By Baboucar Bojang
The Diasporan Gambians are the biggest election propaganda machine for Jammeh’s re-election in 2016.
Here is why:
Jammeh wants the diaspora Gambians and online media to continue campaigning for him unconsciously and he is succeeding in doing just that FREE of charge.
Yaya Jammeh is very happy with the diaspora Gambians position on elections. All he prays for is for you to continue hammering in the head of the Gambians that election will never bring him down. Sadly the diaspora succumb in his trap and wish whiles doing the BEST propaganda for his re-election in 2016. There is a known traditional belief which says family secrets should remain within the family and should not be exposed in the streets. This is exactly what you are doing for Jammeh freely.
What is Jammeh’s secret?
I Baboucarr Bojang resident in the Gambia before Jammeh came to power and having written a lot of articles for freedom newspaper did believe like most of you that elections would not remove Jammeh from power. I have always been an advocate of the slogan “By all means necessary to remove Jammeh from power” and justifiably so until recently.
For the past two years, I have done a lot of election research on the ground by talking to lots of people from all walks of life to gauge whether or not elections can remove Jammeh from office. Here are my honest conclusions.
The general feelings of Gambians at home are mitigated. Half the people I spoke to believe that due to election rigging and voter apathy, it will be difficult to vote Jammeh out of office. The other half frankly believe that if Gambians come out and vote massively for the opposition Jammeh will be out.
It is however agreed by most that the problems the opposition faces are as follows:
- Casamance foreigners crossing the border to vote in our presidential elections and go back. Their numbers are estimated close to 100, 000 people crossing the border and staying in abandoned hotels and schools for one week before the election date. Our voter register is close to 800, 000 registered voters. The number is therefore is about 12.5% of the registered voters. It so happens that after the 2011 elections a lot of these Casamance foreigners have their Gambian voting cards and ID cards confiscated by the Senegalese border police and customs on their way back home. This fact has been hidden by the APRC but the Senegalese authorities have confirmed this fact. A lot of Gambians are not aware of this fact. Due to this factor a lot foreigners will not venture into this illegality in the coming 2016 elections for fear of being prosecuted by the Senegalese authorities. It is also important to note that Yaya Jammeh has not set foot in Senegal since Macky Sall’s swearing in ceremony in 2012. Why? A lot of changes took place in Casamance region and Jammeh lost the remote control of the region. The MFDC movement who were helping Jammeh and encouraging illegal voting for Jammeh’s election are now much closer to Macky Sall than Yaya Jammeh.
- Now going by arithmetic, if you take the total number of votes in 2011, which is less than 400, 000 votes cast, you deduct the 100, 000 foreign voters, you will get less than 300, 000 Gambians that effectively voted in 2011 from a total register of 800, 000 voters. This in reality mean that 400, 000 Gambians did not vote in 2011. This is a huge number of voter apathy in waiting.
- Going forward, if the foreign voters are reduced to half their number due to the unexpected experience they had in 2011 at the Senegalese border, the potential number of Gambian voters will be greater in 2016. Given the fact that Jammeh has antagonized all sectors of the Gambian society, the Imams he jails in particular, the men folks he insults in all his meetings, his recent insults and witchcraft accusations of the Foni Jolas, the Kombo Coastal youths arrest and tortures, the dead business sector, the high unemployment rate and stagnant salaries, the high cost of living and the families losing loved ones on the back way to Europe, it is therefore abundantly evident that Jammeh has lost a lot of esteem and consideration. All signs and indications are that Jammeh will not be able to repair the damages done to himself and his party over time a year from now. Jammeh is politically dead. The fact is Jammeh’s vote count has been going down each elections cycle. The percentage point he gets is irrelevant in the results. The number of votes is what is important in elections.
- Most Gambians be they at home or abroad are of the opinion that Jammeh should go. We all agree the Gambia needs a new leader. If such is the case why should we Gambians continue to be the propaganda machines for Jammeh’s re-election by telling ourselves and people that we cannot vote him out of office? Why encouraging voter apathy when numbers are what matters?
