The adage “desperate situations call for desperate measures,” can`t be more factual in our desire to return our country to democratic good governance, topmost on the minds of the majority of the Gambian people. For almost 20 years the country has sunk rock bottom in terms of free speech, corruption, detention without trial, torture, extra-judicial execution, and state sponsored terrorism etc., a level unprecedented in our history.
While efforts are underway to ensure that this national disaster is fixed, divisions are visible all around, both in country and in the Diasporas as to precisely what needs to happen. Naturally the preferred option is the democratic alternatives. Despite the obvious pattern of autocratic rule, the world considers The Gambia a democratic country simply because periodic elections are held for positions of President and National Assembly. This is more pronounced by the presence of institutions such as the Electoral Commission, National Assembly and the other pillars of democratic governance that serve no purpose for the advancement of our people.
Since 1997 Dictator Jammeh has won elections albeit fraudulently, the latest by an incredible margin, at a time when frustration with the system has reached boiling point. We at the NRMG are convinced that with free, fair and transparent polls within the overall framework of level playing field the Jammeh regime would have been history.
An international pariah who embarrassed himself and his country on the world stage by claiming to have found a cure for HIV/AIDS, executed many including 44 West African nationals, and scores of our own school-going kids on the street, can never win free and fair elections. But it`s all up to the Gambian people to change the manner of their administration. Talking about election come 2016 tantamount to legitimizing the illegitimate. The opposition would lose the 2016 elections ahead of schedule which we should all be wary of anyway. Jammeh and his APRC have never truly valued The Gambian people are tired of licking their wounds and as such are now prepared to confront the devil that inflict these wounds.
Today we are putting up with hiring and firing, illegal arrests and detention, confiscation of private property outside the perimeter of the law, mass exodus of talent out of the country, periodic murder of perceived enemies, unreported cases of rape of women, looting of the economy and the silencing of voices of dissent. Unless we are prepared to take the bull by the horns, stand up to this existential threat we shall be the wrecked of the earth. If only the Gambian people are truly aware of the stakes involved in the continued presence of Jammeh in our country, this struggle would have been at a completely different level by now. Jammeh is not only a brutal dictator but an existential threat, busy trying to empty the country of its original blood and replacing it with one that meets his aspirations.
The NRMG is therefore not only challenging this futile believe that Jammeh can be dislodged by the ballot but is making preparations to get rid of this rotten system by all means as quickly as possible.
The youth across the globe need to converge on the philosophy of the NRMG to take concrete actions to end this national madness in our country. The time has come to draw the line under politics of the past. The youth of our country can no longer afford to standby while a heartless brute hijacks their destiny with impunity. We have all seen how public service has been turned into private ownership; how the civil service is controlled by a clique of extended families some of whom have come from neighboring countries; how Lebanese and Syrians dominate our economy in connivance with the dictator; how our sisters have been starved and lured into prostitution to survive; how the cream of our young ones are fleeing the country in search of greener pastures and how many perish along the way; how we are losing our national identity and character. These are some of the reasons why the youth need to be proactive in the affairs of their nation. This is a national and disaster that requires everything in our power to fix. The NRMG is the people`s movement and is calling on all to get dressed for this do-or-die task. The movement and the people will go forth and rise above ethnic and regional considerations. The political philosophy of the NRMG has to sink deep and rest well with the youth of our country who themselves would have to be part and parcel of the formulation of such policies and programs. If there is doubt about anything, it`s not the sincerity and commitment of the NRMG leadership to spearhead change by all means necessary and subsequently allow an enlightened and responsible population to take charge. So the struggle is about you the youth, the future of our country, not the leadership of the NRMG. Our mission is to rescue our motherland from the jaws of homegrown dictatorship and tyranny. With the cooperation of young Gambians, together we shall take back our land. That is a sacred call to duty; we must all be present.
To all of you in the diaspora and at home, who have been pushing for this, we stand by you and pledge our support for the attitudinal change that will see us out of the woods. There will be no compromise with dictatorship. Let us say no to modern day slavery and overthrow the regime that unleashes this on our people. Victory to NRMG! Long live the Republic of The Gambia!
NRMG