Now that we are provided with a seemly accurate and unrefutable biography of one Yankuba Badjie, though it is apparent that the real motive again is the Subliminal messages underlying the Hatchet piece. I don’t have the time of “beating around the bush” about the Insidious drum beat of the so called “Jola hegemony” in the Gambia. I like most Gambians who grew up in the rural areas in the Seventies before leaving for further education abroad through our own and farmer families effort, not government help of any kind, know better what drove us to excel. It was not because of the graciousness and generosity of the government in power. If we depended on that, we would be in the Gambia “crying Tribalist this, Jola hegemony that, Mandinka hegemony this … you get the point. What has ones job or jobs while abroad trying to make a living as long as it is a ligitimate and income generating endeavor, has to do with anything. Would rather Mr. Yankuba Badjie engage in what some of the “economic migrants” as you put it, easily take up. That is illegal activities such as drug dealing, credit card fraud, and ripping off anyone foolish enough to associate with them. These are the same folks who give a bad name to their country by their criminal and illegal activities and then would have one believe that they’re Political refugees, my foot. The cocktail of Hatred and Tribalistic Subliminal Messages being telegraphed would come to hunt all Gambians, unless it is Checked and Purged out of the Public Spsce. A regular question I always ask, how is it possible for a population of any tribe that is less than 10% of a country, where the “Supposedly Repressed” tribe is between 39% and 40% of the country’s population, and can be found in and at all levels of the government, “Control and Repress” the Said Tribe or population. Without such Tribes’ and Population’s Complicity and Participation in the Alleged Repression nothing can or would take place. I am not willing to deny that terrible things happened in the Gambia before and during the Current Political Dispensation. Wrongs were perpetrated by all Gambians of all tribes and regions. Yet, it is now becoming fashionable and almost acceptable in certain groups and people, to paint and brush all Jolas with one stroke, as being the tribe responsible for the Gambia under President Yaya Jammeh. If one intelligently follows this logic, you would have to say that the Mandinka are responsible for any and all events that happened in the Gambia during the 32 years of President David/Dauda Jawara’s regime. That would be rediculous. Yet men and women who normally would not allow hate to blind them, are now willing to lower their humanity and sense of decency to fit in the clamour for a “Pound of Flesh” from any and all Jolas, if they cannot get the “Pound of Flesh” from President Yaya Jammeh. What I don’t have, is the ability to rationalize and reason with those who would create or replace fact with fiction of who, when and what did happen in the Gambia and to Gambians during the 32 and 22 years of Misrule and MALFEASANCE. The Scapegoating of the Jola or Mandinka would only reinforce the Tribalist and Prejudicial Sectionalist feelings fueled by Political Hachet Men and Women with the help of their Opinion “PUSHERS”. Gambia is more the Sum total of One Tribe, Region or a group of people. We are our neighbors, brothers and sisters keepers.
Stop Peddling Subliminal Messages To The Gambia and Gambians. Like it or not, We are all in one Pond, the Gambia. Either we live and let live, or we engage in a National Collective Burial. The Choice is Ours, Not ECOWAS, Not Senegal.
