Book Review 

Launching Ceremony Saturday 23 March 2019, Paradise Suites Hotel, Kololi

By: Madi Jobarteh

Salutations

It is said that a person, in writing about himself or herself, writes about his or her age, its trials and tribulations, triumphs and glories, and wishes and aspirations for the future. The book ‘A Date with Destiny’is therefore not only about the life of the author but also a reflection of our society and struggles within.

For that matter let me make an unsolicited disclaimer on behalf of the author. That is to say that, autobiographies are often blunt, uncharitable, revealing, disturbing, upsetting and unsettling. So is this autobiography. I can tell you that Demba has been mercilessly blunt, frank and unequivocal about himself, family, friends, colleagues and indeed anyone and everyone he has come to interact with over the course of his life including the President of the Republic and the issues that surround them. That notwithstanding this autobiography is devoid of pettiness or bitterness but hugely responsible, forward looking and mature as the author himself!

I have known Demba Ali Jawo for more than 20 years now, I can say, since I started as a cub reporter at Radio Gambia in 1992. I used to know him as an editor at the Daily Observer where I had my first journalist training in June/July 1994 before that 22nd day of infamy erupted to change our lives forever!

Since then until today he has earned my respect and admiration for his stance on fundamental issues in defence of his principles and the common good. It is therefore an immense honour and privilege that he has asked me to review his autobiography – how can a younger man review the life story of an older man, I asked myself when he handed me a copy of the book last week Friday! But this is from where the honour and respect came which has grown exponentially as I read through the pages of ‘A Date with Destiny’!

This book is more than an autobiography. It is a testimony of a man with a mission or should I say, a rebel with a cause! In this book DA, as we affectionately call him, did not only narrate, with so much imagery and metaphor, his birth and childhood as a young Gainako and the circumstances of his family and the Gambia of his youth to adulthood, but DA also gave us insight into his convictions and the trials and tribulations he encountered in the first and second republic to life as a minister. More than a life story ‘A Date with Destiny’is also about a public servant rendering account of his tenure; his performance and the management of affairs and resources entrusted to him as a Minster.

Rest assured that in this book you will notice the same DA as the author of the ‘Focus’column in the erstwhile Daily Observer – blunt, critical, direct but progressive! Let me give you a taste of this fact in few of the pages of this book as he talks about his stint as a Minister. In his final chapter entitled, ‘An Encounter with Reality’ DA acknowledged that while indeed the country suffered a longstanding period of dictatorship during which governance and life revolved around one person however two years is also enough time for a new government to find its footing right.

Unfortunately, his experience in the Cabinet points to a government that is in disarray where ministries and agencies work in parallel with little to no consultation among them – a situation that has constantly put him in embarrassing situations. As the Minister of Information and Government Spokesman then there was huge expectation that he would have had first-hand information on issues, or he could pull and make things happen such as arranging for a foreign television station to interview the President. But the reality was that he was actually hardly involved, consulted or given information!

On foreign travels, DA was honest that indeed given the previously pariah status of the Gambia there was need for ministers to travel to connect the country with the outside world. However, he also acknowledged that a lot of the travels by ministers were too many, unnecessary or could be delegated to other officials or even to embassies abroad so that those minsters could attend to issues at home. It was for this reason that he used to delegate or turn down a lot of the travels to which he was invited.

What he found even more perplexing was the frequency of the President’s travels with huge entourages and on chartered flights. DA has indeed given us an extensive information and analysis of his personal experience and perspectives as a Minister about the current dispensation, highlighting the challenges and missed opportunities. But more importantly he has also given lot of suggestions to the President and his Government including local governments in terms of how to better govern, build institutions and serve the people of the Gambia. At the same time the book has also offered invaluable advice and suggestions to public servants in general and especially to his immediate successor Ebrima Sillah and the current Government Spokesman Ebrima Sankareh while of course also appreciating them for their longstanding friendship.

‘A Date with Destiny’is a beautifully written piece of work; easy to read and understand that gives a very succinct analysis and contrast of many things in the Gambia – society, culture, history, religion, politics, leadership, the flora and fauna of the Gambia and even humour! For example, he lamented the fact that while as Minister scores of people had sought to engage him, befriend him and seek his support, at personal and professional levels, but he became quite shocked to notice how he was immediately abandoned by most of these people as soon as he received his marching orders!

Demba Ali Jawo was born in the village of Choya, a predominately Fula community in the Central River Region in the “beginning of the 1950s” as he said, to his father Ali Mawdo Jamanka and his mother Abbeh Baldeh, both of blessed memory.