If 400, 000 Gambians decide to vote for the opposition in 2016, Jammeh will lose the elections miserably. All we need to do is ask our people to go and vote. The vote count this time around is done on the spot and all polling stations will have opposition representatives who make sure the counting is transparent.
The next question one will ask is, will Jammeh bow out of office honourably after losing the elections in the eyes of the world? The answer is YES. If Jammeh tries to defy the democratic world, the world will find the means of taking him out by FORCE with clear legitimacy.
Such being the case it is more than high time that Gambians in the diaspora stop being pessimistic. You should stop doing the propaganda that Jammeh needs most by unconsciously encouraging voter apathy in 2016. If you truly want change then you should change your perception that elections is not one of the means for change. Jammeh wants you to believe otherwise. You will be doing great injustice to the Gambian opposition by castigating them and by unconsciously telling Gambians that elections are a waste of time and resources. That is what Jammeh wants you to tell people and you are doing just that for him.
Ends
An excellent article, well written and factual. Please share more such insightful piece Mr Bojang, I hope regular deep opinion makers like Deyda, Max, Janko and co can provide a framework for democratic change. I like this. Elections can defeat Yaya Jammeh quiet easily. Yaya never won any large vote share. I campaign with the oppositions and I know, it is people who stay home that make Jammeh win, let them go out and vote. democracy, democracy can work!
Democracy have its own discriptive atmosphere. Wherever it is, you will feel it, sometimes you see it working. Is that the case in the Gambia?? where vice presidents would refer to mining activity in the country as private business. This is where people want to be over optimistic in fair election processes.@Janko especially did a lot in my opinion for outlining the ills of our society that attracted some of the most important debates and if one should disagree with him he/she should have done it at the right time and on the right page.
Most of us read and snub without expressing our disagreement with others like a ‘know-all’ with an ability to confuse a struggling masses’ opinions.
Though I’m not sure about the numbers of foreign voters mentioned here, there is absolutely no doubt that some foreigners, especially from Cassamance, do vote for the ruling party in our elections…(even during PPP days)..
However, I think the writer has hit the nail on the head with his analysis…Jammeh can be defeated if the opposition gets their formula right…The voter statistics, the economic and the political environments all point to that possibility …
Bax, stop saying what is not true. There was no Cassamance voter importation problem during the Jawara regime. He didn’t step down from power for long, that is true but, he always wins elections with clear landslide victories and so the elderly statesmen among every tribe would say the old rhetorics like; ”Gambia without Jawara”.
You see Bax, the real pro-Jammehs’ heads are jutting out of their shells and they themselves couldn’t help it, looking at all their beans they are spilling lately.Though the diaspora can be residence to as many pro-Jammeh/dictatorship as possible but I think generally the diasporan Gambian debates online, e.g, Kairo news has effected the most awareness, interest and an urge for particiption in the national discourse amongst Gambians in the diaspora. If I was these pro Jammehs I would have had every gut to be clearly expressing my support for the status quo in the Gambia rather than cause confusion in the discoursions.
Popular uprising cannot be ruled out in the Gambia as theoritical political formulae are not always practical in our realities. We are just a people like Burkina Fasso. What could happen to them can happen to us. As one participant said earlier on; we must stop applying our lessons backwards. If the U.K and the U:S had a similar status quo like the one in Banjul, our dream to make them your assylum bases would never have been realised because they will not be our choices ofcourse.
I also believe that election can defeat Jammeh. All that is required is for the opposition to restore confidence in the people that Jammeh can be removed democratically. This requires capacity building, advance planning and effective and timely implementation of strategies and programmes. The key to all these is money without which nothing can be achieved.
Thanks
I wish i share your optimism but I’m afraid i don’t. If one looks at the history of military dictatorship in our continent and also elsewhere, you will not find many who’ve lost elections. This is because most of them use intimidation, fear to rule over their subjects. In doing so they kill, imprison harass anyone they see as a potential threat to their rule, because of this many live in fear of ever losing power. They are fully aware that once they are out of power, they may face the same fate netted out to their opponents. When Yaya jammeh makes outrageous statements such as, no amount of election is going to remove him from power, if i have to rule for a billion years i will and once a soldier, always a soldier and so on, he is telling us that he will never lose an election for as long as he is in charge and he will not give up voluntarily either. The odds are stagged against the oppostion, IEC, the media, finance are all in Yaya’s favour. The chances of winning a free and fair election is very very slim in my humble opinion.
