Re: Betrayal of Trust
By Yero Jallow
Matt, I just wanted to stretch your response to my piece. While appreciating your rejoinder and for reading me, I wanted to state that you missed the point of my argument. Nonetheless, I still welcome some of your points and the mild way you constructed the piece, even though this is just the start of a lengthy debate. Overall, healthy debate and feel free to rebut on any point you disagree with, as and when time permits you.
You referenced the word “temperamental” from my piece and claim not to know its meaning. With due respect, I hope by saying the above you are not telling readers that you know every English word. In the past, I thought it was Matt who can be associated with big words with hidden context. (LOL). I understand your frustration is that you don’t like the word usage and not that it is wrongly used. William Shakespeare guarantees that. I wanted to explain its context as I used it here. The usage of “temperamental” (sensitive and erratic behavior) in this context refers to the heated debates we had online. If that gives you a clue, there you have it Matt! If you need further stretch, I will be happy to do so. Case closed!.
You started by saying you will focus on the part that I mentioned you, but went ahead and talked about UGAMA, which according to you, “The only group I knew nothing about is the one called UGAMA. I must admit I saw the group’s name in one of the online papers, but never bothered to read what it was about.” Matt, I hope you know what your comments above will interpret. In anyway, I appreciate your acknowledgement, and I will further encourage you to go ahead read the archives, and at least save yourself from missing its benefit. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose reading it. It was online, hot as it can be, carried a message, and provoked a healthy democratic debate both online and at home.
Matt, you are claiming that I am not fully armed with the information I needed to write the piece. The answer is no. I had enough information to proceed with the piece. Everything I wrote in the piece is accurate. I have my sources and some of it I witnessed. Your claim of me not being privy to Raleigh is inaccurate, and you probably followed all the pieces I wrote about Raleigh and that should be enough to tell you that while I may not claim to know all, I followed a good part, and I am fully at liberty to share that. You might have been in touch with the names you mentioned, and that is without a doubt, and besides wasn’t Raleigh’s gathering in the open? Well, the cardinal rule of journalism being broken as you analyzed below becomes no crime or breakage of rule, especially where one is dealing with such betrayals, who would continue to play politics of gymnastics in our midst. It broke the “cardinal” rules for you because it is not going the way you think it should go, and in me, it went in the cardinal way, because I strongly believed I followed all the procedure I needed to follow to move with my piece. Maybe Jammeh too would accuse you for the same crime.
Let us take it as you said you were within the ins and outs of Raleigh. I know for a fact you didn’t attend for medical reasons. I noted in my piece that you endorsed Raleigh with your written piece then. Of course you were going by the information that was available to you, and it was later on, that you sensed it aborted your plans for GCC. What happened between then and the time that you switched gears back to GCC? Matt, you are well aware that both Dr. Jobe and Lawyer Martin were in attendance at Raleigh. You guys still moved onto establishing GCC while CORDEG’s deliberations were pending finalization without proper notice. What does that say about people who volunteered to salvage the Gambia from the clutches of tyranny? Matt, I am privy from reliable sources that CORDEG reached out to you personally; you refused to dialogue with them, and still went onto form GCC. From your piece above, you have again raised more questions than answers.
I don’t know how some of you take fantasy in some of these groupings and leading them. Please take it that I am not against the formation of any group. I know it is both your birth and democratic right. What becomes a problem, and a big problem, is when these subgroups position themselves for leadership, and by so doing, distract and incite division among Gambians, causing more problems in the effort to dislodge the brutal regime. GCC and CORDEG have almost 80% similarity in their agendas. They will compete in constituency; they will compete in resources, and other areas of reaching out. This is in fact what frustrated Yusupha Jaw and he too tendered his resignation after he realized that something was cozy in the GCC equation.
Matt, I must agree with you that the struggle needed a leader, but how do we go about selecting a leader? If we say our organizations are representing a constituency (Diaspora), would it be fair to just default people of your choice to lead? Matt, leadership is not a fantasy game, it is supposed to be representing. Part of the reasons that GCC doesn’t have a constituency or unable to raise funds is because it is not saleable. The organization was a one man show with Matt as the brainchild, who later boarded others by quickly filling in positions; just for the sake of saying we do have a leadership structure in place. This by all indication does no good, and if you and your organization can be honest and transparent enough, you know exactly the problems you are dealing with internally. You haven’t been able to raise funds at all. In anyway, those with bed bugs can deal with it, as the bites affect them first.
Matt, I believe you are a fighter, and you can still come to terms that everyone cannot lead. Some have to be followers. The best is to accept the fact that some of these groupings while they function best at countering Jammeh, but if their existence will cause division, disunite Gambians, and even keep the dictator watered for survival, then it will be time to question why the need to have them.
In anyway, all I have is my opinion. I do not have knives or guns. I don’t have an army, but my opinion as a Gambian citizen I will continue to belabor.
To be continued …..