DA comes from parents and a community that was traditional in form but liberal in substance. It is no wonder that this man here became a voice for all regardless of ethnicity, gender, nationality or vocation; which is why he can defend any issue or take any position without fear of contradiction because he was guided by universal principles that underpin humanity, learned from his father and mother.

The late Ali Jamanka was one person who would walk from his community to visit their Mandinka neighbours to share milk and pleasantries to discuss issues in order to ease tensions as the cattle of the Fula would encroach on the farms of the Mandinka, a scenario that could have potentially led to a Rwanda-type situation if not well managed. His father addressed that matter in those days.

In this book we therefore see the life of a village boy going to herd the cattle and even sleeping in the kraal when wild animals like hyenas lurk around. In the environs around Choya to the Sofanyama Bolong DA gave us an interesting insight about the fauna and flora of his childhood period when that stream was infested with crocodiles. He laments that due to climate change and human activity including his own, today there are no crocs in that bolong.

As a child DA and his fellow kids would go near the stream to steal crocodile eggs for the family’s evening meal. But the day that young boy, Demba saw a gigantic crocodile on the banks of the stream gaping its mouth wide open – its only when you read this book you will know that even the bravest men and women have something to fear! Yaya Jammeh could not get Demba to flee the Gambia, but a single resting crocodile made him take to his heels! Read the rest in the book!

Demba has been a rebellious type ever since. Anytime his mother placed jujus around his wrist, arms or waist, rest assured Demba will throw them off. When society considered women to be weak Demba, since as a child, believes in the equality of men and women. Like his father he has never raised his hand to hit his wife or children. Thanks to his upbringing around cattle and other animals Demba upholds animal rights. He strongly believes in one-man-one-wife and certainly not in favour of ‘wife inheritance’ as he turned down the offer when his late brother Ilo Sonko died, a man who was extremely instrumental in his education.

‘A Date with Destiny’is an insight into the life of a people, particularly young people in the provinces, a reality that still confronts them – i.e. the limited to lack of facilities and opportunities while beset by several sociocultural barriers. Demba would have never known how to read and write if not for some unpleasant events and the determination of others and of course because of the open-mindedness of his father. It was in 1961 that the catholic Bishop of Banjul visited Choya to hold a meeting with villagers for the possibility of setting up a school there given that the nearest school was in Sare Gainako, six kilometres away.

When the villagers agreed, the plan was each compound would send at least one child to school, and in the home of Ali Mawdo Jamanka, the lucky child was Yero, the younger brother of Demba Ali Jawo! But as fate would have it, Yero unfortunately got sick and therefore could not make it thereby creating the unpleasant opportunity for Demba to go to school. Happy that he was going to school, the story however nearly got sour because his father was adamant that Demba had enough schooling and should now go back to herd the cattle. If not for the determined intervention of Ilo of blessed memory, Demba would have been one of the world’s celebrated Gainako today!

From Mount Carmel School in Sare Gainako and then moving higher to Crab Island Modern Secondary School in Banjul, Demba recounts the people he met and impacted on his life until today. It was headmaster Jacob Baldeh in Mount Carmel who defended his right to put on a beret in class because of ringworms all over his head which embarrassed him in front of his peers. But more significantly thanks to Jacob, Demba was able to secure a guardian in Banjul with Jacob’s brother Pateh who worked in the then Cable and Wireless company so he could go to school. Pateh was unmarried then and despite his meagre income happily accommodated Demba and fellow provincial boys in a strange city with lot of people and cars whose hooting scare the hell out of him! But by then, as he recounts, Banjul was a very clean city with every street paved and people indeed looked after one another, a far cry from what we see today, not only the Banjul but in our entire society!

Demba lived a difficult life nonetheless in Banjul; hunger was his constant companion. Without parents around and with poor guardians, DA had to watch with watery mouth as richer schoolboys would buy ‘nyanbeh nyebeh’ while he gazes incessantly because he had no money to buy for himelf.

In exposing the life of DA, ‘A Date with Destiny’also gives an account of the story of a host of individuals in the 70s who would become the movers and shakers of the Gambia years to come. From Crab Island to Gambia College and eventually into the teaching field, DA built acquaintances with a myriad of folks who would become part of the future leaders of the Gambia. Some became comrades in the fight against dictatorship and others became targets of his resistance!

His college mates included former APRC Vice President Isatou Njie Saidy, former PPP Minister Alkali James Gaye and former IGP Pa Salah Jagne while former Cabinet colleague Badara Joof was not only a friend but was in fact part of his inner circle of friends known as ‘The Gang of Four’ whose other members were Abdou Rahman Sise and Momodou Lamin Faye. It is interesting to note that DA was also a student of the current TRRC Vice Chair Adelaide Sosseh at Gambia College and before that, at Crab Island. The late former Minister Omar Sey, the late Mrs. Belinda Bidwell former Speaker as well as the late Ralphina de Almeida all taught Demba at college! But also, during the first year in teaching practice in 1973, he also taught the current ambassador to the EU Tenengba Jaiteh. The Gang of Four of course expanded eventually to include Imam Baba Leigh, Samsudeen Sarr former deputy CDS under Jammeh and others!

