By now, it is clear that Dictator Yahya Yahya Jammeh knows he is a thorn in everyone’s flesh. He is no longer a Gambian menace but a regional one. A single soul who goes around biting whoever he crosses path with as if he is a mad dog. Even the fingers that feed him have not been spared Yahya Jammeh’s poisonous venom. Was he not the one who milked Taiwan to the core only to dump the Asian Chinese nation when his financial request was denied? He is like a bull cow that gores even his closest relatives, friends and colleague presidents. Like Judas, he betrays everything, including his own words. Was he not the same person who swore to the Holy Quran that he would not allow anyone to rule The Gambia for 10 years? The man who badmouthed ousted former regime ministers for being “corrupt and flamboyant” said his seventh generation would remain rich. Yahya Jammeh whose Continent Bank account on July 22nd 1994 was in the red is today richer than the State, holds stakes in conglomerates and even own properties worth millions of dollars across the world, leaving Gambians to battle abject poverty, hunger and starvation. Besides hummers, he owns crocodiles, wolves and buffalos. Most of these wild animals and reptiles feed on Gambian fish resulting to shortages. Because he has dug his finger into everyone’s eyes, he is not at peace with himself when he watches mass protest against his belligerent behaviour on televisions abroad. He can dictate his useless television on what to cover but what powers does he have over journalists outside the country? He is so scared of the Senegal mass protest on Friday that he rushed to Kanilai. Yahya Jammeh’s main problem is his ego, arrogance, ruthlessness, greediness, rudeness and low inferior complexity. All these follow him even when he sits on the diplomatic table. Anyone who reads Weakileak Cables on The Gambia knows what we are talking about. His brutality on his government’s critics is premise on fear of losing power. Rule by fear is not sustainable otherwise Muammar Gaddafie of Libya would not have been taken down by a generation of freedom hungry youths who were born in his leadership. I am more determined today that Jammeh is on a borrowed time. All the writings are written on the world. Any government whose top secrets are in the public domain can’t survive long because there are too many enemies within the system. These are the people who blew the whistle on the coldblooded murder of Solo Sandeng and brutal torture of innocent women opposition activists. Only a coward leader tortures or kills to consolidate his powers.
Ends
I was there and could feel the wind of change of heart from ALL sections of senegalese societies and people. The most presence that made me happy, was the appearance of ALL the main political parties specially Hon. Moustapha Diakhate of the ruling APR party and majority leader of the House. This man clearly represented president Macky Sall and government. As in all diplomacy this man’s presence sends a CLEAR signal to Jammeh that Senegal is behind the Gambian people by saying enough is enough. If one watched the 4 April independence military procession one knows it was clearly meant to send a signal and show Jammeh that Senegal is mighty and ready on the military front too. Yes a republican army that NEVER made a coup d’etat against a democratic government no matter how hot the political situation is earns the respect of all democrats the world over.
Yes, Senegal including the Transport Union in particular are ready to help Gambia come back to the democratic family fold, and have shown Jammeh that they are resolutely ready to make that happen sooner than later.
Every god-fearing senegambian is fedup about Jammeh, who is nothing but a wild animal whose home is not amongst human beings but at the ZOO.
It was SOLIDARITY of the highest order.
If you can mobilise such a multitude onto Independence Drive, Yaya Jammeh, if he survives that day, will sit up and take notice..That should be your ambition and nothing else..
Meanwhile, my friend Max, who wants a bullet in Jammeh’s backside, can work on that too. He lives in US, where guns are easily accessible and probably cheap, by their standards. I’m sure he can find places where they teach how to be lone operatives…and learn to escape security and that stuff…
With knowledge like that, it won’t be hard for him to take Jammeh out..If he can’t find Jammeh’s backside, he will most certainly find his head, because the man is an idiot (a clever one though) and loves showing off.
Once we have that lone assassin on the cards, part of our calls for ” all options on the table” would have been met.. Let nobody expect others to implement their plans for them. Get up and work towards achieving your plans..
Bax, I like it when you write because your reasoning, in most instances, is advanced and based on facts. However, I just read two of your comments today which are quite contradictory. I believe this just shows we are all human and thus prone to err. I particularly will continue to admire your very good sense of reasoning despite occasional contradictions like this.
In an earlier posting today, you said “This is not the time to play the blame games…..We need the participation and support of everyone who is opposed to Jammeh’s rule of impunity”. This statement, as noble as it is, contradicts the following statement from your comments above:
“Let nobody expect others to implement their plans for them. Get up and work towards achieving your plans”.