Baba please give us your honest answer. If you had the chance to go and vote, who will you vote for Jammeh or the opposition?
Once your answer is known then we can talk about the rest.
Thanks.
Thank you Mr. Bojang for your short and well written article concerning about removing the dictator through elections. I was having doubts before like many diaspora Gambians that dictator Jammeh cannot be remove from power through elections because of the various conditions laid out in your arguments. I am now convinced that if all the willing oppositions work together and bring the rest of the Gambian voters to vote for them overwhelming then they can win the 2016 elections with a big margin hands down. If the dictator refuse to leave after losing, it will be up to the Gambian people to stand up and drive him from power. Then the international will not have any other options available other than to support the people to remove Jammeh from power.
In the early 2003 in the Ivory Coast, General Robert Gueye who came to power through a military overthrow refuse to accept defeat after losing an election to Laurent Gbagbo. He tried everything within his power to steal the election without success but he was chase out of the State House that day. Let dictator Yaya Jammeh try us and see. We have enough of his bull shits and our victory will not taking lightly.
Janjanbureh, in a fact I spoke to IEC man this morning and he told me that Baboucarr number of 400.000 is too high, he said even 300.000 votes cast for the opposition will make them win Jammeh. He also confirm the Casamance border incident in 2011 at the Senegalese border post.
Mr Hydara, I’m just an humble observer. If you want to know where I stand with regards to who I will vote for,I don’t think that’s important. What’s important is for us all to understand where we are and work out the best way to get out of it, hopefully with little collateral damage. If you would like to know, I’ve never ever support anyone who came to power through military coups because they always end up worse than the civilian government they depose. As a youngster growing up in Gambia, I was a keen observer of events in other parts of the continent, apart from Thomas Sankara, most of the military juntas have failed their respective countries miserably from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia to name a few. Military seize power through force of arms and often leave by force either through a coup or via a popular uprising. I do sincerely hope that Mr Bojang is right and proves me wrong.
The reason why I ask who will you vote for is bacause Jammeh will not be holding a gun and follow you in the polling booth to vote for him by force.
This is the whole essence of secret ballot. When you enter the booth it is only you and GOD and no one else to force you to vote for X,Y,Z.
That moment of voting decision is totally and completely your choice.
Over to you Baba.
What I’m simply trying to put accross is that there isn’t a level playing field to conduct a fair credible election in the Gambia.This is why ECOWAS withdrew their observers in the 2011 elections and I haven’t seen any major changes in the way the APRC regime operates since.
Baboucarr, I think you are simply short of making a genuine point. Your general analysis of the diasporan effort in our predicament is confusing, hopeless, and frustrating to other people’s efforts.
Complaining will not solve our problem. Let us try everything including elections.
This is a forum, a national debate. If you think it is complaining then why not you shut up with your finger tips @Haidara. You are the type who gets really ill hearted with national-self-critisism. What hurts you now, is not exacting down here.
I have probably lost my ”reading culture”, borrowing Prof. Saine or……?, but many many of us did too. My every comment supported an election process at base. What I have always tried to do is pointing out how much serious is, our lack of the rule of law, and, election in such a status quo, have not always prevailed in histories, as most of us are dreaming now in our peaceful Gambian dreams. Exposure to military rule and dictatorship is exposure to uprisings and civil unrests. PLease write it down! What I never did was urging Gambians on the political ground to revolt or resort to any kind of civil disobedience whilst I am assylumed myself in the west.
The over emphatic cries for a peaceful political process in the Gambia, to me, is very disrespectful to those many men and women who had already lost their live in the process and to those disappeared and politically imprisoned. How much life has been lost and disappeared in the Gambia , the past 21years??
I am not writing to hearts but heads. I know you like the hearty thing.
Do you like dashing money to be praised???………..Most of us do so don’t touch it….lol.