An insight into the nature of the PPP Government came to light as the author moved out of the teaching field to pick up a job in the then GUC, Gambia Utilities Corporation. Not only did he encounter discrimination, favouritism and denial of opportunities but he also became a person of interest because of his writings in The Nation newspaper and his association with its publisher the late William Dixon Coley, the doyen of Gambian journalism! At GUC and living in Haddington Street in Banjul DA’s apartment became known as the ‘Temple’ – a meeting place of many young radicals and an avenue that saw him become hugely active in youth and sporting activities.

While serving as a staff of GUC the author continued to publish articles in The Nation until sometime in 1979 when he was arrested and detained by the police for publishing a very critical article about police administration. It was clear that indeed the time has come for him to abandon his Government job due to harassment and suppression and enter into the journalism field in full to pursue his convictions without fetters.

William Dixon Colley is undoubtedly one of the Gambia’s foremost and bravest, if not the leading human rights and democracy activist ever! It is no wonder therefore that the moment DA encountered this great man, he could never rest until today!

William had an immense impact on DA in every way imaginable and the author loved and respected and admired this patriot beyond measure. In fact many people even came to consider Dixon Colley as his father! It was his association with this great man, at whose office at No. 3 Box Bar Road in Banjul that DA would spend his entire time that he also came to meet many more young people as time went by who were also attached to the doyen!

Among these young people included current presidential adviser Mai Ahmad Fatty, current National Assembly Member Halifa Sallah, former ambassador Sarjo Jallow and former MOJA member Dumo Sarho. DA was scheduled to meet Koro Sallah eventually who was seeking to recruit him to join MOJA when the Kukoie Samba Sanyang insurrection took place in 1981 thus thwarting that meeting in Half Die. Consequently, DA could not become a member of the left-wing group as Koro himself was eventually implicated in that incident and had to flee the country.

Here is the bombshell: Demba Ali Jawo was a founder member of the People’s Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) and much more; it was DA who designed the PDOIS flag! Wow!

‘A Date with Destiny’is therefore not just a book about the life of Demba, it is a documentation of the socio-political history of the Gambia. Think of any Gambian of stature in government or business and society today and you will find his or her name in this book! However out of principles and dedication to service as a journalist. DA had abandoned all political affiliation to PDOIS and never to align himself ever again with any political party. This is a trait of all great journalists who wish to remain independent and credible in the eyes of the society that one cannot belong to any group, no matter how well meaning they are! Journalism is DA’s destiny and he has fixed a date with the profession for which he does not wish to betray!

‘A Date with Destiny’is hugely about journalism and one cannot find a more up to date account of the trials and tribulations of the Gambian media than what is provided in this book, particularly with the advent of the military coup in 1994. Not only is the account quite detailed but it is also glaring for the fact that DA was himself a key participant in all of the ups and downs that the media went through under the dictatorship.

In the first place DA described the emergence of the Daily Observer as the beginning of the golden era of Gambian journalism as we saw for the first time a newspaper printed on newsprint and not on an ordinary A3 size xerox paper! But also, in terms of content the earlier emergence of Topic magazine of Nana Grey-Johnson and The Point newspaper of the late Deyda Hydara, the late Baboucarr Gaye and Pap Saine all contributed, together with the Daily Observer, to witness a marked turning point for the Gambian media into modernity, professionalism and recognition!

The life of a journalist in the Gambia is a bitter-sweet story. While Daily Observer in practice also became a school of journalism as it massively churned out large numbers of smart young journalists, at the same time the Jammeh dictatorship ended becoming the beast that also nearly devoured the media to extinction! Yet it was the Gambian media that stood its ground, as a protagonist as well as a tool to be employed by many other forces, not least our political parties to fight that monster to extinction! In traversing the plains of journalism, the book gave an interesting account of the various actors, incidents and issues including the disappointments and threats in which we witnessed physical assaults, arson attacks, assassinations as well as closure of media houses and mass exodus of journalists!

Hence the killing of Deyda became a watershed moment in the life of the media and journalists. As the author narrated, that assassination generated fear, but DA refused to be silenced as he continued to write critical articles against the Government to the discomfort of his family and friends afraid for his safety. Even when DA had a very good paying job in Dakar, he insisted on coming to visit family in Kanifing periodically, against the wishes of his wife, just that Jammeh does not think that he had succeeded in banishing all journalists out of the Gambia.

