President Adama Barrow is sick and tired of people who want to steal credits for removing Dictator Yahya Jammeh from office. The President thought time is now ripe to tell the plain truth – the truth that most Gambians are not privy to. Mr. Barrow threw the bomb in Turkey where he held meeting with the Gambian community. President Barrow’s election victory has turned Gambians into bragging talkatives.
Mr. Barrow wondered why “everyone is pounding his chest” claiming to take credit for the December 1st election victory. “Where were the Civil Society when Ousainou Darboe (United Democractic Party leader) and his executive members were jailed for protesting against Solo Sandeng’s murder?” President Barrow asked, recalling difficult days when majority of the people turn their back on the opposition UDP. “There was a moment when we spent over a million Dalasi just to get people to attend the court session of our detained executive members but we only got about a thousand people. We even have to transport people all the way from the provinces. The late Solo Krumang and others came from Wuli to attend court sittings,” President Barrow added.
Mr. Barrow’s statement is a direct response to some social media freaks who have never been heard of until Yahya Jammeh fled to Equatorial Guinea. Most of these freaks have threatened “to put sand in the soup” because the Coalition government has not employed them or refused to be micromanaged. Now that the political environment is levelled and fertiled, intellectuals came out of their hiding fighting to snatch the fruit of a labour they didn’t work for. President explained the dearth of young intellectuals that bedevilled the UDP before the election took place. “We couldn’t find young educated intellectuals to take over from our aging executive members,” he said. But today these hidden talents are on a hi-jack mission. Where were all the law graduates and doctors?
President Barrow’s truthful statement generated firestorm on the social media, with his critics accusing him of alienating the diaspora that vigorously fought for a change. One Anna Gray-Johnson ignored the content of the speech. Instead she asked why President Barrow talked in Mandinka. “So Is Mandinka the new official language in the Gambia?” Anna wrote on her Facebook page. President Barrow’s supporters applauded the speech, which according to them, was timely. They expect him to make some bitter truths when the situation calls for it, especially when hypocrisy is on the verge of conquering.
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The so-called activists think you don’t have a teeth to bite. Eh Barrow le diyamo no. It only takes you few minutes talk to pin down your critics.
Mr. President, you too have right to talk and defend yourself. Let them cry until their tears run dry.
I thought Facebook would crash after Barrow had spoken. The arrogance and hatred exhibited by a handful of loudmouths is really above board. What’s wrong with President Barrow talking in a language that majority of Gambians (at least 70%) speak? President George Bush spoke Spanish when addressing Texans but no one raises qualms. When do we learn to appreciate ourselves and accept the truth? Nobody complained when Jammeh spoke in Wolof. I feel like puking sometimes when I read stuff of haters. Their eyes will burst with anger but they cannot divide Gambians. We are the fruits of one big tree, the Gambia. What unites us is far greater than what divides us.
Mr Samba , I think those who have problem with President Barrow speaking Mandinka really lack understanding that the mandinka language is the dominant language not only in the country but it is a language that is spoken by vast majority of West Africans. In The Gambia, the mandinka majority vote for any president will always determine the outcome of any election. Sir Dawda Jawara , evil Dictator Yaya Jammeh and President Barrow are all installed into Presidency because of the votes of mandinka majority. Each of these leaders had the total backing of mandinka majority in respective elections . Sir Dawda was asked by the mandinkas from the “protective areas” to lead the party , PPP and he later was voted into office as president with the total backing of mandinka majority. Former evil Dictator was asked by mandinka elders from Brikama to contest the election and with the total blessing and support of mandinkas was elected president despite from the minority tribe . Adama Barrow was approached by a senior Mandinka UDP executive to accept party choice in the convention and he did , today he is the president. Any political leader who refuse to acknowledge the mandinkas majority as king makers , will never be president. This is the problem Mr Sallah in particular has which is why he will never be president of The Gambia. It is just like in USA , white Americans determine the outcome of any presidential election because of their majority. The first Black president in USA history, Obama was voted by majority white people. This is the statistics no idiot can refute. From now onwards , I think president Barrow needs to be speaking mandinka language often so that majority can truly understand his message.
