By Ebrima Papa Colley
Surreptitiously, kalilou Waggeh, with undeclared fountains of his bribery, inserted his claws into Gambia with twenty-seven vehicles purportedly to our policy makers. Furtively, Adama Barrow reads the Senegalese script at the expense of that which is beneficially Gambian. Dastardly, our country is being taken for a ride. For those thinking Senegal has “no interest” in The Gambia, sleep on. But it’s brazenly foolhardy to be receiving our national teleprompt from a mentally and economically enslaved Macky Sall.
Gambia is a visceral delight. Ask that collagen-popping tourist covetous of everything fresh: the sun, the Atlantic, its fish and other bounties, the vegetables clear of any genetic interference, or even humans of fresh simplicity. Or yet, think of Kunta Kinteh, if not the Kingfisher and a taste of any sylvan aspect of a meandering tropic the British Empire could not resist. But Kalilou Waggeh would dole out a huge chunk of his financial orchestra without a quid-pro quo while his co-religionists fiddle that “Senegal has no interest” in The Gambia? Seriously?
Today, it’s kalilou Waggeh’s fingerprints in the apparent. But it’s crystal-clear he’s not a spontaneity. Senegalese politicians could never savor a sharp, intelligent Gambian president–not even Sir Dawda Jawara who politely refused puppetry. They can’t metabolize an economically prosperous Gambia! To such politicians with twisted intellection, Gambia is a Senegalese birth-right! It has to be, or continue to be manipulated to be. But is this whole thing about a client kingship? If yes, what are the corollaries?
A Gambian with a shred of nationalistic rhetoric is flagged, categorized, and talked over by Senegalese mouthpieces for a reason. If fostering nationalistic interests could be loathsome, what about meddling into strategic affairs of a sovereign country? Think of America’s elections and the Russian investigation, please. When Gambians pick up phones to call radio shows about Gambia, what akathisia unsettles Senegalese operatives as to call for banning such Gambians? Any answers to these only ask more and more serious questions.
Senegal, a nation with a government unable to run its own backyard should be the last to run Gambia. Why? It’s a leitmotif they don’t have independence from France. They can’t even tap their natural resources without permission from France. They can’t save their own money anywhere except into French coffers. And they can’t even withdraw such money. Ask Macky Sall if I’m wrong! They even have to favor importing French goods than other countries’. This is why there is a deluge of Renault, Peugeot, and other mediocre French products inside Senegal.
For Senegal to prosper, Gambia’s port has to shut down, or at least become subservient. This is a bid to buy the Senegalese economy on the hearse of Gambia’s re-export trade. And a bridge across Bamba and Yeli Tenda has been Senegal’s Achilles heel in much of what she aspires for. A transport-based economy can’t operate without moving goods across strategic Gambia. Even the FAN-1 and SNE-1 (oil discoveries) in Sangomar Deep and Djiffere offshore respectively, are closest to the Gambia, almost touching its waters. But France is fighting Australia’s FAR, the earlier contractors for this oil. Such dispute is delaying drilling as I type these. And we want such a country to run our own?