Sidi N. Bojang
Ends
Sidi N Bojang , It is very clear to everyone that jammeh is a very tribalist leader who has favored Jola people far more than any other tribe in the Country. Hence Jola hegemony is strategic decision made to advance the socioeconomic , political and military power status of Jola tribe in The Gambia. This is simply based on appointments of Jola people in the majority of top and most important positions in the government as it is evidence in security services and other vital positions of the government. Remember the government is the main employer in the country.The appointments of Jolas in majority of these positions lead to significant advancement and advantages they gained when you compare these opportunities to less opportunities other tribes has. Other tribes are bigger in term of population size . Socioeconomic advancement and preferential treatment they received in terms of employment opportunities give the Jola tribe political , military and economic hegemony in The Gambia. Example , militarily we know the majority of soldiers who are loyal to Dictator jammeh in his refusal to accept the verdict of majority Gambian are the Jola military boys who are tribally and hegemonically appointed to serve jammeh’s tribal design hegemony . Almost all the heads of Gambian military installations are head by Jolas. The head of Gambian navy , presidential guard , CDS , military commanders of all the barracks and national intelligence agency are head by Jola people. These are facts you cannot deny . This is discrimination design to advance tribal agenda which will also serve to protect the supreme interest of tribal leader . Jammeh’s recent meeting with Jola tribal leaders is further confirmation of his systematic tribal hegemony political maneuvering to deny the majority of citizenry to determine the manner of government. Why is Jammeh not meeting with mandinkas , Wolof , or Fula tribal leaders to make his case of not stepping down from power after he was defeated? During jammeh’s meeting with so called Jola tribal leaders he made his case that without him ,Jola people will not succeed in The Gambia and therefore it is paramount for them to support him in his illegal behavior but he was turned down and requested to step down . Despite the Jola tribal leaders rejection of his political grandstanding, Jola boys in the military continue to support his rebellion against Gambian people. Hence the Jola lead military power is a threat to our country democracy and stability. The only reason these Jola military leaderships are defiant is because they want to maintain their military, political and economic status against the majority of citizenry. All these drama unfolding in our country, this is underline reason many people refuse to talk about because of the fear that they may be label as tribalist or instigating tribalism in The Gambia. The election results has further confirmed that it is only Jola denominated areas which overwhelmingly voted for jammeh . Hence Jolas are in full support of jammeh’s regime due to significant development the Jola areas has received during the time of dictatorship. It is the policy of jammeh to develop areas which overwhelmingly supported him . The Kiang west is the worst affected area in term of systematic discrimination and oppression by the dictatorial regime. People from Kiang are totally opposed to jammeh’s regime . So taking these two examples into consideration, you will see how the regime systematically promote socioeconomic status of one region while it openly oppressed and refused development in the other region. I can go on and on but I will stop here . Jola hegemony is real deal in The Gambia today whether we like it or not because they in control of the military which is the most important factor in this current political predicament . We must also remember and recognize that our military is also infiltrated by Jola imported mercenaries with the supreme interest of tribal hegemony agenda which they have fought for three decades in cassamance.
Yankuba has become the director of the notorious NIA who are believed to be behind many crimes committed on behalf of Jammeh. Whereas tribal hegemony might indeed be Jammeh’s unwise and criminal method in ‘Evo-Sticking’ himself to power, I would urge citizens not to denominate tribes by surnames in the Gambia.
@Sidi, Yankuba Badjie might have been employed in regular jobs all his stay in the U.S but that doesn’t distinguish him from others in illegal drugs pedalling or trafficking. That is not to justify drug trafficking but to tell you how people become what they don’t like to be when their citizens’ rights are abused at home. In a general point of view, the tropical African immigrant in all parts of the west are just scapegoats in the world of drugs-trafficking of global drugs cartels and organisation and perhap of the police as well. The drugs affairs is a trap to get tropical-African youths wrapped around in criminal records so that they can be kept as far as possible from all decent opportunities in those countries. In other countries like Spain, you will see them working for two and a half dollars an hour. Come across some of your fellow citizens in those countries want to make you shed tears. In a country like the latter, ten Africans would be obliged to live in one small apartment yet none of them would be able to make it to the end of the month. Don’t disrespect any African living in the West doing what, except those who would go back home to get themselves and NIA job. I’ld rather leave the NIA and go abroad than vice versa. In switzerland, Italy, Austria etc., equal opportunities are so scarce for the tropical African refugees and immigrants, blamed on their lack of job qualifications, that that they would fill in apllication forms to peddal drugs in the streets in those countries. Isn’t it subliminal trying to defend a public figure like Yankuba Badjie because folks tried to talk about his past and present now because he his is boss of the feared installations across the country?