The veteran Gambian broadcaster Alh. Sarjo Barrow is not the only Gambian who has been reeling with the pains of ousted President Yahya Jammeh’s public mockery. Mr. Jammeh very well knows he will not win an award in any male beauty contest, yet he is obsessed with ridiculing Gambians in public. Even his trumpet blowers like veteran broadcaster Alh. Momodou Joof of GRTS have not been spared his wrath. In one of his public meetings, Mr. Jammeh bluntly told Mr. Joof “you fool don’t look at me, listen to what I say.”
Yahya Jammeh had on some many occasions ridiculed his interpreters. Despite public ridiculing, some journalists struggled to get close to Mr. Jammeh. But Alh. Sarjo Barrow was not among those who wanted to get close to the pitbull president. “I had always prayed to Allah to protect me from Jammeh’s evil. I also appealed to people of God to pray for me. I had throughout kept a huge distance from a leader who is not appreciative of people’s invaluable services,” Alh. Sarjo Barrow, a seasoned radio broadcaster of 36 years experience, said in an earlier circulated audio. Mr. Barrow is a Niamina native who has been and continues to be outstanding in Mandinka news broadcasting. He has become a household name in the Gambia.
Barrow still have recollections of his (Barrow’s) bitter encounter with the ousted Gambian leader. Jammeh threw venom at him, saying, “your mouth looks like one who eats spinach.” Barrow was filled with anger but left his fate in the hands of God who judges between the oppressor and the oppressed.
“God being so good that people soon nicknamed him Tony Dabaa (Tony with Big Mouth.) In essence, he got what he deserved,” said the man who is proud of his roots and profession. “Everyone knows I treat my profession with seriousness and professionalism but I prayed to God to keep me away from the hateful leader.”
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