Nothing good comes easy. In the same vein, it can be equally asserted that conferred cosmetic recognitions received on a silver platter do not radiate the pride that successes achieved through hard work and personal sacrifices reflect. In a nutshell, one tends to value and cherish things that one has toiled hard for more than those received from the hand of fortune. The same can be said of a freedom achieved on a silver platter and that fought for tooth and nail. That is precisely why those who fought to achieve their freedom will go to any length to preserve and protect it at all cost as opposed to those who inherit it. Perhaps this explains the reason for the struggle against Jammeh to liberate the Gambia is still limping. A detailed browse and analysis of the Gambian media both radio, electronic and print will reveal an atmosphere of uncertainty, mixed feelings, hopelessness, confusion and desperation. Beneath all these, one must hasten to add,lays a solid rock of achievements. It is no secret that some of us in the struggle has been repeatedly accused of been only masters of talking the talk but either unwilling or unable to walk the walk. Others even go further to set the rule that enough has been already said and it is now time for one to feel one’s balls and reignite the manhood in oneself and walk the walk. Amid the uncertainty, one still wake up every other day hoping for the emergence of that Allah sent liberator to take the lead. This feeling of waiting for the liberator to take on Jammeh has really posed a stumbling setback for us. As a result, we hastily rush under the wings of any self- anointed liberator who emerges only for us to realize later that such a person is not better than Jammeh in any way. Whichever camp in the struggle you subscribe to, you will not disagree with me that there are many ex-service men and women of Gambian decent with a wealth of warfare and weaponry expertise scattered all over the world. The Gambia is equally blessed with sons and daughters who are expert in information technology, economics, law, political science, and international development studies to name but a few. Coupled with the forgoing is Gambians mounting high international profiles from the United Nations to the smallest organization one can recall. Do all these Gambians no longer care about the Gambia? Or better still are they not aware of the Gambian predicament? Whatever the responses to these pertinent questions are I still cannot help but wonder what the missing link in the struggle is?
At this juncture I would like to ask how relevant are fugitive Koukoi Samba Sanyang and Sheikh Seedia Bayo in the struggle? Before I attempt to shed light to their relevance and/or irrelevance in the struggle I want to make it very clear that my relation with people squarely depends on two major points:
their thoughts and actions. Koukoi and Sheikh Seedia share certain similarities. On the one hand, they are masters in steering up tornadoes which subside without any effect. While on the other hand, they are incapable of making hay while the sun is at its best. Furthermore, they both emerged at the struggle’s time of need for someone to take the bull by the horn. That is why both made headlines on the Gambian media at one point or another. For Seedia Bayo I like many other Gambians gave him the benefit of the doubt and he blew it up. To give the devil its due, his success was forcing Jammeh to step up his security presence. More checkpoints were erected and a day of national prayer was observed by coward Jammeh. After that, we saw Bayo fell apart from grace to amazing disgrace like a bamboo whose inside has been eaten by termites. Koukoi, on the contrast, is a spent-terrorist with chilling damning history. Like Bayo, he does not know when to strike even if everything is given to him on a silver platter. I personally do not perceive him as the man who will remove Jammeh even though he has the generous hand of opportunity extended to him. My reasons? When it comes to mercenary and armed rebellion, he has a fountain of knowledge. He also capped it with his connections with some past warlords in the sub region. With that in mind, I think he could take up Jammeh. But all one hears him say is the verbose rhetoric:I was at this place…I helped that man…I am this and that. These are tell tales of a worn out armchair liberation fighter. Yes, he needs help and protection, but it does not call for him to take us for a ride. He still has loads of questions to answer and I hope one day he will have the decency to apologize to the Gambian populace for the atrocities he caused in 31 July 1981.
Finally, how will the struggle succeed in the absence of a liberator? Take it or leave it, the struggle has already registered significant achievements both nationally and internationally. The most obvious is the unprecedented interest Gambians now show in the socio-economic and political debate online: electronic and radio. Similarly, Jammeh is now constantly on the spotlight. His every action and speech is closely scrutinized nationally and internationally. Needless to say this is tearing into his flesh like the piercing of a poisonous dagger. The Gambian media houses in the diaspora are not sparing him any rest. Mentally he is hallowed. His body language speaks volume about his mental state. If we all continue to contribute in our own small ways, Yahya will soon do a runner.
In conclusion, I will paraphrase an admonition by Steve Biko:we must not accept to be what Jammeh wants us to be. We must be a people who refused to accept hardships of our lives by confronting them. Most importantly, we must never give in to hopelessness. We have to find a way out and no one will fix it for us. We must learn to develop hope. Hope for ourselves. Hope for our children. Above all, hope for the Gambia.
Sulayman Jeng, UK