Every revolution, every change of a status quo through out the history of human social co-existence, nation building or organisational formations must be understood to have gone through such phases that would overlap one another, diverge at some points and finally converge to a focal point of understanding, an understanding based on the common interest, common suffering or common bond that supersede the minor, trivial and at times personal differences.
In this very confusing, very depressing times, when our concentration, our collective focus seems to be thwarted, deflected and off the axis, we need to look at ourselves and into ourselves, go back to the drawing board, create or adopt a formula that would better fit and fix our current impasse. This formula would have to carefully and meticulously look into the existing Gambian realities and equally imperative is to look at the principles, ethics and morals one needs to adhere to, in creating partnership at individual level called friendship, at biological and blood relationship called family or between different groups of people referred to as organisations or parties, from theological backgrounds that most Gambians would ideally love to identify themselves with; the christian and Muslim doctrines.
As at where we stand today as a people, the dust, the skirmishes, the clashes and continuous confrontation, are not likely to die down so soon. It seems apparent that winning is more acceptable than losing and competition more prevalent than cooperation in our Gambia of today. This struggle before the revolution certainly is not about who we are but what 20 years of criminality, abuse, intimidation and murder of our people made us to become.
This is not about colors, emblems, logos and acronyms but about a beaten nation, a defeated territory in agony calling for a just society and a return to sanity and freedom, democracy and the rule of law. It must however be remembered that this chaotic moment before the calm, this turbulence and storm would come to pass when our collective endeavor is geared towards a consensus, behind which we are committed to and uphold with the highest regard and selfless sacrifice.
If we sincerely hope to liberate our country, we must take a line of formality, a road to recognizing, accepting and initiating contacts and forming organisations based on the TRUTH and PATIENCE meaning HAQQ and SABR. We must formalize our relationships, respect leadership, contribute according to our ability and build structures that would deliver on time, efficiently and professionally. We must also look at our history of problem solving as Gambians. We must admit for we cannot bury our heads in the hot sand and claim that there were no patterns, no signs and no traces of our old methods of conflict resolution.
As modern day Gambians a combination of our old ways and the new ways of doing business could serve us well, if only we dare try. It can be searched, can be called for, it can echo in distant lands and valleys BUT to attain, maintain and sustain a democratic umbrella organisation, representing, speaking for and ultimately contribute to changing a tyrannical regime back home, cannot come without UNITY.
Formal organizations are rational structures that, based on their assumption of emotions, feelings, and irrationality as human weaknesses, try to replace individual control with institutional control. Thus the principle of task specialization is seen as a device that simplifies tasks for the sake of efficiency. We must be careful of raising hopes, inflate expectations and essentially breathe NEW life into those who believe in us only to slap them on the face with a mountain of disappointments and seas of sorrow. It is dangerous and a complete betrayal by breaking the heart of our young people when leaders they look up to, could not unite in times when they are needed to deliver and maintain the spirit of cohesion. We need to sit together ”at a table of brotherhood, where we shall be judged by the content of our character”, not by our ethnicity, political party affiliations and geographical locations.
Kebba Nyanchor Sanneh
GCC Europe Coordinator
Stockholm, Sweden.