Now this is where I want to come in. In truth, Yahya Jammeh could have gone long since. The reason he remains in power is because Gambians have always seen the fight against Yahya Jammeh as a fight to be fought by a certain group or section of the society, but then they want to share in the glory and enjoy the freedom when the hurly burly is done. It is very disheartening to realise that even at this stage, people still continue to see the fight against Yahya Jammeh as other people’s fight. This is why when those who embarked on a peaceful procession were brutalised by Gambia’s Macbeth and his henchmen, only Ousainou Darboe and his UDP executive came out to show their disgust. The rest of us retreated to our abodes with whispers. As I said before, it is not a nice feeling to see people of over sixty years “fighting” for the liberation of a country whose population, according to the most recent demographic records, is a young population. Where are the youth? Beyond party politics, no civilised society should condone the brutalisation of its human asset moreso defenceless women. I felt very much ashamed when I learnt of the tortures of Ms. Jawara, Camara and Njie. This is the height of barbarity and it indicates how low the Gambian state has reduced itself to.
Bax, I agree with you that there may be people who want “others to implement their plans for them”, as you rightly put it. But then to me, that only reveals the hypocritical character of the average Gambian. Why should any well-meaning and honest human being conceive a plan that may involve human life but wants others (not the planner himself) to implement it? It is a demonstration of hypocrisy. But should the rest of us wait to be told that unity is the only way out when such brute force is applied by a regime that, by all indications, is incapable of thinking and acting decent? It is a matter of conscience. Ousainou Darboe, as he said in his Press Conference, was not aware of the peaceful procession, but when he learnt of the state brutality, it was more of his conscience, first as a human being and then as a father and a political figure, that forced him out of his cozy home to show his disgust to this abomination. All people of conscience should be equally moved. He could have stayed mute like the rest of us, including my humble self.
I think we should love our country. Let us see the fight against Jammeh as everybody’s fight. No one will do it for us. When someone does your fight for you, he will never respect you because he gave you your freedom and will never hesitate to remind you that at the slightest opportunity. We must stop running and complaining everywhere and stand firm to fight back against tyranny.
Sorry for what appears to be a contradiction in my position, but that was a just ‘pot shot” at the cyber warriors, rather than a contradictory position… I am always for collective action because it has the best chance of success for change..I entirely agree with everything you said and I think eventually, Gambians will resolve this problem..It is just a.matter of time but the trajectory is irreversible…
Jammeh’s rule of impunity is a shock to The Gambian People, who have known nothing but a peaceful, tolerant and somewhat, indifferent style of governance under the 30 year rule of the PPP, and like any shock, the initial response of the victim, in many cases, is total immobility before realities dawns and action is taken..
But unlike individuals, the period it takes societies to overcome this shock and take action is longer and varies from society to society, depending on many factors..And the evidence of this can be seen in how oppressed people react to oppression and oppressive measures..
In some instances, oppressive measures embolden the oppressed and strengthens their resolve to fight the oppressor…thus keeping the oppressor on his (oppressors are mostly men) toes, through constant civil actions, leading to clashes until the oppressor succumbs and is defeated.
Whereas, in other instances, the oppressive measures cow the oppressed into subjugation and fear, with little or no resistance, and when the oppressor is lucky to rule over a country whose culture, religion and ethnic composition is so intertwined like ours, overcoming this period of shock becomes even harder, especially when the oppressor is exploiting the religious, political and economic frailties of the people, as Yaya Jammeh has been doing since he seized power.
I think there is hope that attitudes are changing and soon, Gambians will be able to effect change from Yaya Jammeh and his APRC to a better and sensible system of government..Once again, despite my “pot shot” at the cyber warriors, I am supporting a collective and organised effort, as the best option, as opposed to individual and disjointed efforts, however noble and admirable..
Janko solo
The truth is, selfish sheep-clothed introverts, who are ONLY interested & hell-bent on “who gets what”, as one of them ever posed me this question here, sometime back when debating for collective partisan approaches, will always continue to expose themselves more & more anytime they open their mandibles……
Shallow petty minds only pretentiously sound good, by blending with the flow, but realists will always spot their hallow emptiness like in your case here….
Ebrima, your cited quotations above were about nothing meaningful to contribute to debates to Gambian reclaim struggle, but rather antagonistic detraction postulates ONLY; particularly at this material moment, when everyone must redirect our energies for Gambian communal benefits alone & NOTHING else….
