By Ebrima Manneh
Like all other tyrannies, the tyranny of Yaya Jammeh has reached an unacceptable stage that caused an international outcry. This tyranny and the extent of the violations can longer be underestimated due to the reoccurring severity of the violations. When political and social liberties are violated without resistance, tyranny and rights violations becomes a norm. The non-resistance stance taken by Gambians emboldened Yaya Jammeh in his never ending denial of citizens’ rights. Fear coupled with the non-intervention sovereignty policy, gives him an unwarranted immunity, extending the trend of rights violations.
The detriment of Yaya Jammeh’s tyranny is the erratic imposition of his will on the citizens, and its drastic impact on the professional institutions including the legal sector that is supposed to oversee the balance of power. The absence of effective representation in parliament is another obstacle in creating checks and balances in government. Tyranny challenges the will of the people and maintains the culture of abuse as long as the citizens remain mute and conforming. The religious leaders continue to serve as propaganda agents instead of guiding and shaping the moral development of the nation. Father Edu Gomez’s sermon reminding a nation to return to its diverse and inclusive past was a courageous move and a timely intervention for a nation going through perilous times. While his peers succumbed to tyranny and supported the wrongful implementation of immoral and abusive laws, he spoke truth to power and won the respect and admiration of fellow citizens. He reminded us to reinstate our rich history of social and religious togetherness. This made us a great nation whose citizens were accountable to one another. Being stewards and looking out for the interests of each other is a sacred responsibility that we have relinquished. There has been a loss of morality over the years due to failure to hold each other accountable in safeguarding our social values and civil liberties. The failure to embrace our responsibilities to one another indicates it is not clear to us that we will one day be accountable to God for our deeds. Failure to intervene in the lives of the disenfranchised citizens whose livelihoods is interrupted, and their rights violated on a daily basis confirm a lack of empathy.
We all deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and be allowed to exercise our God-given rights. The pursuit of this natural and inalienable right is what Dr. Martin Luther king and all freedom lovers persistently pursued and died for. It is the same natural rights that Yaya Jammeh continues to deny the citizens of the Gambia. The “ugly record of brutality” that was levied on the blacks that Dr. King talked about resembles the level of brutality Gambians continue to face under the Jammeh regime. As narrated by Charlayne Hunter Gayle (To THE MOUNTAINTOP), James Bevel, a Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Lieutenant reminded the crowd in one of his speeches that “Segregation could not last without the psychological assistance from blacks themselves.” We have seen the same situation in our fight to end Jammeh’s tyranny. We continue to be obstacles and deter efforts by being enablers and sympathizers through our silence or inaction, or our direct support to tyranny.
Dr. King gave us valuable lessons that we can use to implement checks and balances in our societies. His love for justice and fairness for all, and his courage and defiance in the face of injustice remains a shining example. He demonstrated selflessness by championing the welfare of the people above his own. He refused to be intimidated even though he realized the threats were real. He faced many threats including the firebombing of his home, but remained persistent in his pursuit of justice for all. The conviction that he was on the right path was his motivation. This was evident in this statement he made, “I want it to be known the length and breadth of this land that if I am stopped, this movement will not stop. If I am stopped, our work will not stop. For what we are doing is right. What we are doing is just. And God is with us.” This further demonstrates his belief in the system and processes that were planted, and belief in transitional leadership. This selflessness also confirms his dedication and great sacrifice. This strong conviction was incited by the visible truth of the gruesome treatments against his people. We can apply the lessons from the civil rights movement in our fight against Jammeh’s tyranny. They adopted different avenues of approach as a means of attaining victory. This should teach us not to exclude the possibility of elections even though there are concerns of possible rigging. The right to vote gives citizens direct means of impacting matters affecting their communities. The right to vote and other rights were won after a heavy price was paid. Safeguarding this right is an important requirement. We must encourage citizens to vote by outlining what they are voting for; the prevailing wrongful arrests and frivolous accusations against innocent citizens, the difficulty of accessing and lack of basic healthcare, governments failure to set the welfare of the people as the most important priority, just to name a few of the poor conditions in the Gambia. As we call on the citizens to vote, the opposition must demand fairness and transparency in the process. Another important lesson to learn from the civil rights movement is that, they did not only fight to secure the vote, but fought against fraudulent voting practices and laws. The willingness to agitate and confront injustice yielded positive results.
