By Madi Jobarteh

Minister Ebrima Sillah should apologize immediately to Gambians for his anti-media stance since he took over the position of Minister of Information. The fact that Sillah called the MD of QTV to raise concern about the Esau Williams interview amounted to interference with freedom of the media and imposing censorship. That call is an indirect pressure that sent a coded message to QTV to remove that interview from their YouTube platform. Therefore, it is utterly disingenuous for the Minister to sit before Fatu Network to try to rationalize, distort, mislead and deny his anti-media track record.

If Minister Sillah was not happy with the opinions expressed by Esau Williams in QTV’s Viewpoint show, all he needed to do is to ask QTV to give him a right of reply or use his weekly press briefing to respond to Esau as much as he likes. Therefore, Ebrima Sillah acted unethically to have called QTV. Evidently the Minister therefore infringed upon freedom of the media and freedom of expression for which he must apologize. I hereby call on GPU to send a note of concern to Minister Sillah to ask him to refrain from such underhand tactics just to stifle the media.

In this Fatu Network interview, just as in his interview of Coffee Time with Peter Gomez on West Coast Radio last Tuesday, Sillah spared no effort in lambasting and impugning the character of Esau Williams. Why should a Minister of Information, a journalist himself by trade, go after the person of a citizen for his opinions? Why is Ebrima Sillah seeking to undermine the integrity and professionalism of Esau Williams by referring to his work with the BBC. If indeed what Sillah said is true, I am sure Esau Williams knows the terms of employment of BBC hence he would not have violated those terms because Esau is a responsible gentleman. If he did, then by now BBC would have reprimanded, stopped and even sacked Esau Williams. But until today, BBC has not done that and Esau continues to do his job. Therefore, Esau has not violated any law at BBC.

Let me inform Ebrima Sillah that he is not supportive of free press in this country since he became Minister, contrary to his false claim that he stands for a free press. I know this because Sillah had expressed his anti-media stance to me. He had told me, sometime ago about his discomfort with radio talk show hosts that he believes must be controlled. He said some of these radio talk show hosts are not experts and so they cannot just speak about any issues without bringing in experts.

I retorted to him that radio commentators such as Pa Modou Bojang of Membekering radio or Pa Nderry Touray of Star FM or Peter Gomez of West Coast among others do not need to bring any expert. I reminded him that you have radio and television talk show hosts such as Kouthia in Senegal who speaks about every and any issue on TFM television in Senegal everyday and he is not an expert in everything. You have similar talk show hosts across Africa and the world. So why shouldn’t the Gambia have talk show hosts who just speak their mind from anthropology to zoology? I found his concern to be indeed worrying because it is undemocratic and anti media.

If the Government feels a talk show host is spreading wrong information about the Government, then let the Government refute the information. That’s all. The Gambia Government has so many media platforms to use including a Spokesman who writes even better than Shakespeare to respond. Therefore, Ebrima Sillah’s claim that he is for the freedom of the media is unfounded. He is not. The evidence is all over.

For example, when two radio stations were closed arbitrarily and their journalists arrested and detained in January 2020, Ebrima was not outraged about that. Otherwise he would have immediately demanded the IGP to leave the stations alone and to demand accountability for such authoritarian action. Ebrima should have resigned at that very moment unless the radio stations were opened. But Ebrima failed to resign and rather allowed the stations to remain closed for weeks until GPU had to threaten action leading to the National Human Rights Commission to intervene. That was shameful of the Minister.

Since he assumed office, which legal reform has this Minister spearheaded in order to greater protection and promotion of the freedom of the media? All the draconian anti media laws are still in place! In the Criminal Code, Information and Communications Act, the PURA Act as well as in the Newspaper Act, there are multiple anti-media provisions until today. Why has Minister Sillah failed to immediately cause those bad law to change? Because he is not interested in free media.

That the Gambia Government is corrupt is clear as noon day. This is confirmed by the Gambia Government itself. Not long ago, the Minister of Health stood on the floor of the National Assembly to acknowledge corruption. Well before that, in 2018 the Ministry of Finance commissioned a forensic audit of seven state-owned enterprises which showed massive corruption. Until today no action was taken to ensure accountability. Just recently the Auditor General acknowledged massive corruption as the Gambia Government refuses to implement his recommendations to ensure transparency and accountability.

All of these are different from the so-called anonymous donors, the Chinese money in FABB account or the dubious contracts to Semlex, Banjul Road Project, diplomatic passports, COVID funds, mining, and now Securiport at the airport, among many others. Therefore, why should Ebrima Sillah deny that corruption is in his Government? Indeed honesty is not common to all human beings.

Therefore I put it to Ebrima Sillah that what Esau Williams said that there is corruption in the Gambia Government is absolutely true.

I hope Fatu Network will also give me an exclusive interview as they gave to Minister Ebrima Sillah so that I can respond to his unfounded, misleading and hypocritical statements. Until then this is my initial response to the Minster.

