Time to end forceful approach to issues by making dialogue and intelligent reasoning the method to convince others. The response to those who ask if I support President Jammeh’s views on skin bleaching, which was made with contempt and misplace remarks. This is my brief observation.
As a traditionalist and an advocate for us to understanding our social backgrounds better, with the view of opposing and rejecting negative foreign imports like skin bleaching, lerals, and artificial hairs.
A writer ask me whether with my opposition to the dictatorship and oppression in the Gambia, if I support Jammeh’s comments on ‘skin bleaching’.
The obvious answer is no. This is not because I disagree with what President Jammeh said, but because I disagree with the methods he used to deliver the message. Being a traditionalist doesn’t mean being dictatorial or forceful. Women has souls and men too have taste. Let men help our sisters see beauty in their honourable image instead what is fed to us from white media.
We have to learn to appeal to people’s best instincts than their worst fears. It is up to our educators and social thinkers to put across the rationales of why skin bleaching is debasing and terrible, it is up to us as pro-Africanist to debate why we should reject foreign hairs and cosmetic that change our natural looks. This can be done in a civilise and respectful way.
Hence, I will advocate for an end to skin bleaching in Africa or wherever Africans find themselves and an end to weaving foreign imported hairs. One cannot claim to be a Pan-Africanist if you miss such basic tenets of self-esteem, self-respect and the belief in one being at par with every other human being.
Let our governments allow constructive debates to take place on TVs and radios that is geared towards real education. Let our young singers promote self-esteem rather talk about issues lacking values.
All our sisters are beautiful in their own ways. Let us be motivators and appreciate how we are. We will always struggle with our place in the globalised world, however, I believe that with tangible awareness of our heritage, we will always be noticeable in this competitive Hollywood dominated world. The Gambian tyrant is good at ranting and he has not succeeded in changing our society in any positive way. In fact, he has inculcated the worst behaviours in many.
Let us adapt to our times, without compromising certain things that makes us unique.
Ends