly reformed it markets,
restructured and developed it economy into the export-orientated giant it is today. The difference is,
China took the initiative and done so at its own pace and in its own time. In order words, most Asian
countries 'owned' their development programmes as opposed to being dictated to. They initiated most
of their development and reform requirement and determined the pacing of these reforms, to meet
their needs and circumstances of the times. They did not structure their economies to serve the intrinsic
interest of the west but instead on a mutual relationship, where control or initiative is not granted to the
former. China today is breaking all growth statistics, enjoying double-digit growth and with it,
spreading its global influence especially in Africa, where it gets most of its resources to sustain this
unprecedented growth rate. United States has been the economic benchmark of the world for
centuries and the reason is because it has made markets work for its economy. If a deeply communist
country like China can undergo such transformation to markets and make it work for themselves, why
not African, with its richly dynamic human resources, raw materials and mineral resources, fertile and
expansive arable lands and without the deep rooted baggage of communism / socialism should be
fairly able to make the transformation and make it work, with the right approach. One thing glaringly
missing from Africa's resources mentioned above is a ' vibrant, efficient and functional capital market'.
This is technically different from a banking system.

'The African Dilemma and the paradox of the market system' are: almost a decade after the
'ownership' of our development and reform initiatives through the 'Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers'
promoting market system;

(1) Our one-dimensional dependency on the West for aid and assistance has never been higher
(2) Extreme poverty, hunger and destitution on the continent are increasing.
(3) Child mortality and maternal health are in the main developing for the worse. Between 12 and 14
million African children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. (source: World Bank/UNICEF)
(4) Improvement Gender equality and empowerment of women is painfully slow and where prevalent,
are mainly symbolic and at worst cosmetic.
(5) The prevalence of preventable diseases such as HIV Aids is ravaging the continent to pieces.
(6) Environmental degradation and desertification through global warming is ravaging Sub-Saharan
Africa at unprecedented rates, further made worse by deforestation.
(7) More Africans are fleeing into exile due to economic hardship and persecution from the very
governments that swore to protect them.
(8) Governance and developments in protection of human and people's rights are increasing
developing for the worse in many parts of Africa.

All these developments are at a time when we can technically claim 'ownership' of our development
policies through the PRSPs and at a time when we are embracing markets across the continent to
achieve these. Why, when others with who we are in similar situations are embracing and benefiting
from it but we are moving backwards doing the same. What a dilemma; what a paradox!!!!!.

The problem fellow citizens, is not the system, but we as Africans. It is absolutely a failure of
leadership over generations that has fashioned our present state and unless we are willing to accept
this and stop blaming it on the west, we will always try to find an excuse for our failures.

Cynics and opponents of globalisation and market systems, particularly those with
socialist mindsets, would argue or would like to argue that globalisation has not really delivered the
promises of reducing poverty especially in the third world countries but has actually made them worse.
They would blame it on unfair trade policies and unfair terms of trade as reasons why we are loosing
out. They can point out to data on growth, poverty, disease etc as prove. What we have to
understand is that the market system, upon which economic and financial sector globalisation are
based, is a model. This model's functionality is based on certain conditions and its applicators have to
create these conditions to make it work. Even if all trade tariffs and subsidies across the globe were to
be eliminated, we will still fail at it because we don't have the systems to take advantage of this and
cannot seem to come of with a system that will adapts to current circumstances A fundamentally
important such conditions is 'ownership'. Ownership not so much as a technical requirement but
determining our own direction and destiny in the global economy. But the fact is, we the so called third
world countries, particularly African nations, has never really taken our own initiatives to allow us to
take full advantage of the promises of globalisation. In as much as the 'Poverty Reduction Strategy
Papers' approach is a small step towards 'ownership' it is not technically our ideas. It being linked to
the Millennium Development Goals means that the agenda is still being set for us. It was a way of
compensating for the unpopularity of 'descriptive conditionalities'. Our leaders just seem to be big on
vision, but totally lack substance and therefore the West have to hold and guide their thinking and
actions. They just don't have the mindset to independent thinking, to come up with novel ideas of
dealing with the challenges we face as a continent. Even if they are given a step-by-step manual on
how to alleviate poverty, they will still request ' technical assistance' to implement this. What a
dilemma. We have the mental mindset that the West has to help us take the initiatives and sustain any
possible gains that may ensue. Even though geographical colonialism in most parts of Africa ended
more than half a century ago, we are still colonised with a form (economic colonialism) that is equally,
if not worse than both slave trade and colonialism. This is because it enables the West to design the
systems and we participate in that system, rather than being partners in developing the systems upon
which our world functions. This keeps us dependent on the West not only for our short-term
livelihood, but more worryingly our long-term development and survival. We never have any
independent coherent development that would be geared towards our emancipation and eliminate our
one-dimensional dependency on them. They don't have to be present on our soils to determine the
direction, level and extent of our socio-economic and political development or even our foreign policy.
This enabled the West to continue ruling us without being physically present on our soils and it is up to
Africans and Africans only to change this status quo. Colonialism and slave trade will always be a scar
/ a legacy on the African continent and will always be part of our history, but we have used them to
create a victim culture, that we use as an excuse for everything that is gone wrong in the continent and
almost resigned to the fact that it also meant we have no future as a continent and as a people. Our
leaders use this victim mentality as an excuse for their failures of the continent. Africa is seen as a
continent 'that might have been' but 'never will be'. Africa 'should have been' a major player in
international socio-economic and geo-politics but personally 'I don't believe 'it will never be', but this
can only be effected by Africans and Africans only, by owning and sustaining development initiatives
that are directed at our long-term economic liberation.