I have no respect for people who cannot accomodate divergent views. They are generally dictators.
2016 elections is a forgone conclusion. The president have laid out his plans on the last tour and the Gambian people are fully receptive of the messages.
In the final analysis, everyone is after their interest. None of the so called opposition parties can even tell the Gambian people what they will do differently to improve the lives of the Gambian people.
The opposition are good at though running to places like Kartong to benefit from mayhem. The Gambian people are peaceful.
Yes..Jammeh can be removed through election. However, the opposition have to come together and put Gambia ahead of personal interest. How many times do we have to say that.
Malang keep your advice to yourself, we don’t need it. Since you are an APRC militant who politicize that Jammeh will win the election, all we are asking you, your party and president to do is “Level the Playing Field.” But we are know that you are not capable of doing the right thing as far as universal electoral laws are concerned. You are not capable of being fair and equitable in passing balanced electoral laws. You are not capable of acceeding to the demands of fair democratic change for electoral laws. You are not even fair by maintaining Carrayol as charman of the IEC yet his term expired. You do not financing the opposition parties yet you ask them to produce their audited accounts. You have unilaterally raised the elections deposits without consulting the other parties, all in the spirit of sqeezing the meager finances of the opposition parties. You instituted a simple majority voting law meaning even 25% of the population can rule 75% of the population. If you are so sure of winning election then it will be more democratic to bring back the previous law and have over 50% of the voters vote for your legitimacy.
Now Malang if you call your president and party democrats why are you so scared to institute all these draconians conditions and laws?
Malang If you truely beleive that your president is popular and can win the elections please tell him to accept the opposition electoral reforms and see what will happen to him.
@Ggapm Agapm……”Bax, stop saying what is not true. There was no Cassamance voter importation problem during the Jawara regime…”
Please don’t read what is NOT in my statement…I have not said anything about voter “IMPORTATION” from Cassamance… All I’ve said is that the problem of foreign voters in our elections is not new…And I am not making that claim from hearsay…I know it for a fact because I witnessed it..
I know the problem we face today is so bad that we want to glamorise the past, but that past was not all glamour…We need to be honest to ourselves and learn from that past to understand the present, in order to plan for the future…
For example, the attestation committees of the past, which made it possible for many foreigners to acquire voters cards without any national identity documents, have now been resurrected after that flaw was removed by the 1997 constitution…
We need to remember (if we are old enough) the role that these group of elders (all ruling party members or sympathisers) played in this voter scam to understand why that ghost from the past has been resurrected again…
Our focus, no doubt, should be the present but reflecting on the past, will only equip us better to deal with the present…
DH….You have taken the “wind out of my sail” by answering some of the issues Malang raised and you spoke well…
I think Malang’s call for opposition unity is the height of disingenuity and insincerity… It’s like the hares telling the dogs how to hunt them…
Malang, your participation here should not be about what the opposition should/Shouldn’t do, but rather, as an avowed Jammeh supporter, it should be about what the APRC has done that the opposition cannot do…That approach would be a more honest one from you…
In the event that you are contemplating to do that, I would like to draw your attention to the exchanges we had earlier regarding the projects accomplished by the APRC, since these are things that you lot always point out to justify or excuse the barbarity of the regime against Gambians and non Gambians alike…
On that ocassion, it was pointed out to you that these projects were not the result of a magic wand that Jammeh brought into State House with him, but on the contrary, they were the results of massive borrowing by the regime…I therefore hope that you will not be tempted to mention them if you do dare to take up the challenge…because, as also pointed out to you, any of the gentlemen in opposition will also be able to access loans/grants when in government..
As a matter of fact, our ability to access/attract loans/grants will be better improved under any of the gentlemen in opposition today, because Jammeh’s poor governance record and recalcitrant behaviour is hampering our access to development facilities…This has been acknowledged by the Finance Minister in the Budget he presented to parliament just this week…
The Minister said that…” the decline in grants is mainly as a result of lower than expected support from our development partners…”( source: Foroyaa)
Our development partners will not support us as long as Yaya Jammeh continues to behave like a drug baron and war lord, rather than the president of a civilized country..
