By Sarjo Bayang
President Jammeh describes politics as dirty lies and dishonesty still wants to be politician
In his deceitful attempts to blind Gambians from the truth Yaya Jammeh called politics as everything dirty, lies and most dishonest occupation. At that time soon after dislodging a lawfully elected government by force of arms in a coup that robbed Gambians of dignity and safety he sought to justify his grossly unlawful action. His intention was to dirty the image of decent political leaders while only bent on bringing untold suffering for 20 years to come. We now look at how Yaya Jammeh used dirty politics in his rise from rags to riches.
His intention to get rich quick by force
Deep inside the corrupted mind of Yaya Jammeh other avenues of making a decent living remained tightly close. For a man who could not secure even a mud brick hut or basic daily meals he blamed the wrong people for his personal predicaments. Rather than working hard to earn decent income Yaya chose dislodging a lawfully established government with sole aim of looting public money and other vital shared resources for personal gains.
His twisted perception about occupying highest seat of the nation’s political role as leader is to take control of public resources for selfish economic interest.
Such personal selfish interest Yaya could not hide in the shortest span of time after rocking the nation along his cohorts by what they deceitfully called bloodless coup on 22 July 1994.
It was bloodless coup going by head counts that killing the president and state ministers did not happen overnight. The target of course was not to kill anyone immediate but violently scare everyone in order that rightful custodians desert their offices to give way for control by looters pretending as revolutionaries.
Equating Presidency and Wealth
To imagine that someone uses political office as platform for amassing personal wealth is most twisted mentality. Coming from someone like Yaya Jammeh who openly condemned deposed President Sir Dawda Jawara and his government of high level corruption is even more misleading.
By taking it that being president gives power of exclusive possession over all national resources including public money Yaya Jammeh pretends to forget he once described politics dirty and politicians dishonest as he grossly abuses the position without remorse.
Over the course of 20 years the poorest army junior Yaya Jammeh managed to loot entire public resources of Gambia to build his personal wealth, still wanting more.
It is all happening in broad day light as money borrowed and collected in the name of Gambian taxpayers transforms into personal wealth of Yaya Jammeh. He pretends to forget but right thinking Gambians are taking stock.
Not only does Yaya continue squandering public money and vital shared resources, he is also big time land grabber. More than 60% of entire land area of Gambia belongs to Yaya Jammeh leaving rest of the population squatting on less than 40% total land in use for agriculture and dwelling purposes.
Gambian economy and finance will never recover unless Yaya Jammeh is unseated from political office. His insatiable desire to get rich at all cost will continue to destroy the nation.
Yaya Jammeh took up arms to dislodge an elected government just for making himself rich and not about serving the nation.
After 20 years massive scale of corruption in high office even people working closely with Yaya Jammeh know that he is destroying a nation their next generation requires for decent living.
President richer than state
It does not require the expertise of an accounting technician to produce a balance for Gambians to ascertain that Yaya Jammeh is richer than the government and people whose resources he forcefully keeps custody; diverting public funds for amassing his personal wealth.
In the words of Yaya Jammeh as poor low waged soldier, politics is dirty and reserved for most dishonest members of good society. Yaya is seen as stooping to lick all the dirty stuff he vomited in making that ugly remark about politics.
After stealing so much public money to get rich Yaya Jammeh openly said to Gambians that he is so rich that his entire generations will stay in wealth. He also added that when he dies, he will migrate to the next world with his wealth. Those were days when money was flowing from all directions including Libya.
Confident that nothing will keep him anymore as poor person Yaya Jammeh told Gambians that his source of personal wealth is from “Allah’s World Bank” meaning God disburses money to him from heaven above.
Will Yaya Jammeh be honest to stop stealing and surrender all public funds?
Already more than 20 years and the clock still ticking many people are now asking if Jammeh the preacher of good will muster courage and confess that he acquires his wealth by theft and also to surrender all stolen public resources.
Biggest regret and most fatal error that Gambians committed is by allowing Yaya Jammeh to take custody of public resources as president without subjecting his person to rigorous background check.
When you talk to sensible people, they blame every right thinking Gambian for letting someone occupying key public position as that of president without that person putting anything on the table to bargain for a role requiring critical skills and character decency.
After seeing everything and people suffering without any hope of things getting better will Gambians still call it tolerance and state mute under heavy weight of a corrupt president who strives to keep everyone poor to claim championship as one man standing richest?
Another 22 July coup that catapulted poor low wage soldier from rags to riches is about to be celebrated in style and wastage. All that money is coming from Gambian tax payers in addition to what Yaya Jammeh continues stealing.
To consolidate his grip on power and paving broader avenues in diverting public funds, Yaya Jammeh is using the political position as president by introducing unjust, unfair, and corrupt laws. That includes giving him power to kill anyone who simply asks how he is managing to stay richer than the state.
Use of public position to gain personal economic advantage is what Transparency International TI (www.transparency.org) refers to as corruption. Gambians, what makes Yaya Jammeh, going by that definition; saint or sinner?
Certainly devils and angels from above will not drop down to free Gambians.
Ends.
For sure, no devils & angels will drop down to save Gambians….
We mustn’t leave any stones unturned to do for ourselves & definitely use all & any means necessary to succeed; Insha Allah…
God helps & bless the collective endeavour to salvage Gambia; Ameen.
In my opinion, it is the Gambian mentality and the ills of it’s society integrated in one gigantic horrible character (Yaya), terrifying all Gambian for more than two decades. The state of minds of the multitudes is a very powerful force and therefore the majority of the people of a country must be located in their right state of mind inorder to make a much better country for their children and their children too.
In my opinion, the Gambia is politically evolving and perhaps will have to pass through a nations-eye-opening process that will relocate the majority of the Gambians in their right state of minds where dishonesty, greed and hypocricy will have no rooms within. My brothers and sisters scrambled for biscuits in the dirt…………………….are they terrified? are they hungry?….. if not, what kind of mentality is responsible for such a behaviour?,…….I am still trying to unravel it. That’s such a strange behaviour that many will not do in other African countries unless they are in a state of emergency. However that kind of incident was withnessed in the Gambia more than twice perhaps, president Yaya throwing biscuits at Gambians. I am never surprised at all with his actions and his lack of respect to Gambians because I think he is a time bomb striking the seconds. It should be difused or will EXPLODE!!!