Alagi Yorro Jallow
When we pray, we must do so expecting that God will answer, and we must open our hearts and be willing to accept the outcome, without preconceived notions. The Lord is quite efficient. He works things together for the good of all who love him. He does not expose the beam in our brothers and sisters eye without showing us the beam in our own. The illness is diagnosed – it is brought out into the sunlight – and only then can the healing begin.

 
Truth and reconciliation should be accompanied by justice, otherwise it will not last. While we all hope for peace it shouldn’t be peace at any cost but peace based on principle, on justice and truth.
Reconciliation can’t be a superficial lip service process. It must fundamentally be inclusive in issues and in stakeholders. The truth must come out and we share why the hate/bitterness and come up with collective peaceful means to find a common ground for real reconciliation and reconstruction of the nation. Those in power and the old guards must also be ready to give up a lot of their privileges or else we all face the wrath of the Gambian people.

 
When I think about Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, the first examples that pop into my head are Rwanda South Africa, and Cambodia; developing countries that have been plagued by conflict and need to find a way to air their grievances and start to move the country forward. Truth and Reconciliation Commissions are often viewed as an alternative to violence. They are a mechanism by with grievances can be aired and perpetrators of crime can take responsibility for their actions through the means of engaging in conversation. It is the idea that through talking with one another we can create a space in which we can begin to move past these grievances and begin to move forward.

 
Justice can’t be served unless truth is revealed. I know some of the dynamics are different, but there are also many similarities between what has happened in The Gambia, Rwanda and in South Africa. Gross human rights violation, injustice and denial of human dignity.

 
After the change came in South Africa and Mandela became president, the truth and reconciliation commission was set up by Arch-Bishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa, and even though it may have had some flaws, I believed it helped a nation “bleed” and helped overt a bloody civil war that could have destroyed South Africa and could have killed tens of thousands.

 
The wise statesman, Nelson Mandela, as the father of a new South Africa encouraged Tutu to do this. These incredible leaders helped save the nation from horrible destruction in the 1990’s. Victims and families of deceased victims faced their oppressors in very painful meetings, and with the promise of immunity, the oppressors told the truth of the crimes they had committed or conspired to commit.
The nation had to have a time to bleed before it could heal. South Africa still has many problems to overcome today, but I doubt if any person of color would want to go back to those segregationist apartheid days of white oppressors brutally ruling them.

 
A tremendous opportunity to accept the darkness of our collective history and to proceed, without delay, with reconciliation and rebuilding our relationships, reconcile our difference, heal the nation, then move forward. Let’s not let it slip away. We can have a Fair Country

Culture….

Mr President, there is no gainsaying that we, as a people, are losing our identity, both individually and collectively. A people who do not know their identity are a lost people and as such will become blind followers of others whom they do not know; or, who have no relation to them.

This is why we see our young ones, in seeking to identify with others, mainly the West, lose all sense of respect and dignity. Take for instance the bane referred to as ‘yuutal’ which is when young men loosen their belts and walk around semi-naked on our streets. Funnily and worryingly, even girls now do this.

Mr President, the Wolof have a saying ‘Ku wacca sa anda, anda boo dem fekka ca borom’. Roughly translated this will mean ‘Whoever leaves your seat/culture/role/responsibility; whichever of these you approach elsewhere you will find the owner/owners on it. Thus, we must take ownership of our culture and traditions.

There appears to be a total disconnect between our people and our tradition and cultural values. When one looks at the way things are evolving in the world today, one will certainly realize that our cultural values and traditional norms are facing an onslaught from globalisation. The world, it seems, is shrinking into a hamlet. What used to be heard of in distant lands can now be viewed and experienced in our own sitting rooms.

What is responsible for this and what can we do to solve the problem and thus avoid the total loss of our culture, tradition and identity?

One of the greatest causes of this loss of identity is the lack of nationalism and patriotism which in turn are effects of lack of knowledge of our culture and tradition. I will just give one example: a few days ago I heard a lot of talk and appreciation about the Kañeleng in the Gambia. Many wrote about it as if they were hearing about it for the first time. All this was because a lady from the West had come here and did some research about it. But the Kañeleng is not new here; the only problem is that Gambians do not celebrate Gambianness.

We have the National Centre for Arts and Culture which was poorly funded during the previous regime. This Centre should be given due priority by being adequately funded to further its work of preserving and disseminating our tradition, culture and heritage.

Mr President, the government should task the University of the Gambia to conduct extensive research on varying subjects relating to our past, our culture, our tradition, our heritage. Then this knowledge, which will be empirical,   should be filtered down to the ordinary people. There are so many ways to do this but the fastest and most reliable and sustainable way is through the use if our education system.

The Ministry of Higher Education and that of Basic and Secondary Education, should collaborate with the National Centre for Arts and Culture and the University of the Gambia to find a way of making all the knowledge gained in such work filter down to the ordinary person so as to avoid the unpleasant consequences of a total loss of our cultural heritage and identity.

In this manner, we will regain our identity and be proud of who we are. It is only when we do that that we will be able to take our rightful position in the global setting. Every country is trying to consolidate its position and we, on the other hand, are trying to move away from ours. We must not let this continue.

Have a Good Day Mr President…

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Sovereign Citizen

Change is here at last. Actually, what has really changed? The most noticeable is the freedom of speech and assembly. Goloh is also replaced by Barrow. So did the cabinet too. The rest is just as Goloh left it, the instructions, institutions and practices. I do not need to belabour myself to ascertain my claim. Amadou Colley, former Governor of Central Bank is a clear manifestation. He told the BBC when asked why he was relieved off his duty, “We received our letters today without giving us any reason for our sacking, only stating ‘Your services have been terminated with immediate effect'”. Very Jammeh like. Albeit no one is testing the validity of his relief, many disputed the procedure particularly of not informing him the reason of his dismissal.