From that perspective therefore, any of the gentlemen in opposition will bring more to the country than the APRC regime is able to do at the moment..
The respect for fundamental rights, civilised behaviour, accountability and adherence to the rule of law are all areas where the opposition can offer improved service toThe Gambian State and People…
So your claim that the opposition has nothing different to offer is baseless and false…Tell.us something else that we don’t know or safe your breath..
I think it is clear to everyone that Gambian people did not put jammeh in the statehouse when he committed treasonable crime by overthrew of democratically elected government . History has shown us that once military is power , majority of the time they don’t leave power due to mere election , it has to be combination of election and after election uprising because they usually rigged elections . Jammeh never Win any election in The Gambia in fair and free manner , he won the election by stealing it . Election is good thing to start but we must ready for post election demonstration or uprising if we are serious about removing him from power .
I also think that the so called “opposition Unity” call is cynicism and a spoiler to send the opposition heads squabbling while precious time get wasted.
Recently a writer wrote on kibaaro a piece about opposition strategy ahead of next year’s election.
These 2 points were my take :
End voter apathy : by engaging voters through rallies and tours into the inland. Also crucial is to show presence at hotspots analog Kartong. Voters need reassurance that someone is up to the job.
Flagbearer: selecting a young dynamic + 40, to wage a relentless campaign far and wide of the country. Selection must be now, to enable familiarity and publicity of the name (household name ). Here care must be taken to avoid selecting the likes of Waa Juwara or Rambo Jatta!
Waa Juwara?? yeah I think i saw him once or twice, Rambo Jatta?…….real funny name………, that sounds real heavy and grotesque.
Jammeh did not remove a democratically elected government of Jawara but a criminal gang of ppp which Jawara led. They did nothing for poor people for 30 years.
Jammeh came in and we have a university at once. Education is the key and that was what we lacked during ppp.
The opposition needs to engage Gambians and tell us what they will do differently to improve our lives. Without that count on having Jammeh for the next 30 years.
Gambian people are very educated and they know politics. They will vote for those that will benefit them. Attacking Jammeh and praying for violence will never unseat him.
If the opposition is voted into office in 2016, they will bring amongst others reforms the following:
1- The constitution will be revised to accommodate two term presidential term limits.
2- The president will not engage in private business.
3- Investigations must be carried out before carrying arrest and arrest warrants issued by a Judge or Magistrate. The 72 hours legal detention will be respected to the letter. The police and not the NIA will do the arrest. The NIA will only deal with security and intelligence matters.
4- The prisons will be decongested and renovated to make it a correctional center. Good food and medical treatment will be readily available to inmates. Torture will be reprimanded and punish.
5- Witch hunting after change of government will not take place; the courts will deal with all grievances. The human rights of people will be respected to the fullest without fear or favor.
On the public finance sector reforms:
1- The president MUST not interfere in the economy and finances by issuing disruptive executive directives as done by Jammeh. The laws of supply and demand will be the rule for economic growth and financial and fiscal discipline.
2- The president will not interfere in the civil service administration. He will only concentrate on official appointments within his prerogative according to law.
3- The president will not interfere in the appointments and promotions within the army and other security institutions. He will only take recommendations from officers based on proven merits. The civil service including the security services will not participate in political affairs.
4- All political parties will vote for the appointment of the Chairman of the IEC. Any political party without hindrance will conduct political meetings freely throughout the country.
5- The media will be decriminalized and private TV channels given to investors.
6- Civil society organizations will perform their roles without fear of being arrested.
These are just few of the reforms in addition to taking back the Gambia in the community of nations and international organizations Jammeh withdrew from.
Our relationship with our immediate neighbor will be enhanced, reinforced and the Farafeni Bridge finally built. We will help them sincerely restore peace in Casamance.
We will make the private sector the engine of economic growth without hindrance from the Executive. Government will refrain from competing the private sector by issuing less treasury bills to help the private sector access local bank funds and loans. The commercial courts will be revived and enhanced to encourage speedy settlement of commercial disputes.
We will encourage equal representation of women within the cabinet and the legislative.