DA joined the Gambia Press Union in 1980 when Dixon Colley was the Secretary General. DA himself became the Secretary General in 1992 and then president until 1998 when he stepped down. The story of GPU is intertwined with the life of the author who, together with Deyda had to seriously struggle in ensuring that the union survives when there was little support. Not only did the union face resource challenges but it also went through lot of turbulence as internal wranglings among members over benefits nearly derailed it. However, the book reveals that DA traversed a path that was laden with difficulties – from financial to security issues to social pressures and personal fears especially after the death of Deyda!

Life in exile in Senegal brought lot of gain and pain to DA. Not only did he gain a more rewarding job financially and built strong and lasting relationships with a myriad of people and institutions, but he also became a huge source of support to fellow Gambians in Dakar or those Gambians fleeing through Dakar or coming there to seek visas or medical attention. In fact, his kids would tease that their father’s house became a ‘Transit Hotel’ because of the numbers of people who would come by.

Like many Gambians DA joined the current Gambia Government not because he wanted to share in the spoils of war. His fight against the dictatorship was for nothing other than to salvage his country and secure the freedoms and progress of his people including himself, in any walk of life one might be. Hence, he never imagined becoming a minister such that when a request came for him to send his CV to the Government he flatly refused. Thanks to the intervention and encouragement of four remarkable fellow women fighters – Fatou Jagne Senghore, Aisha Dabo, Ndey Tapha Sosseh and Veronic Wright that DA eventually succumbed; and of course, because Pres. Barrow had expressed to him that he admired and also preferred DA to become the Minster of Information.

Life as a minister was indeed instructive for Demba. Instead of the environment becoming smooth and supportive rather DA actually became a victim as soon as he accepted the office of a minister. The book has given a rather vivid picture of the environment inside the Government. DA pointed to a situation of chaos, flaws, missed opportunities and unnecessary reactions. As the Minister of Information and the Spokesperson of the Government DA was not only side-lined on fundamental issues of the Government but was poorly or not consulted at all in many instances and even where he sought answers from even the top, he either gets no response or a very diluted explanation without head or tail!

Indeed, DA did not enjoy his time as a minister. Not only was he excluded and even labelled as ‘Mr. Complain’ because of his incessant demand for answers or explanations, but he became extremely disappointed at the amateurish manner of addressing issues and the failure of the Government to be transparent or accountable.

For example, the confusion about the Brussels roundtable that the Government was coming home with money when only pledges were made could have been better addressed if enough information and engagement was made. Amazingly DA was left out of that meeting. The immature reaction of the President towards Dr. Ismaila Ceesay of UTG or the question ‘where were you’ should not have come from a President. The donation of vehicles or the D11 million provided to pilgrims or the China money transferred into the First Lady’s foundation account are all incidents that were badly handled by State House simply because the necessary sharing of information, coordination and engagement were not taking place. Consequently, DA faced series of embarrassments when he faced local or foreign journalists asking about simple issues about which he had no idea because no one shared information or true information with him.

Not only was DA a victim of exclusion and non-cooperation from even inside the Cabinet, but he faced incessant interference in his ministry on issues such as the liberalization of the International Gateway or the granting of TV licenses to applicants such as the Ahmadiyya among others. DA was seriously committed to transforming the media landscape through legal and institutional reforms but unfortunately received little to no cooperation from Cabinet colleagues including the President except for the Minister of Justice who seemed to recognize and value his role as a fellow minster.

Above all the book gave us insight into the kind of leadership in the country where courtesy and the national interest do not seem to drive the agenda. For example, the author’s termination letter was handed over to him by the Secretary General and he wondered why the President could not have simply invited him to discuss why he was being sacked as a matter of courtesy and leadership. But as the book recounts nothing like that happened in the first place when VP Tambajang or Mai Fatty was sacked. Hence when it was his turn to be also fired unceremoniously, the author acknowledges that he and his Cabinet colleagues must also take blame for that because they also never stood up to enquire from the President why their former colleagues were being sacked. If they had demonstrated such responsibility probably, they would have seen a different and better show of leadership by Barrow next time he wanted to sack a minster. But since they never cared to ask the President, it means the President also considered that he is indeed the bus driver and he can onload and offload minsters as he likes!

DA is not a bitter man after all. Rather his stint in Government gave him a better understating of our society and its circumstances. He came to better understand where our troubles lie and how to solve them. While he seems concerned that there are some invisible forces and interests driving the agenda around Barrow, he however offers quite succinct pieces of advice and recommendations to the President, ministers, local government authorities, fellow journalists and indeed every citizen.

