Hamat Bah of the NRP must be suffering from either Stockholm Syndrome or he simply cannot bear the recent successes and preemptive moves by the opposition, following a successful rally against the brutal Dictator Jammeh. After mustering some courage to come for what was supposed to be a Press Conference, Hamat Bah turned his remarks into a full frontal, and scathing attack against what the opposition “failed to achieve in 2013“. This man will not cease to amaze, eh , naa waa oo! Blaming the battered wife for not being cooperative enough to the abusive husband, is tantamount to blaming the victim for the severe beating!
It is astonishing, that as a purported opposition leader, not once did Bah attack the policies of the Jammeh Dictatorship. How come Bah did not vociferously attack the wholesale Human rights abuses, the economic crimes, and the wholesale and wanton loot he is committing with his wives, with impunity? How come Hamat Bah, in his press statement, he failed to seize on the opportunity to tell the Gambian people that Jammeh owns luxury homes in some of the exclusive places on the face of the earth while people cannot afford a bag of rice, or pay their children school ? Not to mention that there is no functioning public bus transportation, or school buses.
Remember that Dictator Jammeh lamented the fact the school bus system, when he went to high school was unreliable, while public figures drove their children around in government vehicles. Jammeh despised and resented the public officials at the time, but today his wife goes on a Christmas shopping spree to Washington! How come Bah did not challenge the Dictator to disclose his income, declare whether he pays taxes on his various “business’ ventures? We know Jammeh has exempted himself from paying taxes, while milking the average citizen of every butut! How about asking Dictator Jammeh to surrender the bodies of the 9 people he assassinated in the name of “law and order”! How about challenging the Dictator on his failure to provide reliable electricity, or free education, to meet the MDG goals?
On the 9th anniversary of the assassination of veteran journalist Deyda Hydara, Hamt Bah could have challenged the Dictator to reveal the outcome of the investigation into the killing, not to mention the disappearance of Chief Manneh and many others! How about the so-called oil discovery on the streets of Banjul? How about the high turn-over of government officials! The hire and fire goes on unabated! Just a thought! Mediocre and weak leaders make rash and juvenile decisions!
How come Hamat Bah conveniently avoided mentioning Dictator Jammeh’s name; not once did he address the Dictator directly! What a convenient omission, but he had plenty to say against the opposition. The last time I checked the UDP, PPP or GMC do not make public policy, they have no blood on their hands! They did not murder Deyda Hydara, or Omar Barrow, or the April 10 students, or Daba Marena etc. The opposition has no access to the public apparatus, the GRTS, ….that the people pay for, but the Dictator keeps for himself.
Hamat Bah has become too uncomfortable to talk about the failures of Dictator Jammeh. He sure had plenty of venom directed at the opposition. Mr. Bah, the writing is one the wall, it has become all too plain now that you are too comfortable with the current status quo, being too cozy with the Dictator, mesmerized by the trappings of power! The opposition does not need your blessing or approval, meddling, treachery and connivance anymore, they are just trying to be diplomatic. You cannot wait to congratulate Jammeh for 2016, we know, but not this time around. A Dictator needs the collaboration of some in the business or professional class to sustain itself. A Dictator needs a distraction to stop the masses from waking up, from agitating. A Dictator needs a loud mouth to numb the people’s pain, mask their shame and deflect their questions. You are doing a great job for Dictator Yaya Jammeh, against the battered people of The Gambia!
Long Live the Opposition, well done for rattling the Dictator in 2013 like never before. Congratulations to the opposition, at home and the Diaspora for turning the world against the Dictator and Butcher of Kanilai, Yaya Jammeh. Congratulations to the Online and Diaspora media for exposing the suffering of the Gambian people. To be continued ….