Defend yourself Mr. President because your Information Minisiter is sleeping. He can’t even defend your government’s policies. Jawo’s BBC interview with BBC failed the test.
Indeed remarkable that President Barrow acknowledge the role played by men and women with little privilege in ousting Jammeh. To act as if Jammeh’s ousting is a chance brought about because of coalition efforts only, degenerate exactly these mens and women folks who were not intellectuals but crucially brought about Jammeh’s fall.
The role of SOLO SANDENG and Darboe & Co incarceration, were equally fundamental factors that broke the camel’s back.
It has taken long for Barrow to acknowledge this fact publicly. Hence, his unwillingness to firmly indicate where he stand on Jammeh and cronie’s crude legacy, has opened the possibility of some Jammeh enablers casting him as UDP sceptic and that posture emboldened aprc provocateurs like Seedy njie and Musa Suso to come from the cold and claim platform.
Therefore, in many ways Barrow’s troubles are self-inflicted. He need to embrace people who made the coalition win possible and draw from these diverse political ideologies strength. There are enough sound minds within the coalition fraternity that can fulfill any job possible around the president in the Gambia. It must be crescent clear to APRC party & affiliates that they have lost absolute power and the president is not courting them.
I don’t see Madi Jobarteh or any other intellectual in Gambia as the problem. What I see as a possible problem is when the president surround himself with people with tarnished public records or people like Lawyer Sheriff Tambadou who have openly questioned the wisdom of bringing NIA 9 to trial for killing SOLO SANDENG. It is important for the president to acknowledge the lives and blood lost to oust dictatorship and publicly honour the fallen heroes. Then there would be no misunderstanding as to what the president believes in.
I think most people in the diaspora have supported and sympathised a UDP majority coalition but hell no, most of those ‘young intellectuals’ are not interested in a post, influence or whatsoever in a To Be New Government. In fact I think some of those we may refer to as ‘the Gambians in the diaspora’/ ‘young intellectuals’ might have had a foresight of a possible perpetuation of the same old Gambians’ woeful ethnocentric obsessiveness, sycophancy and hypocrisy, that always tends to be staged right inside the heart of the country’s political arena. Yes indeed, Gambia/Africans have lagged in good leadership but, thanks to citizens of demonic characters who would be always ready to mindlessly and heartlessly help in the entrenchment of bad leaderships. President Barrow has nothing to bite back at but, should be ready enough to responding to important criticisms against his administration at the right places and the right times.
Dishearteningly enoufh, it was NIA slaughter houses around the country during the most horrible times of the country, and now, it is an SIS unit right inside the statehouse premises! Mr. Barrow should stop being distractive and face real issues and problems of the country with honesty and truthfulness.There are no other dangerous elements around than those playing militancy around this new administration, telling him, ‘no problem Barrow, no problem!’, and indeed, if there are any people trying to ‘steal credits’ of ousting the deadly dictactor, they are none other than those playing militancy around his administration.
As Gambians, we simply need to find a cure of the ills of our hearts if we want to see ourselves set on the course of the ‘Forward’ we are badly yearning for. These influence buying and selling, executiveTerri Kafoos organised within public office and space, corruption, greed, ethnocentrism(corrosive cultural and tradiditional mindsets) etc., should all be reined, for the much aspired prosperity, ‘greatest happiness of the greatest number’, peace and stability to be realised in the Gambia. As Gambians and African in general, we tend to be naive in speaking to our leaders consciences but rather help them build that monsters of themselves by helping cut out divisive barrier in the political play field through hostile partisanship and ignorant political party militancy. Hope someone is not already guessing which party I belong to… But then, that’s the way of the average Gambian.