Anything being uttered by genuine patriotic Gambians & friends, either on the ground back home & anywhere else outside the frontiers of Gambia are all genuine selfless endeavours geared towards total liberation of Gambia; Nelson Mandela & comrades & all others who ever faced dictatorships world over, did exactly the same; in fact Mandela was captured on his way out of the country, in his attempt to leave South Africa to contribute his noble quota from outside, & sent to jail in Robin island, whilst other comrades were being gunned down demonstrating in the streets; hence for once Mandela would’ve been the greatest coward; what about the demonstrators in Senegal; they might all as well cross the border to march in Gambia; our noble gallant December 30 martyrs all acted selflessly within keeping ‘all options on table’….???
Hence these introverts see the struggle as scramble to fight genuine better opponents, politically advanced & advantaged with better ideas than their partisan endeavours, who they rather perceive as their real enemies, who they believe stands between them & the targeted loot; where we should all stick together against a common devilish enemy & mercenary elements, burning our country to to ashes….
Please my opinion in my small little mind is, to ignore these hopeless selfish pretenders; as we all can spot them anytime one of them open their gobs, & redirect our attention & energies where it all matters most; especially at this material moment…
I thank you all
Deyda, last week you claimed to be in the Gambia but you never took part in either protests nor were you in court to show solidarity to Darboe and his men. One would have expected that you would have been in the fore front where it matters most.
But today you are saying that you were in the Dakar protest. Maybe you need to explain why you never took part in the Gambia but took the trouble to go all the way to Dakar to protest.
I do not respond to the NIA.
Janko, I would recommend that you return to Bax’s post and reread it. His reference that “let nobody expect others to implement their plans for them” is referring to those who have all along been singing that the only way was for a popular uprising to be on the ground and lead in such uprisings not be outside blaming others for not implementing their only remedy.
Bax as you know is fully aware that the removal of Jammeh is a collective duty and hence never relent on that.
However, where he differs with Max, Deyda etc is that everybody except them have to be on the streets as they prescribe.
On your other point of other opposition leaders not joining them, with due respect, I think you have wrongly blamed them. This is what happened according to Darboe himself from his press conference.
“Some youths of UDP went to protest without informing him because they knew he was not going to approve it. They got arrested and tortured leading to Solo’s death.
” When he learnt of this, he convened a UDP executive meeting and organized a peaceful protest to be led by UDP leaders while contingency is made that deputies remain in case of any eventuality they can maintain the party.”
From this press statement, other parties were not contacted. It may be possible that they were unaware of the UDP protest just as Darboe was not aware of the youths’.
However, despite this which am sure was due to the immediacy and urgency of the situation, all the party leaders on the ground went to his home which was the interim HQ and some even issued statements. I can report with authority that Halifa, Sedia, OJ and Hamat went there and UDP leadership can confirm this.
However them taking to the streets would be of opinion as if it was the best course of action at that point. I know for the fact that had all parties been notified in time just like the UDP executive, they will be part of it. This am sure would minimize the chances of them all being arrested. In the event he arrests all the opposition leaders, that would have put more spotlight on him and would give it a more national dimension.
Nonetheless, they are working hard on the ground and coordinating with UDP and all stakeholders. As they have said in their press release, an afront on one opposition party is an afront on all.
Here you talk a little bit of sense on the narratives of what took place and how it developed from there is all true.
However the personal attacks on Marx and I are uncalled for. You do not know who we are neither where we live unless we tell you. My contention with you and Bax is that, instead of concentrating the contents of our write ups, you are looking for single words and phrases to pick on and starting fighting or defending your party and Leader and comparing them with others. This is the attitude that you should change in your approach to others. Also remember that you are not more intelligent or patriotic than others to give us directives and hold them as the gospel truth.
Remember we have a different philosophy than yours and it is our choice.
Collectively we shall conquer the Chief Witch Hunter.
Like you said Deyda, there is nothing personal from anybody in this forum except that the 2 of you never learn this very thing you just said. Differences in opinions and approaches.
Remember that neither are your dogma of UDP led coalitions a gospel truth.
I have never seen you two see anything good from Halifa or PDOIS. Don’t this man equally deserve such respect? PDOIS supporters never make any personal attacks on Darboe or UDP. We focus our attention on APRC and Yahya who are the Gambia’s problem and we always give alternatives. To our colleagues in the opposition, we offer ideas on the way forward, not sit on the fence or blame others.
Once we learn this simple reasoning and listen to others with an open mind, there would be a way out.
Remember, our energy should be on Yahya not on each other.
Secondly, country before party. If the winning formula is on all parties coming together on a neutral ground like NADD, let’s embrace it and not insist on party led which had been tried severally but always fail.