For example, he cited the various cabinet reshuffles as missed opportunities where Barrow could have re-branded himself by adding more women and young people or appoint someone from the other smaller ethnic groups into his Cabinet to reflect diversity and unity of our people. Furthermore, he cited the lack of a Christian in the National Assembly which could have also been addressed if the President had utilised his authority to nominate a Christian person. Rather we see how Barrow further closed his Cabinet to women and youth by appointing more elderly men! He reminded the President to stick to his words as a mark of honour and refuse ‘wakh wahet’ noting that even Abdoulaye Wade could not survive the trick!

In conclusion, I have never been prouder of DA after reading this book. It is rich, blunt and accurate in its information content, objectivity and user-friendly in its consumption! As he said, he and many Gambians supported the Coalition in 2016 to salvage the Gambia and not to seek power and privilege. He remained unflinchingly committed to that agenda as a minister even though he was frustrated and concerned at the limited support of this Government to empower Gambians by protecting fundamental freedoms.

On the Coalition – whether it exists or not, and the political future of the President and the risks and threats, and the intrigues of partisan politics and the rest – I won’t tell you. Read the book!

Thank you for your kind attention.

Hmm ?. Don’t think so. it could be a mirage. I remember OJ Garmeh Jallow being let go, NO crossroads! Tambajang Jallow, Same fate, NO crossroads! Super Interior Minister, Fatty, NO crossroads! Why are we then now scaring folks that Gambia will no longer develop because your corner got damp? Not trying to equate talents here but aren’t all coalition members created equal with the mighty #70Delegates? EXACTLY. True, the broom took some legends but hey, the former removed are legends in their own rights! We respect and salute them for standing tall when many cowered under some rocks! It’s POLITICS as one hot and cold dude laments on his “platform”, “in politics there are no permanent friends or foe but permanent interests”! I think that’s how he sings it! ?. Anywho, separate the men/women from the posts especially public posts!!!!!

That being the case, let all dress their wounds in their comfy corners and not proverbially “pee” in the public pool!!! Remember the kid in the movie that peed in the pool and it turned different color? Blue to green? Whether it was a chemical that did it or the compounds of the urine changing the pool color, the boy and parents dashed out with guilt and shame! So, it’s very advisable to NOT pee in the pool to safe your face!:)

There is no need to run around looking for “fence sitters” to win over or call for others to resign just because the birthday boy unvited you to the cake cutting! Hey, at your rehearsal cake cutting you chose your favorites di! Let Others be and if they are cutting cake, not frown as they revel in the creamy portion of the cake! Bear in mind, the presumed fence may only be an imagination. Politics is a spectator sport to some hence, not participating doesn’t mean “spectators” favor one over the other. They may just be waiting for half time to pick team or not at all. It ain’t that serious for some. Let people be and do YOU!! The marbles you lose may be your own!:) It’s sometimes repulsive to see how an issue gets sectionalized, it’s sad actually in National discussion ?. See the red white and blue as a uniting force and don’t further tatter our once unpatched social fabric! You’ll live to regret it after the dust settles!!!

Oh! Quit the guilt trips and fear mongering! The Gambia I see, is like the shark tasting blood! They believe in the strength of the teeth and speed to race to the source of food without miss. Removing Jamus with marbles empowered and will forever empower and embolden generations to come. #NeverAgain will my people take that for granted! Best believe! If anything, the biggest concern should be about anyone flamboyantly waltzing with what the majority fought against as in APRC. This however is sadly happening on both ends!!!

The bus driver may cross white line, in some areas the yellow line (pun intended) and get ticketed, but as long as the double yellow lines are unbothered, he may live to drive again! Crossing the double yellow line in this instance is the Gambian populace. They, at the end of the day, hold the final verdict with the beautiful shiny marbles!

God grant us the serenity to change the things we can, accept the ones we can’t and the wisdom to know the difference ??❤

Honourable Minister,

I am not a fan of Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Joseph Stiglitz. In fact, in the clash of the titans between him and then IMF Research Chief,  Kenneth Rogoff, I sided with Rogoff; but one thing Stiglitz said really resonated with me and I have since held it as a sacred natural truth. Stiglitz once asserted  that the word “self-regulation” is an oxymoron. And that is certainly true.

So when I started seeing claims and lobbying from professional groups in our own country trying to get government to endorse their proposals, or even to pass bills, aimed at entrenching self-regulation, I cringed…

I do know that you are a career journalist and you would naturally be inclined

to support your brethren in the media fraternity but the business of self-regulation should never be accepted by our government. For very obvious reasons, backed by tangible evidence, self-regulation should not be entertained in our system. The recent case of the brazen attack on an innocent journalist by the current GPU President and the GPU’s uncharacteristic silence on this matter is a serious signal.

