Liberation Of Gambia: All Of Us Against Jammeh’s APRC; Not “Tribal War”

By Ousainou Mbenga

As Jammeh’s neocolonial regime is on the brink about to be flicked off the cliff, we must ask ourselves the imperative question: To what end are we fighting to liberate our beloved Gambia? Are we fighting for “short-term gains” such as mere regime change, meaningless reforms, including “electoral reforms” while maintaining the treacherous system with its termite infested institutions to continue business as usual? Are we going to allow the “troglodyte” (cave man) declaration of the Islamic state of Gambia become a reality? Are we fighting to continue hanging onto the reactionary and backward ideas of tribalism and the senseless ethnic affiliations at the expense of our national advancement? Are we fighting for the “restoration” of the illusions of democracy before Jammeh? Are we going to hand victory over to the most unreliable traitor-sectors (unscrupulous politicians and emasculated intellectuals) of our nation to govern again, after 50 years of mis-leadership? This time around, we are determined to govern ourselves with revolutionary insights and foresight. And more than that, we should never allow another creature like Jammeh to be born in the Gambia.

To what end? Must be clearly defined and advocated for to wield genuine unity. It cannot be left to chance or the short sighted notion of: “let’s get Jammeh out and all else will fall in place”. Rightly so that Jammeh must go but we can’t and must not wait for Jammeh’s disappearance to chart the path for a revolutionary new beginning – a proud future Gambia.

The ruinous tendencies of opportunism, ethnic arrogance, intellectual dishonesty and hidden agendas abound in the “diaspora”, are ample evidence of a catastrophic end, an end without Jammeh but nevertheless without revolutionary insight and foresight.

GAMBIAN FRONT OF THE AFRICAN REVOLUTION
We, the disobedient sons and daughters of the Gambia have an important role to play in overturning neocolonialism, the last stage of the imperialist onslaught against the entire continent of Africa. Therefore, we want to put our writing on the wall, that only a revolutionary program is the solution. We are not alone in this struggle to overturn neocolonialism inside our beloved Gambia and outside. It is at this critical juncture of our particular struggle in the Gambia that we rally the forces that unite with a revolutionary nationalist program* as oppose to the suffocating ethnic/tribal affiliations which only benefits Jammeh’s agenda.
“The more sweat in peace, the less blood in war”.

In our determination to overthrow neocolonialism, represented by the Jammeh regime (with “elections” or without elections) we must, by the sweat of our brows build the organization and movement to protect and defend our achievements. Only a bottom –up approach can consolidate the power of the people to elect or select among us, the best sons and daughters of our beloved Gambia to be a self-determining people and not a neocolonial state.

Overthrowing neocolonialism in the Gambia is beyond the capacity of one opposition party and neither is becoming a “president” the solution to the long history of betrayal by African presidents. The solution to our problem is to cultivate new concepts of leadership radically different from what currently prevails, such as the “entitlement” to become a president or hell-bent on becoming a king (Mansa). Secondly, there must be an unwavering willingness of this new leadership of unshakable loyalty to the nation, to fight back against Jammeh’s blatant tyranny, which in my view, increases the fighting capacity of the Gambian masses; the most reliable source for revolutionary changes.

We must struggle to attain the political maturity required of us to work with each other for our genuine national interest. We live on this planet like any other but we allow to be relegated to a life of dependency and without interests. We depend on other “nation’s interests” for the production and reproduction of life.

What are our interests? What do we want? What do we believe?
Our most pressing interest as a people is to UNITE and defeat 22 years of tyranny for the future of our beloved Gambia, with elections or without elections. We must undertake this challenge of our history without hesitation. This generation of young Gambians demand participation in creating a proud –future that awaits them as oppose to the escalating uncertainty that forces them to resort to the desperate acts of taking the “back way” with tragic consequences.
This critical period in our history must prepare us to preempt the impending doom neocolonialism wish upon us, with total disregard for life. This rotten system, which includes the Jammeh regime have no redeeming qualities.

Confrontation is highly inevitable because of the culture of violence the AFPRC –APRC has cultivated in the past 22 years. But the principled unity of the opposition parties, the agitation and organization of a mass movement can preempt violence and minimize the spill of blood.

Blood bath solutions are what the colonialists bequeathed to the “neocolonial states”. But we refuse to be intimidated by Jammeh’s “don’t bring the devil out of me”, the civil – war mongering frequently insinuated and all the potential consequences of our resistance against the neocolonial regime. We are constantly reminded of Sierra Leone, Burundi, Ruwanda and Liberian civil wars by the “civil war mongers”. Despite the horrors of those reactionary wars and the senseless loss of African lives, none of these countries have been wiped off the map. Life still goes on with lessons learned never to allow war again.
The whole world is in a topsy –turvy and everything is up for grabs in our beloved Gambia. It is a historically determined necessity for us to grab our future into our own hands and not in Jammeh’s bloody clutches of tyranny.

Finally, there will be no “civil war” in the Gambia. Any war provoked by Jammeh in our beloved Gambia will be defeated by “All of us against Jammeh”. WE WILL WIN!!!
FREE ALL UDP POLITICAL PRISONERS, WAA JUWARA, IMAMS AND VOICELESS PRISONERS!

Ends