Here you go again with the NADD stupidity. We have no time for elections or flag bearer BS. At this very moments, Patriotic Lives have been lost for a just cause and these lives will not go in vain without CHANGE. Jammeh MUST GO and NOW. Period.
@ Bax, my brother we all know how dictatorships entrench themselves. We also know how the masses react to different dictatorships. We know the timing on the masses reactions based on cultures and of course the size of the population. We know all that, so you are not teaching us anything NEW. However what you PDOIS guys must accept is that your thoughts are not gospel truths for others to follow. You must try to accept divergent views and accept the truth when told without adding a ” YES,BUT” to it. Perfection belong to GOD only and not human beings. So accept, differ, abstain are human characterics in society that come into play from the level of the family to the nation to the continent and the world at large.
Most of PDOIS’s problems are to stick to a point and treat divergent points as unscientific and un-intelligent. The era of indoctrination is gone, even China and Russia and Cuba cannot escape the versatility of the mind, of science and technology.
Once you refrain from seeing yourself as the holder of truth, you will begin to enjoy the wider world of rainbow cultures.
@ Bax and Gambia, not once have you commented the article but kept hammering Deyda and Marx…. are you on personality contest ???
Bax and Gambia and entire pdois party with leadership have more love for Yaya Jammeh than UDP and Darboe . They prefer Yaya Jammeh period . Remember Yaya Jammeh himself used to be pdois disciple and it was Halifa sallah’s ideology he learned . This was why he made referenced to them during early days of his regime. The relationship between Halifa and Jammeh is like a good teacher and a good student . There is mutual love and admiration between the two . The relationship is ; don’t touch my interest as long as I don’t touch your interest . Halifa never attack Jammeh directly so do foroyaa newspaper .
“Now this is where I want to come in. In truth, Yahya Jammeh could have gone long since. The reason he remains in power is because Gambians have always seen the fight against Yahya Jammeh as a fight to be fought by a certain group or section of the society, but then they want to share in the glory and enjoy the freedom when the hurly burly is done.”
Janko, what has been happening in the Gambia of late is a travesty. It brings to the fore the issues of fundamental rights that has been a challenge to our democratic aspirations since the advent of the second republic. However, what has happened has to be acknowledged in its proper perspective so that we can learn from the lessons that ensued.
I disagree with your statement above: “the reasons he remains in power is because Gambians have always seen the fight against Yahya Jammeh as a fight to be fought by a certain group or section of the society, but…”. This fight has never been seen as a fight to be fought by a certain group or section of the society.
This fight has always been a political fight waged by the opposition political parties in the country. This is how the “fight” was designed to be fought and this is also the reason why we have political parties in the first place. Therefore we should not scapegoat certain group or section of the society. They have their own rights and responsibilities within our governance system and we should hold them responsible within the contours of those rights and responsibilities.
“It is very disheartening to realise that even at this stage, people still continue to see the fight against Yahya Jammeh as other people’s fight. This is why when those who embarked on a peaceful procession were brutalised by Gambia’s Macbeth and his henchmen, only Ousainou Darboe and his UDP executive came out to show their disgust. The rest of us retreated to our abodes with whispers.”
This fight as I indicated above has never been “other people’s fight.” This fight has always been the Gambian opposition political parties fight. It is their fight. How to choose to embark on this fight makes all the difference.
Therefore you should put the rest of your remarks in context, for example, who were those who embarked on a peaceful procession? Why, apart from Ousianou Darboe and his UDP executive did others not come to show their disgust? We will do justice to this issue if we look at things objectively remove from all partisan considerations.
Change is like a child in a mother’s womb. It develops from one stage of its evolutionary process to another stage. Just like how a child develop from the womb of its mother from an embryo to a fetus. And when the time comes for that baby to be born there is nothing that can keep that baby inside the womb. Likewise when the time is ripe for change to occur there is no force that can prevent that change to take place.
Just consider the imagery of child birth. For nine months a child is “evolving” in its mother’s womb, but when the times comes for the baby to be born, its takes an involuntary spasm, a forceful push, for the child to be born.
Likewise when change occurs it usually follows a break, sometimes spontaneously and abruptly, from a governing ( evolutionary) process. It could be violent. It could be disorganized. It could be disruptive. Or it could be peaceful. What is fundamental is how this change is organized. It should be guided. It should be shaped to achieve a desired purpose and objective.
It is the people who bring about change. And it is also the people who sustain and consolidate the change process they have initiated. When the people rise us to demand change there is no power that can restrain them. It can even take an increase in the bag of rice. An increase in the cost of living.