It is true that the media is a critical element of democracy and the protection and empowerment of media practitioners is of critical significance; but where elected bodies and individuals are subjected to independent external oversight in our governance system, I see no reason why another arm of the same national structure should be treated as a sacred cow and allowed to be referee and player at the same time.

Therefore, it is urgent  that an independent body be set up for oversight of our media practitioners and the GPU’s overtures of self-regulation should be rejected in the interest of the public.

Our evolving democracy has had its ups and downs and the executive branch of government has (in the past) taken undue advantage of the media and other institutions due to the dominance handed over to them by our statutes but it is a fact that the conduct of some of these media personalities and institutions has also had adverse effects on other entities and persons weaker than the media behemoths in our state of affairs.

So while we labour to correct the errors of our past by empowering institutions like The Gambia Press Union, we must not make the mistake of rendering these institutions too powerful to the extent that they could become oppressors of the weak and meek.

Honourable Minister and my dear brother, beyond the potential effects of media malpractice on individuals and organisations, it is my conviction that the greatest threat to our new-found freedom and entrenched peace is the actions of some unregulated, untrained, misguided,  ill-intentioned operators in our media space. We still have competent and prudent journalists in this country doing a good job for the common good; but when the floodgates of press freedom were flung open with the advent of the current dispensation, the media waters became muddied by some dangerous elements.

Daily we witness insults, incitement of violence and tribal acrimony in our media space and nothing is being done to control this. As if the Rwanda’s tragedy is not enough of a lesson, we sit and fiddle in our cosy zones while our precious Pax Gambiana is slowly but surely being poisoned with insidious cinders.

Lest the charge comes against me of speaking against press freedom, let me categorically state here that I am all for press freedom and a highly conducive environment for the efficient operation of our fourth estate. But that does not obviate the need for reasonable and effective oversight in the Business of our fourth estate. It is fitting to pick an import quote from a brilliant article by the current Secretary General  of the GPU on the undesirable activities of some media outlets titled “The Gambia: Towards A One-Stop Media Regulator”: “Supporters of the press are reconsidering their position: well, I’m a believer of press freedom but how could they do that. Oh, no.”

The current Chief Justice of our country recently made a statement to the effect that

The Gambia is blessed with a unique opportunity hard to come by of in the evolution of many nations: The opportunity to change and virtually rewrite all our laws and transform our institutions of governance . If this opportunity must not be missed, or under-utilised,  then we must not be infected by the bug of irrational exuberance by trying to overcompensate institutions that were negatively affected by our past to the extent of creating new Frankenstein’s monsters in our governance process.

In conclusion, Honourable Minister, I respectfully submit the foregoing premises with a view to re-ignite a national conversation on the relevant subject matter. I am hoping this dialogue is not muted but promoted. We must never lose sight of the fact that democracy and its institutions are not meant to be ends in themselves but vehicles towards the attainment of optimal human welfare and progress. Therefore it behooves us to be objective in our quest to hold one another to account in the interest of our common welfare.

In the service of our dear nation,

Momodou Sabally

Former Presidential Affairs Minister and author, Momodou Sabally is the Former Director General of the state Broadcaster GRTS as well as Managing Director and Editor-In-Chief of the Observer Company, publishers of The Gambia’s erstwhile leading newspaper the Daily Observer.

Call it the absurdity of the year! The Gambia’s press corps has been yearning for freedom of operation for decades and one would only assume that once that freedom is finally earned, they would cherish and protect it like a piece of diamond or the first born child of a Kanyelengwoman and name it Maabally (untouchable).

Alas, Gambians are good at endangering their own good fortune. Indeed we have witnessed several cases of individuals and entities throwing their very own victory right into the jaws of defeat in New Gambia, but the press as a group should know better; and definitely a group that is well placed to enlighten the masses should never be in want of wisdom as a collective entity.

So what went wrong at the nation’s apex body responsible for the welfare and protection of Journalists in this country?

Those who are familiar with the set up at the executive committee of the GPU would not be too surprised. Their carefully choreographed election surely delivered for the wheelers and dealers of the GPU when close friends captured the key positions as the top guns of the media union.

As if that is not enough of a risk for the effective running of the affairs of this institution of the most crucial importance to our nation building process, executive members started showing their political colours way too soon. It is an open secret that Gambians know exactly which political party key members of the GPU executive dally with. Indeed the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson is right “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”

The recent verbal assault meted out to journalist Lamin Njie by the current President of The Gambia Press Union Sheriff Bojang Jr. on the sidelines of the Ya Kumba Jaiteh case at the Supreme Court revealed a lot. Why would an innocent request for an interview on a matter so critical evoke so much negative emotion and palpable sense of vengeance?