For The Gambia Our Homeland

Ever since my first assertion that President Adama Barrow of the Gambia could be clinically dyslexic, I have been adamant on it and trying to confirm my suspicion by collecting and studying all his video speeches in English delivered at home and abroad. I am however finding it very difficult to get the one at the 57th session of the ECOWAS heads of state held at the capital city of the Republic of Niger, Niamey, September 7 to 9, 2020. I was hoping to at least find it at the Gambia-Statehouse Facebook wall where such important events are usually carried; however other than his ceremonial departure from the Gambia, arrival at Niamey, reception at the conference hall, shown in the presidential group picture wearing blue face mask and his final departure after the meeting, nothing of the video-speech was posted. I have also been asking around but yet to find someone to tell me where it can be found. The voice I heard reading some parts of it was not Barrow’s but of some reporter who really seem to understand what he was reading about.

Whereas I do not attribute dyslexia to any lack of intelligence but could instead affect highly intelligent people, I nevertheless remain consistent in my conviction that a dyslexic person has no business being a head of state. It’s like voting a naturally blind or deaf person as president. In the same way a blind and deaf leader would have faced the stumbling block of not seeing or hearing the jurisdiction he/she controls, equally so would a dyslexic head of state be rendered ineffective in carrying his or her duties that requires good reading and comprehension skills. And unless our president is medically proven otherwise I will continue to make this argument no matter what.

Yes, his written speech at the ECOWAS meeting has been shared with every media outlet which doesn’t remotely look like something he can ever write although it highlights one attention-catching issue about the extension of the mandate of ECOMIG in the Gambia that should concern every Gambian.

We all know that the extension request from Barrow was just a formality, because President Mackey Sall, in a trip to France last week was mainly to ask the French government for the funds with a new false narrative that the Gambia is still going through an unstable democratization process for “four God darn years”. Always portraying us as knuckleheads who know no better. For a proof, our president will frequently be exhibited as a classic example of who Gambians are emotionally and intellectually.

Of course, France is very happy with their chief sub-regional puppet Mackey over his firm grip of the Gambia through Adama Barrow, “his brother from another mother” and will keep on financing the troops with endless promises about why it will only serve their Neo-colonial interest.

That could somehow be right but financing the troops also serves the economic interest of the Senegalese army constituting the bulk of the foreign soldiers in the country . In these difficult times they are making a lot of money out of the fraud by rotating contingents in a mission whose termination could cause unpredictable financial difficulties to their over-bloated Armed Forces. Talking about Security-Sector Reform, I even think Senegal now needs it more than the Gambia.

Remember how the so-called ongoing Security-Sector-Reform used to be the only excuse for keeping the troops in the Gambia? With no end in sight of that hopeless reform, they are now including the expected destabilization of the nation from the implementation of the TRRC recommendations. What kind of fools do these people think we are with all these infantile stories?

I don’t know about the rest of you, but looking at the magnitude of the racket, I will not at all be surprised with another justification in the next six months of how they must stay “to ensure that the Gambia’s presidential election is freely and fairly conducted” when their primary objective will be to help their desired candidate rig the polls. France will of course be deceived into always sending the checks to Dakar.

To our liberation strugglers still mulling over their delusion of owning the strategy that voted out the APRC government for a greater and better regime but will never find the honesty of admitting that their hard-fought victory was long ago usurped by France and Senegal, I have another bad news for you. The Senegalese occupation force and political control of the Gambia is here to stay and they will do whatever it takes to perpetuate an NPP government with their preferable leader, President Adama Barrow in charge whom they will sponsor to victory in 2021.

And for the opposition parties forming and hoping to defeat Barrow next year without addressing the destructive Senegalese dominance, I wish to say tough luck to all of you buddies. Other than the APRC assuring the Gambians an immediate expulsion of these useless foreign troops under an illegal arrangement, I hear no party leader discussing what to do with them after victory in 2021. Some, I understand are entertaining clandestine plans of maintaining the same relationship with Senegal and to keep their troops around for lack of trust of our security forces which to me sounds very foolish because Senegal, as far as a Gambian leader is concern, is perfectly satisfied with Barrow’s caliber and collaboration. Any other contender may be too risky for Mackey Sall to choose over his “brother”. So far everything Sall wants for Senegal and France can be achieved through President Adama Barrow whose valuable position of never questioning anything from Dakar is a treasure trove of unspeakable proportion. Why then another Gambian leader especially a smart one who will not want to only appreciate his good meals, join free flights wherever he is ordered to go, enjoy his siestas at international conferences, hide from the press and struggle to read speeches he is coached to regurgitate without understanding their contents? Historically, they have learnt in Presidents Dawda Jawara and Yahya Jammeh that any Gambian chosen for their agenda different from the disposition of “Adama Barrow” is doomed to fail.

Ordinarily, President Barrow should have been the new ECOWAS chairman for having at least another year in office instead of President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana who faces the probability of being voted out of office in their next presidential election due in December, 2020. Although I am rooting in for his reelection.

But I guess after catching a glimpse of our well-fed president seemingly doing what he does best in conference halls, napping in style, they disregarded all the odds and settled for Nana.

In fact his inability to properly read and understand the English language is my only interest to listen to his speech at the Niamey-ECOWAS conference whether by video or audio. I will appreciate anyone knowing where to find the whole speech to please let me know. The recording should be at the GRTS and should have as expected been played for the public by now. But did they? If not, why?