In effect the above points are the rectificatif measures. At the same time government will work on encouraging diaspora Gambians to come back and invest, work, innovate and revive the economy.
Truly Malang we have lofty love of country devoid of personal vendetta and based on mending fences, encouraging peace and love and economic growth.
Malang, you are a pathological lair. Gambia under PPP was widely known for its multi- party democracy. PPp refused to institute one party state unlike other African countries at the time including Senegal and Ghana.
I will not waste much time on you because like I said before, any wrong doing you can think of under the PPP or associate the PPP with, the APRC has done worst than that in the last 21 yrs of their reign. So neither the APRC nor a Jammeh supporter like yourself has any moral grounds to accuse the PPP of anything. Where are you going to get the audacity in the first place??
Thanks
@Malang…”Jammeh did not remove a democratically elected government of Jawara but a criminal gang of ppp which Jawara led…”
Response….You need a lecture on what “democratically elected government ” means, but there is no time for that here..
So I will ask you a simple question… Which law made Jawara a criminal before July 22nd 1994..?
Tell us what the 1976 constitution said about the overthrow of the government in 1994 and who is therefore a criminal, by the law, between Jawara and Jammeh…
@Malang…”Jammeh came in and we have a university at once…”
Response. ..If only you use your intellect for a little bit, rather than act like a dummy here, you will realise that universities are not created “at once”…
The resources (both human and material) that made the university possible did.not drop down from the sky…Somebody laid the foundation for that to happen and that was not Jammeh…
To date, those institutions that were inherited from the Jawara government and formed the backbone of the university (Various schools of the Gambia College, GTTI,MDI,NARI,etc) are still very much part of the university…
@Malang…”The opposition needs to engage Gambians and tell us what they will do differently to improve our lives…”
Response…Those who are not DEAF, DUMB and BLIND can hear, talk about and see what the opposition is offering to do differently and that is why thousands follow and support them…
So rather than yap yappy about the opposition, tell us what the APRC have done or will do in government that the opposition cannot do if in government…
This is the thing. During ppp, elections were conducted only to satisfy the West. I realized that when I migrated to America. American people are educated and they hold their politicians accountable.
Ppp’s first strategy was to deny poor villagers that liberty of education.
I was from a village. And to me, if you deny poor people education and steal from them on a continuous bases, I consider you illegitimate. And ppp oligarchs were masters in that.
I remember those days in my village whem a woman was in labor and absolutely no medical attention available. Today it is a different story. The clinics and hospitals may not be the best but they are there with genuine intention to help Gambian people.
The institutions that you mentioned that ppp brought, i don’t understand why you brag about that. Those are the bare minimum you need to form anything and after all 90% of those were there before we became a REPUBLIC.
All am saying is that if we want Jammeh to go soon, the opposition needs to communicate with the Gambian people effectively and not just attacking Jammeh. They have tried that. Also, they have to stop instigating violence because if that happens, it is the Gambian people that will suffer.
The Gambia belongs to us all and we all want the best for our people. Peace.
Elections were hotly contested under PPP. PPP itself loses big wigs under this climate. I remember MC Cham, Lamin NAAFA Saho, Kebba Jawara, the president’s own nephew, Dodou Ngum, Kalilu Singhateh, Talib Bensouda, AA nJIE and Musa Darboe all of ppp and big wigs loosing seats. I also saw several election petitions filed by the PPP in court and were defeated. They were; Sam Sillah of Bakau, MC Cham of Tumana, AA Njie of Serrekunda west and Lamin nafa Saho of central baddidu. Only MC Cham won his petition but when a bye-election was called , he was still defeated by Mbemba Tambedu. That doesn’t look like election for the sake of the west.
in any case, the electoral system is more flawed and fraudulent under this APRC than under PPP, and this is not withstanding the creation of the IEC. These are the facts Malang. Gambians are no fools. Time for Jammeh to be voted out.
On your women in labour statement, again what existed under the PPP was the Bamako Initiative Primary Health care system. Local women across the country were trained in midwifery and were able to safely deliver babies in local communities.