At a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration and commemoration, the guest speaker, Mr. Ron Williams who also lived during that time and experienced the same challenges, reminded the audience to not only remember and celebrate, but also to emulate his legacy through action. During the commemoration, Dr. King’s favorite speeches and civil rights marches were presented. The presentations reminded us that the rights we enjoy today are due to the sacrifices of his generation and others that walked this path. Even though he adopted and believed in the nonviolent approach, he felt it necessary to confront and agitate the oppressor because he believed that negotiating in bad faith will not yield desired outcomes. The confrontation and agitation resulted in arrests and detention of activists, and loss of lives but their will to end oppression was never lost. They did not yield to pressure but maintained their resistance and resilience. The Gambians have experienced the same level of oppression and aggression under Jammeh. We have expressed frustrations about the unbearable situations but fail to agitate and honestly confront the situations. The finger pointing without active involvement leaving the work to be done by someone else has proven to be futile. We can achieve our goals if we urgently embrace our citizenship responsibilities and do our part to effect change. The prevailing conditions leave us with no excuses or reasons of not taking part in the change process.
Exercise of our collective responsibilities is an obligation by virtue of our citizenship. While this remains an important requirement, the opposition should expeditiously appeal to the constituents through effective education, mobilization, and organizing. They must continue to present their vision and convince the electorates that they have viable alternatives. The present undemocratic conditions and lack of a fair playing field are undesirable. The silence and inaction of the masses indicates conformity but in reality, the conditions are despised. The people are looking for someone to lead them out of the nightmare and to the “Promise land.” The opposition leaders have proven to have what it takes but must continue to intensify their efforts by utilizing all necessary means to include civil disobedience. This cannot be done without the support of the people who are key to any strong resistance against oppression. The need for real leadership is an urgency during trying times, and “real leaders never lose sight of the big picture,” as stated by Congressman Keith Ellison. We are requesting for the opposition parties to demonstrate true leadership and form a coalition against Jammeh. Coalitions have proven to be an effective weapon in ousting dictatorships. The big picture, which is the freedom of the nation would require temporarily giving up leadership to ensure regime change. To win the bigger price, something has to give. Servitude and understanding of the greater good should be the motivated for coalition to end tyranny. Ella Baker’s Baker’s role in organizing and developing leaders was a major factor in the success of the Civil Rights Movement. She organized and directed youth movements and worked with prominent personalities like W.E.B. Du Bois and Thurgood Marshall. “She mentored icons like Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Stokely Carmichael,”as highlighted by Congressman Keith Ellison in his book, MY COUNTRY, TIS OF THEE. Such an influential person deserves to lead a movement. She has a bigger goal, the success of the organization and movement was her main objective.
Ella Baker’s role during the fight for civil rights was inspirational and epitomizes a sacrifice for the achievement of collective over individual goals. It shows the willingness to take a back seat so the best can be attained for the people. She focused and took the lead in educating and organizing citizens and movements to build the force needed to fight the power. Out of this sacrifice and grass root engagements emerged leaders like John Lewis, Julian Bond, and Stokely Carmichael. She understood quite well that fighting against a major power requires one formidable leader, and was willing to give up the leadership position. She was effective behind the scenes while Martin Luther King took the leadership position and was at the forefront. This teaches us the fight for human rights is bigger than one person and therefore requires sacrifice, and developing a passion and love for country over self.
Ella Baker advocated for putting the organization before self. If we adopt this principle, we will embrace that it is everyone’s fight, not leave the fight to be the responsibility of the other person, focus on what is best for the nation and win back our country from tyranny. Of all the systems that have been tried in governing society, democracy has proven to be the “best solution.” This is what we have been denied the past 22 years. We are therefore calling on everyone to be inspired and emulate the selfless examples of the great people that sacrificed for the advancement of their communities. Never underestimate your contribution. We all have something to bring to the table and are shareholders of democracy. This includes the neighboring countries and the international community at large who are equally impacted by bad governance. Any system, individual or group of individuals that contribute directly, indirectly or psychologically to extending tyranny in our motherland is undeniably an enemy of peace and justice for all.