By Momodou Njai
I am not surprised that it is our very own people instilling fear among us to stop other people from donating to a cause that is bigger than their guts can take! If this person was really concerned about the lives of Gambians on the ground, the last thing one should be worrying about, is bank information about donors. Life is more precious than gold! Can that person really put a price on our lives for taking such a risky move by saying that we are going to march! Notice that this person admits by saying it is a wonderful idea to go, but never acknowledges of any great or positive possibilities that can get us out of this mess! Here the person says, “is wonderful BUT I have serious doubts about the successful outcome of this venture given the paranoia and vindictive nature of Yaya Jammeh in handling any form of repression.” Brothers and sisters, we already have a dictator in our mist that has terrorized us by using fear, please let us not have another one hiding under the name “concerned.” What the Gambian people need is hope, inspiration, and encouragement to get rid of that fear. It shouldn’t take 19 years for people to go through hell and now worry about being rounded up. This march will not happen over night without being properly planned, and we are not naive enough to just hand over ourselves. What would have happened if people like Ghandi, Dr King, and Nelson Mandela took this concerned Gambians advice!!Would this person even know what freedom is! It is cowards like this that gave President Jammeh every reason to step on their foreheads because they are not real. This person is using the same strategy the regime uses by instilling fear in the minds of the weak. We need more people that would say, forget the credit cards, forget the exposure of pictures, names, and identities, but here I am cause with all those in hand, 1 am not free until all Gambians are free.
The most interesting part I find baffling is when the person says,” One of my concerns is having Fatou Camara to champion this endeavour simply because I have great doubts about the credibility of our beloved sister. You see Yaya Jammeh just passed into Law the Media Act of which Fatou became victim herself of a Law that was passed right in front of her purview when she was a Press Secretary to Yaya Jammeh. Fatou also was beneficiary to Yaya Jammeh’s benevolence. She was very close to him which can be discomforting to some genuine Gambians who have been in this struggle for long time.” First and foremost, Fatou is supporting me and she is not championing any endeavor but fighting for every single Gambians dignity to be restored. If all eyes are on her about credibility issues, then we are all victims because President Jammeh has left no stone unturned. Be it being silent and not speaking up while you reside in Gambia or not! Be it you worked for the government or not by succumbing to such laws that are unconstitutional! Be it you fight in the struggle but not man enough to confront the President and meet with him! Be it you can’t talk on the phone, your home, or out in the streets! Be it you live a life right now in fear even when you are thousands of miles away from the grips of terror. I would rather take 30 Fatou Camara’s that are willing to speak up than deal with a million people who don’t have the guts to stand up. Instead of supporting and encouraging others to share light about the darkness they went through and learning from it, we demonize and criticize for silly reasons. Yes she is new to the struggle, but who does the struggle belong to! This is not a matter of competition and who is most popular, it is about who will step up and have the guts to stop our misery. Whether it is done diplomatically or not, someone has to do something for Gambia and not for selfish gains. We are all not perfect and ask God for forgiveness but are dark within our souls to forgive others. I say she owes no apology to anyone because she has gone through hell. Just having your freedom taken away is enough to deal with. We need to learn a thing or two from Mandela when it comes to reconciliation and take hate away from our hearts. We are all Yahya Jammeh in our own ways, and no wonder he has been there for far too long. Also, we the people need to change our ways if we want President Jammeh to change. Can you imagine if the opposition leaders just appointed other leaders what that would say!!But if we feel like if it is not us, then nobody, we will continue to live in the past. We are moving forward, and marching to our graves if we have to, but change is coming.
The problem we Gambians face is how to deal with the cancer that is killing us every day, not Fatou Camara. How to develop and educate the people of Gambia! How to make sure we have strong institutions in place that will make sure that we never create another President as powerful and superficial like the one we have. The problem is how to restore democracy in The Gambia, and end the sufferings of our people. The problem is no other than President Yahya Jammeh.
Since most of us are money hungry and desperate when it comes to doing anything to get money, I am not that person. My credibility was built from when I was young, and my humble character would speak for itself. Thanks to God the almighty who blessed me with a humble job I have kept for 5years now. I work in the healthcare field, and the person I work for was the general counsel for the World Bank that did a magnificent project for Ghana. They pay half of my tuition and pay me well enough to take care of myself and family. Thanks to God, I came from a good family that taught me values that are worth more than money. Thanks to God, I was born in a home that provided for me until I was off age. I have been taking care of myself since I was 17yrs old and work my hard earned money legally. I don’t use drugs, smoke, or drink. I have lived a clean life without thinking of making fast money by any means necessary, but clocking in and out for my services. When the so called concerned person tries to scare the people from donating money by possibly having their bank details compromised, I have never thought that we as a people would go so extreme in discouraging people to fight a noble cause. It is now true that our lives we are willing to risk, are less valuable. No one is in control of the account but I Momodou Njai, and I would be buried in my grave if I have to go down there with anyone’s bank information. I know the person wished the account was not in my possession so that my credibility would be damaged, but if I wasn’t trustworthy, I wouldn’t have come this far without the public hearing of the scams am engaged in. I have always lived a very modest and honest life. I intend to keep it that way till the end of my time. I would tell the concerned person, if you cannot be honest to yourself by coming out, then who can you be honest to!
We need to work together to free Gambia from tyranny but instilling fear and doubts in the minds of people that want to do something good for the country is misleading. President Jammeh is a small problem compared to what we face as Gambians. The best weapon we have is each other, and not to use it against each other. I didn’t ask for fame, but following my heart to do what is morally right for all Gambians. Let us stop the bigotry and work to support each other with ideas rather than bringing in doubts. If the money is what disturbs people, why don’t we just have people willing to pay for their own air tickets fund the march? However, the problem with that is, you would have people who are not genuine, and would eventually back down when the day comes. Anyone who knows me knows that I hold my word and credibility up high, and in shaa Allah (God willing), I shall never break it because of President Jammeh. When one is working for peace, they say we want peace but don’t try diplomatic solutions. When one is trying to do something good, they say do good but we would rather take the bad as long as it is not headed by you. This is not a game or competition, let them come out from the shadows and say what is in their hearts. I shall not be going back and forth with people who are not true to themselves. We really need some soul searching within us before we call others not trustworthy. I am happy to have Fatou’s support and friends! Instilling fear in people is the wrong approach but giving people hope, and a vision of clarity with good plans are!!May God see us through and may we all unite as one people! Let us give the Gambian people hope, inspiration, and encouragement, not what we are use to; fear!
Think of the good possibilities that can come out of this march. Perhaps even before a march, could President Jammeh accept reforms! If not, with so much pressure on him, and everyone asking for reforms including the international community with our neighbors, could people in the administration decide to leave him. I won’t go any further for now, but all is possible. Only God knows what will happen next, so let us stop playing God. We cannot foresee the future, only God. Stop playing in the minds of people, but give them hope, and tell the youths to RISE UP and stay away from drugs that keep them from being sober. The elderly are depending on us, they have done their part. No more fear mongering games, but marching forward with proper planning is what we have to do! May God bless you all, and The Gambia.