There are many cases exhibiting the inherent malaise within the top echelons of the GPU and the space here would not allow a full rendition but a recent case is worth a mention. A local journalist with close blood ties with the GPU leadership was caught trafficking drugs but once the incident happened there was a quick complot among the leading journalists to hush that news and indeed they succeeded in making sure that the case, that was dropped due to interference from relatives of that journalist in the government, was ‘silenced’. If this case involved a non-journalist, it would have been all over the Gambian news cycle and in search engines.

With all the whistle blowing about the abuse of human rights during the former regime, some major media houses played roles, active and tacit, in the suffering of certain victims but you can be rest assured that those matters regarding the press will be muted in our current TRRC process. The case of the late Ousman Koro Ceesay was ‘investigated’ by a particular newspaper and declared an accident at the time; but was this matter mentioned in the TRRC’s investigation of that particular incident so far? The late Famara Jatta was fried as Finance Minister thanks to a case of unprofessional journalistic conduct. Certain people fell victim to circumstances due to the unprofessional conduct of certain media houses; this is a known fact. But there was no admission of guilt or apology about such unfortunate incidents to date.

We must acknowledge that the President of the GPU did publicly apologise for his unwarranted toxic attack on a fellow journalist. Personally I am not calling for the GPU President to resign but the silence of the GPU as an institution in this matter is deafening.

If we must make genuine progress as a nation, those tasked with holding others to account must behave in ways above board by all means. I am hoping the GPU as an institution will rise up to the occasion and use this particular case as an opportunity for soul-searching and rectification.

We are all Gambians and we must nurture the spirit of magnanimity and empathy that is characteristic of us as a cultured nation. But truth must be told and accepted for what it is if our collective conscience should remain healthy and resilient.

Momodou Sabally

The Gambia’s Pen

It all had the ring of a soviet coup, political machinations of the Politburo, the death hand of courter comitas and perfect plot of backroom operators. If it was not true, it could have been taken straight from a non-fiction book on the wrangling and wrestling of power at the heart of the soviet union. Or from a highly sophisticated sci-fic novel. But it is true, and it is real: the sacking of Ousainou Darboe, the big beast of the UDP, with Amadou Sanneh and Lamin N Dibba from the government of Adama Barrow. The Gambian media, for once, like a thermostat, not a thermometer, was able to shape public opinion, not reflect it – a sign of how an independent media can inform the citizenry, keep the-powers-that-be accountable and strengthen democracy.

Last Monday, most of the newspapers splashed on rumours rumbling on social media: that President Barrow sacked his scared cow deputy Ousainou Darboe. Like Joseph Gobbles, the suave, savvy and smooth propagandist of Hitler, Ebrima Sankareh, Barrow’s spin doctor pirouetted: the story, he claimed, is “false”, cooked up from the figment of the overstretched imagination of people.

If it was an act of displacement activity, designed to distract his master’s prey from jumping the ship of state before being pushed, well he succeeded. And Darboe, his sharp political acumen betraying him, believed in the false sense of security he was lulled in. It is akin to having your lawn being packed with tanks pointed towards your direction for complete obliteration and annihilation, and being told “ hang on a minute, don’t read too much into it, because it is a simulation exercise, working out ways to rescue you when Armageddon struck.” For Barrow and his team, pulling this trick was a stroke of genius. For Darboe, it was political miscalculation over-masticated. How could he not see it coming?

For months relations between Barrow and Darboe were enveloped in envenoms chalice. As president and vice president, they cut an odd couple. That their bromance degenerated into such pitiful state was extraordinary. To Barrow, Darboe was a self-admitted political god-father. The latter saw the former as a protege who would parachute to the direction pushed towards. But power pinches a paroxysm of poison into what could have been a solid political partnership.

I used the cold war analogy in my previous article to put into sharp focus the power struggle going on between the two. Victory of the  first skirmish, no doubt after the successful putsch of Barrow’s team, belongs to them – yet. Brace yourself up Gambians, fastened your seatbelts and shot your heads towards the direction of travel, because the fight over who will control the wheels of state will drone on until 2021.