And please spare me the nonsense that our president was merely luckier than others to be elected or that the position was a preordained gift he has received from the Almighty God. I don’t believe in either jive. The job is a responsibility requiring the best performer and certainly a challenge not for infirm minds or clueless notables.

All notable leaders at Niamey, including invalid Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria protested against their irrational counterparts, urging them to respect their constitutional two-terms tenure in office, the hottest global topic affecting Mackey Sall’s fellow French puppets, namely Ouattara and Conde of Ivory Coast and Guinea Conakry respectively. The idiotic practice endorsed by their French masters is now the major cause of national instability to so-called African democracies, likened to coup d’etats and rebellions. Why was Barrow silent on the issue? Did Mackey Sall warn him not to comment on the subject, lest he withdraws his troops that “is stopping the Gambian population from forcing him out of the Statehouse”?

Just for those who didn’t know ,that was exactly how Abdou Joof used to blackmail Sir Dawda Jawara about the importance of the Confederation forces in the Gambia from 1981 to 1989 with Kukoi Samba Sanyang being the boogyman always waiting in the periphery. Jawara at the time didn’t understand that the longer the foreign troops stayed in his country, the harder to replace them when they leave until it was too late. Can’t any of Barrow’s advisers, politicians or technocrats enlighten him about this? Only dumb leaders will depend on foreign forces for their national security.

SAMSUDEEN SARR

BANJUL, THE GAMBIA

Mr. Chairman, Excellencies Heads of State and Government, ECOWAS, AU, UNOWAS, Delegates, Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,

I extend sincere appreciation to the Chairman, His Excellency, Mr. Mahammadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger for hosting this significant Summit.

By the same token, I thank His Excellency, President Issoufou for the leadership he has demonstrated and the vigour with which he tirelessly coordinated the mediation efforts in the Republic of Mali during these past weeks.

Your Excellencies,

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, our sub-region still faces political and security threats, including electoral issues and their negative impact on efforts to sustain an enabling environment for development. This calls for urgent attention and engagement with our partners to find durable solutions to such persistent challenges.

Having said this, I appreciate the efforts undertaken by the ECOWAS Commission and its partners in curbing terrorism in West Africa, especially in the Sahel Saharan Region and the Lake Chad Basin.

We should all endeavour to ensure that the concrete steps proposed during our last assembly in Abuja are implemented to the fullest through collaboration and, of course, the support of our development partners.

Your Excellencies,

On the situation in Mali, I join everyone in applauding the ECOWAS Mediation team headed by His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for the position taken to broker dialogue and foster a lasting solution to the impasse in the Republic of Mali.

Having reviewed and taken decisions on the situation in Mali, in line with ECOWAS protocols relevant to Democracy and Good Governance, the Community needs to ensure that the transition programme is followed as stipulated and that, at the end of the process, the country successfully returns to normal constitutional order.

Your Excellencies,

Our presence here in Niamey for this Fifty-seventh (57th) Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government provides us with a platform to discuss matters relevant to the development of our sub-region and the safety and wellbeing of our peoples.

In The Gambia, in pursuance of establishing peace and security for development, my Government, with the assistance of ECOWAS and other partners, has embarked upon a robust security sector reform, aimed at bringing the security services fully under civilian democratic control. We are ensuring that our human resource and structures are appropriate for the country’s national security needs, and that the men and women in the armed and uniformed services play a meaningful and positive role in national development. The African Union and other partners have provided expertise to help us restructure the security architecture.

On the other hand, this august body has mandated ECOMIG to execute a stabilisation mission in The Gambia. Their mandate has been extended periodically, thus guaranteeing the stability needed for the Government to undertake meaningful inclusive socio-economic development for all Gambians.

I seize this opportunity, therefore, to express my Government’s satisfaction with the ECOWAS Peace Support Operations in the sub-region, which focuses on operations within agreed terms of engagement.

With profound appreciation, I thank all Member States and the Commission for the smooth operations of ECOMIG in our country. However, the current mandate of this contingent has reached its expiration period.

Your Excellencies,

Given the reforms underway and the need to protect the fragile democracy in The Gambia, I avail myself this privilege to request for the extension of the mandate of ECOMIG in The Gambia. It should be noted that our Security Sector Reform is at an advanced stage and, for the first time, an audit exercise has been conducted in the army and a policy developed.

The reform process remains sensitive, noting that the previous government had molded the security apparatus of the country to serve as a repressive mechanism.

As such, a range of uncertainties, including right sizing and profiling the Armed Forces, matters of disarmament and demobilisation of troops remain complicated matters to address. As the reform process is ongoing, Government and its partners need to work with caution in order to complete the process successfully.

For these reasons, the presence of ECOMIG in the country will be a stabilising factor, while providing, at the same time, the required capacity building support for the viable implementation of the sector reforms.

Your Excellencies,

I will conclude by encouraging all of us to collaborate more closely for the advancement of our sub-region and for the wellbeing and development of our peoples.

I thank you for your attention.