In addition, every district in the country have had at least one or two major Health Centres equipped with an Ambulance. So when a local midwife escorted or reported a pregnant woman with complications to these health centres, the ambulance is used to pick them and/ transport them to hospital, and that had saved many lives.
Under the APRC, the Ambulances are no longer there in many or most of these Health Centre. In addition, lack of drugs is acute under the APRC and the country’s unprecedented debt burden is compounding this problem.
Statistically speaking, mortality rate from birth complications have risen under the APRC. So even in this area, the APRC is far worst than the PPP.
Thanks
@Malang…”Ppp’s first strategy was to deny poor villagers that liberty of education.”
Response….Absolute rubbish….Education statistics under Jawara continued to show improvent in access and quality was definitely better than now…Yes, more could have been done but your claim above is absolute false.
“The institutions that you mentioned that ppp brought, i don’t understand why you brag about that….
Response….I am not bragging because I have no reason to do so, but decency compels me to point out the truth and expose your lies… Because I think you are out to deliberately foment lies here to make a case for your master,Yaya Jammeh…
“Those are the bare minimum you need to form anything…..
Response..Well, at least you are now acknowledging that there was something, even if you could only call it the “bare minimum”…That’s better than claiming that there was nothing and Jammeh had to start from scratch..
That also means that you have contradicted yourself because if the institutions were there (even.at a bare minimum level) who were they educating then, Senegalese..? See how it’s not difficult to expose falsehood…
“and after all 90% of those were there before we became a REPUBLIC…”
Response…..Are you sure that you know what you are talking about..? The Gambia became a Republic on April 24th 1970…but all the institutions I mentioned, including the new college campus in Brikama, were established around the 1980’s…
Check your history and update your knowledge before you embarrass yourself here..
Malang, if your claim that you witnessed PPP era was right, then you lied that there was no education. Where have you done your education. Yahya Jammeh attended primary school built by PPP and his high school at Gambia High was on a PPP scholarship. All the people who served his gov from 22/7/94 where n when were they educated?? Were they educated in the new schools build by him post 1994? Why is his daughter Marian Jammeh not in any of the schools he built? For ur information, she was in American sch in Fajara being being brought to new York city in downtown Manhattan where she is now.
The army that Yahya used to overthrow the Gambia government was established by the PPP to defend and preserve our territorial integrity and protect our citizens. The equipment, even the uniform he wore on that day belonged to us bought to protect us.
On stealing and corruption, tell me what Jawara own in 1994, the compound in Fajara and Brikama his Banjul property and the Yundum property which he owned before becoming president. Now pls enenumerate for yourself wat Yahya owns in 21 years. You may want to know that he said in 2011 that if he was to take his properties from the government, even the ministers would be walking on foot bcus they won’t have vehicles.
On health care, tell us why Yahya has to fly to the west every time he is sick or his family. There is a health centre in Kanilai, Bwiam and Banjul. So why is he not going there.
Finally, just pray that you are never fired by him as you seem to be one of his agents. Remember, there is no employing institution or business in the country, so if you are fired, unless he recycles you, you would starve to death.
Dear Bax, Maxs, Lafia and others. Please donot waste your valuable time trying to respond to Malang anymore. Malang is here with the sole purpose of distracting us. He is not here to hear our honest arguments. He does not want to hear facts and truths. He is simply here as a Jammeh agent entrusted to derail the struggle and this forum. He knows everything we are saying very well but, he has a mission, he is an agent of Jammeh’s criminal cartel assign to Kaironews forum and no amount of logical and historical truhts will make him accept facts. His camouflage in giving the impression that he is innocent is ploy to slowly but surely distract our forum readers for the sole purpose of promoting his boss’s interest and nothing else.
When you carefully read his writing pattern you will note that he will never respond directly to qusetions and when pinned down, he dives and comes back to repeat the same insinuations agaisnt the PPP in favour of Jammeh. Malang is not even an intelligent agent.
I am done with this small rat called Malang.
Did I not write about this Malang guy before? His sole aim is to distract and make false statement about about Sir Dawda Jawara’s government which is 1000 times far better than Dictator Jammeh’s government. Please don’t bother yourself with him.