The starting pistol was fired after the firing of Darboe and his political chums. It might come as a surprise that Barrow wielded the political knife, and scalped the head of his political paterfamilias, rendering himself a political patricide. There will be howls of betrayal, cries of heresy and damnation of apostasy against him for doing so. But are they justified? Are they politically sound? Could he not live with the causation and forget about the consequences his frosty relationship with Darboe wrought? To the eye of the politically uninitiated, the simple and straightforward answer would be: cohabitation, not casus belli, should be the modus vevendi. How wrong! To come to such black and white conclusions, risks being wrapped and woofed, into – to use the former British Prime Minister who deftly lifted the political fortunes of the political left moulding “the white heat of technology” in its favor , Harold Wilson’s phrase – you are either a charlatan or a simpleton. The former is risible. But the latter is reprehensible.

In our presidential system of government, like any of its kind around the world, there should be complete confidence and trust between the president and his deputy. The vice president serves at the pleasure of the president, must command his/her full confidence and abide by collective cabinet responsibility. To have a rivaled power block within government shatters the authority of the president, fatally undermines the authority to get things done and paralyses the machine of state. The buck stops with the president. The clue is in the name: the president presides, and the government governs. The vice president is like the other half of the president, responsible for deputising where instructed and authorized to. That was precisely why Barrow’s decision to sack Darboe was as bold as it was bang on point. By doing so, he has signaled to Gambians and the wider world that, contrary to conventional wisdom, he is not a  touchy-feely headless chicken. He has shown that his famous death stare exudes determination, his sombre face seriousness, his slow purposeful steps practicality and his clip responses in conversations a solipsistic sphinx with a riddle.

He could have decided, as president, to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to his authority being shredded, but he acted decisively, putting paid to that. He proves that he is made of steel, had balls of steel and a ruthless streak to unleash when push comes too shove. For days – weeks, even, it seems – he has been wrestling with the Shakespearian dilemma: to be, or not to be? To fire Ousainou Darboe or not? The decision to get rid of Darboe was a difficult decision, hence, as he pondered about the enormity of it, he dithered, equivocated and tergiversated. Like a Trappist Monk used to paying homage to a useful God that has gone rogue, diminishing any lingering hope and decimating trust – cornerstone foundation for faith – he turned against a Jupitererain salvation. No one can accuse him of not reaching out: he did extend a hand of friendship and frisson to Darboe and other UDP officials jailed by former president Yahya Jammeh on frivolous charges, after taking over power, using his presidential prerogative of mercy.

One reality of leadership is to face up to opponents, faces them down and fences them off. Ducking or diving from it is irresponsible and could lit the chateau castle of political power in flames. Politicians are, should be, realist, not fantasist fitting their political aprons on fantastical fictions. Reality is the yin and yan. You have got to have your feet on the ground, ears in the air and eyes on the horizon to be in tuned, on time and on target. As the leading American 20th century philosophical science fiction writer, Philip K Dick, stirringly quipped: “Reality is that, which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” That is the cue: if you believes in something, you have got to have the courage of your conviction, and do what is right, with the capacity to convince to hammer home your reasons to the people.

The tussle between Barrow and Darboe reflected a battle between two strands of the UDP: the purist and the pragmatist. The purist wants to detoxify the government, and its institutions, from anything reeking of Jammeh’s vestiges. While the pragmatist – and Barrow belongs to this camp, as inferred from his public stance and statements – wanted to bury the hatchet of the past, focuses on challenges of the here and now, and get on with the job. It is the right approach. Even though it exposes the pragmatist to flaks of renegade revolutionalits, they are the sensibles going with the wind of history. Because the mandate given to the president from Gambians in 2016, under a coalition ticket, was for him to be president for all Gambians, not a partisan person. In twisting the knife on Darboe and co. he fulfilled his duty and responsibility to Gambians.

There is no point having epicaricatic delectation over the political misfortune of the political dinosaur, Darboe. He has been in the political jungle long enough to see this as a blip, a flash in the pound that will come to pass.  Down but not yet out of the political game, history records that his party still commands majority support in the country post-Jammeh. If the country is to go for election tomorrow, he will be swept to power in a resounding victory.

It is a straight fight for the heart and soul of The Gambia between Barrow and Darboe. Forget about Barrow’s Youth Movement. It is a fig leaf for the political vehicle he will ride on to fight re-election. If proof was ever needed: his decision to fire Darboe, throwing caution out of the window. Battled-hardened, ready and willing: he has signaled readiness to  go mano-to-mano with his former party, with all the consequences that entails. Political spectators, the race bell for the 2021 presidential election has tolled: on you marks, get ready, go! To quote the former French king Louis XV ( 1710-1774), who, so cocksure about his indispensability, simpered: “Apres moi, le deluge (which roughly translates after him, the flood, meaning  France would plunge into chaos). After the Barrow v.s Darboe showdown, expect both flood and political earthquake!

Amadou Camara Studied Political Science at University of The Gambia, and Currently Resides in The United States