Who should be beating their chests out here in the diaspora when we were all witness to the brave resistance of the Gambians on the ground, brave ones including mothers carrying their suckling babies, who went out to vote to express their dislike of a murderous regime at a very critical and dangerous moment in time of the country’s political predicament. Come on Mr. President, even if a few clowns out somewhere are trying to ‘steal’ some kind of a ‘credit’, I don’t think that is any issue worth making a point in. As president of the Gambia, you have very very important issues that should get you very much preoccupied than the-struggle-for-names or whatever…, as honor can only be gained and not demanded in my opinion. May almighty God guide and protect the Gambia from the evil that fly by day and also the evil that crawls by night.
Jammeh introduce a system in our country that has already deep-rooted and is seriously affecting integrity,love,respect and justice in the country.The one attacking Halifa Sallah on tribal line is definitely mistaking.Both Halifa and Darboe never talked against each other so who are these people destabilizing the country.
I was very much in the past, at some points, a critic and skeptic of Mr. Sallah, at a time, when most young men and women were anxiously looking forward to the formation of a strong opposition coalition to would serve the urgent need of ousting the unbearablen dictatorship. The man, Halifax, took those criticisms with real good faith and statesmanship I believe, and played his invaluable part in making that onetime dream a reality. That was a responsible and purposeful kind of politics played I think. Now, the country has a new government which seems to be sticking to the same old terrible methods. That should be a serious concern to all well wishing citizens.
What Gambians needs to do is concentrate on building the country economy to make life, education, health care better for the people of the Gambia?
It seems like the only agenda at the moment in the Gambia is about bringing jammey to justice, how’s that going to benefit the ordinary Gambian, or the youths who has know future?
Gambia has no resources to build the country economy’s, except the people , they are the cornerstone , lots of people in Gambia are very talented in making furnatures such as beds furnatures , cloth, Gambia needs to open shops abroad in Europe and America and mobilise these talents to make good s to sell in Europe and America to bring resources into the country.(take a leaf out of China’s book) and provide jobs for the youths .
You have a country where 65% of the PEOPLE call men she and woman he allah says in the quran that he’ll not change the condition of a people on till they change the condition of themselves.
95% of woman in Gambia are used for sex , domestic duties and having children’s and the men’s in Gambia are responsible for this, this tribualisim keeps Gambian separated and ignorant.
They teach people to recite the quran in Arabic but yet they do not know the meaning of the Arabic they learn in English, yet englishs the national language (it like teaching a parrot to say hello but the parrot don’t know what hello means.) .
If jammey is to be brought to justice time will do this by Allah’s grace, there are more important things to do in Gambia to provide a better future for our youths and the future of the country or we can remain in ignorance and keep fighting each other, we need thinkers in Gambian politic, instead of these power crazy people who only want to line there pickets ?
Jammeh will be brought to justice to set an example for the present administration. There is nothing like “God’s Grace” in malpractices of leaders and mistreatment of people. God’s grace hopefully, shall always be granted to the victims and the abused. Hypocrisy and wickedness must be stopped in our hearts as Gambians.
speak what ever language you want to speak. Those Mandinka haters have not seen anything yet. It is time the Mandinka speaker evaluate their option and get out away from their liberal corners. We are all watching and listening and taking notes
There may be a few venomous types of Mandinkas after all; those Green Snake Under Green Grass type who have made the phrase “Mandinka Haters” their anthem for disunity. I think diverse Mandinkas and well wishing ones know how to talk better. These are certainly a few isolated ones, who surely won’t be able to cause the damage the wish. Hypocrisy is an art taught by the devil so trying to deal with it can get messy. Notebooks and pens are the cheapest we all can afford to easily note down our guesses. Nonetheless, it could dearly cost one to assume he/she has the telescope others don’t have. Cleanliness be God’s name.
1. President Barrow’s choice of Mandinka to address that small community of Gambians in Turkey should be celebrated by those of us who want to see a more prominent use of indigenous languages in our official businesses and engagements. Therefore, it should neither present any problems for us, nor raise any concerns, unless it can be proved that the meeting was attended by fewer Mandinka speakers than, say Wollof or Fula, because the President is fluent in both Wollof and Fula, and that would make the choice of Mandinka difficult to justify.