If twenty middle aged market women start marching the street demanding a right, and their sons and daughters, their neighbors, their friends and husbands, and… join them along the way, there you have a catalyst and the end can be unpredictable. What is of fundamental concern is to make this catalyst predictable. To organize and manage its evolution.
” As I said before, it is not a nice feeling to see people of over sixty years “fighting” for the liberation of a country whose population, according to the most recent demographic records, is a young population. Where are the youth?”
Janko, it is sad but the youths are immersed in their own social problems and contradictions. Far removed from fighting for the liberation of a country. It is an irony that a “youth” demonstration at the Westfield junction that should have been the catalyst for a break from the governing ( evolutionary) process, is the same venue where thousand and thousand of youths gather to witness the dawn of the New Year. Where are the youths?
“Beyond party politics, no civilised society should condone the brutalisation of its human asset moreso defenceless women. I felt very much ashamed when I learnt of the tortures of Ms. Jawara, Camara and Njie. This is the height of barbarity and it indicates how low the Gambian state has reduced itself to.”
I share yours concerns. It is very worrying and disheartening. I hope this will irked the conscience of the Nation to now look at things differently.
“Bax, I agree with you that there may be people who want “others to implement their plans for them”, as you rightly put it. But then to me, that only reveals the hypocritical character of the average Gambian. Why should any well-meaning and honest human being conceive a plan that may involve human life but wants others (not the planner himself) to implement it? It is a demonstration of hypocrisy. But should the rest of us wait to be told that unity is the only way out when such brute force is applied by a regime that, by all indications, is incapable of thinking and acting decent? It is a matter of conscience. Ousainou Darboe, as he said in his Press Conference, was not aware of the peaceful procession, but when he learnt of the state brutality, it was more of his conscience, first as a human being and then as a father and a political figure, that forced him out of his cozy home to show his disgust to this abomination. All people of conscience should be equally moved. He could have stayed mute like the rest of us, including my humble self.”
Janko, the social pathology of the Gambian is very interesting. You never know what makes them tick. When members of the service sector, the army, police, immigration etc organized a marathon from Brikama to Banjul, people lined the Banjul-Brikama highway in their thousands to witnessed this event. But when a section of this service sector also engaged demonstrators and violently disrupt their march, it was a completely different scenario. Most of the people are going about minding their business. This is the sad reality we are confronted with.
“I think we should love our country. Let us see the fight against Jammeh as everybody’s fight. No one will do it for us. When someone does your fight for you, he will never respect you because he gave you your freedom and will never hesitate to remind you that at the slightest opportunity. We must stop running and complaining everywhere and stand firm to fight back against tyranny.”
Your observation is noted.
Reply
Janko ,please save your energy . Pdois confused disciples will never accept truth . That is their nature . They are no different from Yaya Jammeh because they will never accept the truth .
Janko ,you have spoken the truth and I 100 % agree with you .
Bax never speak with facts because he will never accept the truth and responsibility .
The truth is that the fight against electoral reform has been seen as UDP’s problem and this is why all these politicians didn’t care to Join UDP .
‘Janko ,please save your energy . Pdois confused disciples will never accept truth . That is their nature . They are no different from Yaya Jammeh because they will never accept the truth .”
Max, it is certainly true given our diametrically opposed political views that we do not share the same interest as far as our country is concern. This is normal and there is nothing wrong with that. The reason we profess different political ideologies and support different political parties.
We have said from the outset, always, that PDOIS is a different political party. It operates on the basis of its principles and not whims and caprices; it has a fundamental political objective and goal which characterizes its mission and vision as far as politics in the Gambia is concern.
The reasons that gave birth to PDOIS more than 30 years ago, still germane, are the same reasons why most of us still support or sympathize with the party. We are in support of an idea. We support an ideal. And PDOIS is the closest that represent that idea and ideal to us. Period.
No need for you to label us as confused more so as disciples. We are neither confused nor disciples. Our engagement in this forum can bear testament to that.
We all belong to the Gambia, the geographical space that we call our home. And despite the accidents of history that make us belong to different ethnics groupings, profess different belief systems and pursue different interest motivations, what unites us together, what binds us together, is greater than whatever that can tear us apart.
We should celebrate our diversity and cherish the uniqueness and richness of our culture.
It is a matter of time but we will get the politics right. The challenge of Democracy. In the interim we can argue, we can ‘fight’ and you can call us names and attached labels to us.
However, we should always be mindful of our fundamental rights and responsibilities as stakeholders and architects in our strive to build a peaceful, dignified, just, democratic and prosperous country we can all proudly call our own. This is the fight we are engaged in. It is just that we see things differently.