Gambian Educationist and the first mother to publicly stand by her daughter for fighting against Dictatorship when few dare to speak up Mrs Aja Adele Sosseh has recognized Gainako crew and other online medias for keenly focusing on the issues during the brutal fight against dictatorship in the Gambia. Mrs Sosseh was the first Gambian mother to denounce the dictatorship and openly stood by her daughter Ndey Tapha Sosseh a Gambian journalist and former President of the Gambia Press Union. Mrs Sosseh bravely supported Ndey when pretty much all mothers and parents threatened to disowned their children if they did not quit the fight. She knew her daughter and Gambians were fighting for what is right and she said “If it means losing my daughter for standing up for what is right so be it”. This was unprecedented as many parents were gravely concern about their children and simply gave in to the dictator and some even went to join the APRC regime hoping to safe their children.. Below is the humbling letter the Mother of the Diaspora struggle wrote to Gainako crew!
Dear Gainako Team,
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and all the team at Gainako a very Happy Independence Celebrations even though belated. It has been a very exhilarating event and we are all gratified that things turned out the way they did. Jammeh has gone thanks to the individual and collective efforts of the various on line media. The role played by you and your team is unquestionable. You provided clear , consistent, comprehensive creative messages about the situation in The Gambia which was easy for the audience to understand.in a respectable manner.
At a time when so many messages were being floated, people needed this type of platform to provide them with information that would enable them to make choices on the most critical issue affecting their lives-the despot called Yahya Jammeh who had dominated their lives for almost a quarter of a century.
Your medium was most supportive for the restoration of democarcy in The Gambia when people where struggling to free themselves from a stifling political control. You strongly identified with this problem and satisfied the Gambian’s hunger for news that would empower them to bring about political change.
The inevitable has happened and that change has taken place. This happened precipitately and I want to believe that the Gambians were taken by surprises as they did not think that this could happen. It has happened and Gambians need to benefit from the change. They cannot benefit maximally as their mindsets did not move with the rapid changes. Consequently there is a need for continued dialogue and engagement with the people of The Gambia.
They need access to alternative accounts of the social, economic and political realities of The Gambia. They need to have a sense that they are participating in the unification and reconciliation of the nation. They need to be drawn into a public space where they can share experiences, information and news about their own realities so that they can be seen to be helping to pave the way to the attainment of this goal. As the process of transition progresses, citizen participation becomes even more critical to the politics of inclusion. I am sure that as you did in the pre-election period you will also engage with the citizenry in the national building process to ensure that their voices are heard and their concerns taken into consideration. They in turn receive information on a timely basis to enable them make informed choices.
I wish you well in 2017 and pray for your continued success.
Sincerely, Mrs Adele Sosseh
Editor’s Note: We humbly thank Aunty Adele Sosseh for this great recognition to the Gambian online media and their contributions. She has always contributed articles and given counsel to some of us where needed. We are grateful for her unwavering commitment to see justice and freedom in the Gambia. Ndey Tahpa Sosseh her daughter was one of the faces of the struggle and the most effective freedom fighter against Jammeh’s dictatorship. She was a threat to the dictator in the subregion and facilitated several funding mechanisms and campaigns against oppression in the Gambia. We are grateful to both Ndey and her Mom. May Allah reward you for all you have done for Gambia!
3 Comments
Bravo Mrs Sosseh!!!!!!…. I was just a holiday maker over Christmas to your truly lovely country and want to send all my good wishes for a joyous new Gambia…as an outsider I seems to me vital that all vestiges of the NIA should be removed from the new Gambia. To retain anything linked with that inhuman atrocity would be a seriously grave error……it would be like keeping the Gestapo after the fall of Hitler.
Thank you John for visiting our country. The Gambia is a great tourist destination. It has been since the 60s and I want to assure all tourists that the Smiling Coat has started to smile again. Thank you for coming at a time when the country was regarded as unsafe. Please come again.
Thank you Gainako team for your appreciation. I just did what had to be done under the circumstances.
I am not Gambian but have had the opportunity of knowing Madam Adelaide Sosseh. I can’t imagine her doing anything other than what she did because that’s who she is. She will defend the truth with her life and I am honoured to know her. I have learnt very valuable lessons from her which have made me a better person. God bless you mum.