I am talking about Africa as a continent because I subscribe to the concept of Pan Africanism like our
great ambassadors such as Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Toure, Sheik Anta Diop etc, but unlike them, I
don't believe socialism can bring about the socio-economic liberation of Africans. This is because our
concept of 'redistribution means autocracy, dictatorship and this provides a fertile breeding ground for
corruption The only way we can eradicate poverty and its associated ailments is to develop
independent thinking and 'ownership', to embrace markets well, shift our focus from redistribution,
which creates a fertile ground for corruption, to growth. We have to completely move away from
trickle-down economics and target resources straight at the grass roots to 'able' them to carve our a
sustainable independent source of livelihood. We have to create a culture of individual responsibility,
opportunity, risk taking and rewards. We have to eradicate the culture that the only way out of
poverty is to get some education and get a job; we have to create an entrepreneurial culture supported
by the right media, for people to take risks and explore opportunities. Create a society where one's
social background and gender, tribal or religious affiliation should have no bearing on his / her ability to
access resources for opportunity and personal development. A culture, where hard work and hard
work only, productivity and greed to get rich legitimately can lead to one's social emancipation. This is
what will reduce poverty and this is what I call 'empowering' people. This is because along with
poverty comes powerlessness and voicelessness and always the subject of political manipulation and
international power play. Such empowerment is the only way to improve democracy and governance
in Africa, because African politics and politicians breed on this powerlessness induced by poverty.
Our governments fear the citizenry being economically less dependent on their politically motivated
petty projects. They want to maintain a situation where the poor see them as their only saviour, that
without us you will die of hunger and disease. This culture is the worst disease that is killing Africa on
its feet, not the West. Unless the masses become capitalist minded, greedy to be rich legitimately and
be independent, the poverty will never end and African politics will remain to be a politics of
exploitation, repression and mental slavery, while politicians are using public property to enrich
themselves and their cronies all at the expense of the desperately hard working and suffering masses.

'Truly independent people are a free people, and with freedom, comes power. There is no one more
powerful than an economically 'independent' people. This is the only scenario in which we can hold
our governments accountable, where we don't depend on their bribery and handouts for survival.
Where poverty would not tempt us to be part of the endless corruption that has become synonymous
with the word Africa. Independence in this context means you don't rely on handouts before you
make meaningful economic decisions. It is the only way our voices can be heard as a continent and
occupy our rightful position in the global community. It is also the only way we can force a level
playing field in the international economic terrain and be able to fully benefit from the promises of
globalisation.

Fellow Africans and our leaders in particular let us remember: 300 million of our children go to bed
hungry everyday. What a dilemma.

May God bless Africa and Africans.

Please direct comments to: alasananjie@hotmail.co.uk.

......Of Tribalism and Men:
.....Pointing out Ethnic Politics in The Gambia is No Crime
...................................By The Watchman.....................May 26th, 2008
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.

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