2. I do understand the objections raised by some and will not castigate these people, and certainly, not from the viewpoint of tribe. Their views that the President should have spoken in English is justified because he was on an official visit and that engagement with the Gambian community was part of that (official) visit, hence it is understandable if people insist that he should have spoken in English, as this is the official language which our government officials are expected to use during official engagements.
3. My problem with that address lies in three areas : (a) the tone (b) the venue (c) the narrative.
(a) TONE: I think President Barrow needs to understand that, no matter how provocative, uninformed and aggressive his perceived challengers (all bona fide Gambians, by the way) may sound, he is expected to exude the composure of calm, confidence (in the people) and be focused and presidential, at all times, in his engagements with Gambians. Language that reminds us of Yaya Jammeh, or is reminiscent of the Jammeh era should be avoided at all cost, but that segment of his address did exactly that and that’s unfortunate. I hope he never repeats it.
(b) VENUE: The political environment today, whether it’s on the ground or on social media, poses a serious challenge for the administration and the country, and it needs to be addressed sooner than later. It would appear that President Barrow attempted to respond to an element of that challenge, in that segment of his address, but I think that meeting in Turkey was neither the right place for it, nor was his approach the right one.
The Government needs to create the right forum on the ground in the country to address the challenges that ignorance of democratic responsibilities is creating for our young democracy. There is a huge number of people who profess belief in democracy and freedom, but do not really know the responsibilities required of them. We need to engage in citizen education and sensitisation right away, by using public discussion fora on tv, radio and public gatherings, where panellists from diverse backgrounds can discuss and debate issues before a similar audience that would be able to ask questions and offer opinions.
(c) NARRATIVE: The narrative that attempts to reduce the success of our people’s struggle to restore our country back to its long standing democratic tradition to just a specific period and a few incidents during that period, is at best unwise and at worst, simply deceitful and insulting to the efforts of so many, some of whom have paid the ultimate price.
No doubt, the specific incidents of Solo and co’s arrest, detention and news of his death and the action of the UDP Executive, arrest, prosecution and subsequent imprisonment have significantly impacted the anti-Jammeh struggle positively, but to regard those events as the sole catalyst and main factors for Jammeh’s removal is untrue and utterly baseless, for the simple reason that deaths, arrests, tortures and imprisonments of many people have never stopped Jammeh from winning past elections and there’s no evidence that the death in detention and imprisonment of UDP Executive would have changed trend. People can lay claims to all the credits for the removal of Jammeh but the efforts of others should not be dismissed as non existent, insignificant and/or meaningless.
The struggle against Jammeh did not start in 2016 or even 1996. It started in July 1994 and the records are there to prove it.The single most important factor for the defeat and removal of Jammeh was the unity of main opposition parties under a single coalition candidate and the efforts to establish that coalition came from a cross and diverse section of Gambians, especially those in the diaspora. That is the incontrovertible truth which no narrative will mask.
Finally, I think President Barrow’s revelations that they (UDP) spent nearly a million Dalasis to mobilise people during the trial of their Executive but could only get about a thousand people, is more of an indictment on the UDP and it’s claims, than anything else. The UDP claims to be the largest party in The Gambia and electoral records show that they consistently polled more votes than any opposition party in every single election they contested on their own, but if this record is a true reflection of their strength and size, then they should ask themselves why they could not mobilise more than one thousand people to support their entire executive. Where is the commitment and solidarity to the party and leadership, of all those tens of thousands that vote for UDP at every election? That is a question for the UDP; not to the rest of us.
I think it is unfair to blame any party supporters or members for not coming out to support the UDP Leadership for the consequences of actions they took at their own party level, in a spontaneous response to the consequences of another action that was not sanctioned by any political leaders. I will urge President Barrow to direct those questions to the UDP members and supporters.