As such, Eden Sharp, stated thus: “The idea of just telling someone, ‘you’ve been relieved of your duties’ without giving reasons like Yahya Jammeh used to do is wrong. Let the new government understand that we are no longer in a dictatorship and as such democratic practices must be made the order of the day. And let no one say it’s minor, a mountain is made up of small stones.” This autocratic practice is not the change we yarn for. Similarly, you change recycles old wines in new bottles in key government postings which has not helped to foster the desired change. Worst of all, some enablers of the dictatorship are still collecting fat paychecks on the sweat of the oppressed taxpayers. President Barrow, that is neither the change we fought for nor the one you promised us.

 
Corruption and blatant abdication of duty are still trendy under your leadership. What is even more disturbing is the criminals shamelessly mash it on their victims faces by bragging “Nothing will come out of it” as it they are the embodiment of omnipotent. The Bakau Police Station handling of Rambo Jatta’s assault on two vulnerable women is an ample example. The allegations levelled on the police is serious and unsettling. How do you expect civilian to respect and trust the police when they openly bin dispensation of duty for an old fashion TV set, Mr President? Here again I will reference Eden Sharp, “We tend to associate evil along the lines of some great chilling events, but no, evil prevails in our society through seemingly inconsequential events that slowly deaden our moral senses. The day we hold each other accountable for our various roles in allowing or helping injustice destroy our country is the day we will begin our journey proper towards a better Gambia for all of us.” The dude is on point Mr President. Hon Mai Ahmad Fatty has to appreciate mere rhetorics alone cannot drive the change he keeps drumming for the security concerns. He must set precedence with the Bakau Police Station officers from the Station Officer down to the constable that no Gambian is above the law. Moreover, all are equal and deserve equal opportunity to fair treatment.

 
If it is not NAWEC, it will be the Police or the Ferry. How long shall this go on Mr President? No one is saying don’t count your steps but sometimes urgency requires skipping the count and walking the walk. Some of these issues that we brush aside as insignificant come back to cause lasting damages to progress and your leadership competence.

 
Yes accountability, transparency and probity. Great pillars of good governance. We muster them a lot but hardly live them. Your declaration of assets. What is delaying it? Please don’t say you counting your steps first, Mr President? Lot of water is passing under the bridge and we looking the other side but whenever it floods, some heads will duck in the sand.

Sulayman Jeng
Birmingham, UK

Perception Is Important in Politics….

There is a lot of talk in town, and on social media on the issue of the distribution of key positions in your government. Some people are of the view that certain ethnic groups are being favoured while others are marginalized. I do not necessarily share this view because, for me, it’s more a question of demographics than intentional nepotism.

I have written before that those who have some idea of probability in math will know that because of our demography, it is likely that certain ethnic groups may appear to be the favoured ones when it comes to government employment, particularly in the key positions. This is actually not difficult to fathom; but, as you know our nation still has a long way to go in educating the majority of our populace, there is a large percentage of Gambians who are uneducated. These people depend on secondary opinions to form their view on our body polity.

The truth is that, in the Gambia, our demography is such that no single ethnic group can singly sway the direction of politics. We need each other, depend on each other, work with each other, and do everything together in order to achieve our goals. This was clearly demonstrated during the struggle to defenestrate the former president. We came together as Gambians, not on any lines of division, but Gambians and worked assiduously to claim our country back.

Now that that battle is over, and it is time to share the national cake, the ugly head of division has started raising its head in many forms. We see people raising concerns that their ethnic group is marginalized, others say that the replacing of some heads of parastatals is biased, others see that the rehiring of people illegally dismissed by the former government is biased, and all sorts of divisions. Some appear genuine, while many are simply perceived.

The truth is Mr President, we need to make it known to our people that being appointed to government position is not a means of making money or honour, or favour. Rather, the appointment is a call to serve your country and contribute your quota to national development. So long as we don’t see work as an opportunity to serve, rather than make money, our development will be smailslow.

Mr President… from henceforth, we must promote our commonalities rather than ficus on our differences. No nation can develop who sees its people as segments and groupings. That has to be imprinted in the Gambian psyche to ensure that our unity is maintained and preserved. In fact, the idea of counting the number of different ethnic groups in primary, junior and senior secondary schools has to stop. It might have had its uses but those are outdated and counterproductive. These only promote our differences rather than our similarities.

I think we need a communication roadmap which will look into these issues and then effective methods should be used to disseminate the views of the Government – which by the way should be equality before the law – to the people. This roadmap should produce a concept which is as inclusive as possible, not leaving out anyone or any group; rather, it should only show one nation, one people, and one Gambia. This should be sold to the Gambian people as a whole who should also take ownership of the concept. That is how we will be reunited!

Have a Good Day Mr President…

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Sovereign Citizen

Congratulations, Abdoulie Fatty! I have read with interest, which I always do when I read or hear your statements about the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, your statement on The Standard issue of 10 May 2017. Your statements are always of interest to me because they are an important threat to national security and the peace of this country. Therefore, you should not always be left alone when you make these type of statements. In 2014, I admonished you through this same medium (The Standard) that you have to be careful but you have not taken heed. May be I should give you a stronger warning this time.

Mr. Fatty, the Holy Qur’an has commanded believers that they should always speak the right word/truth even if it is against themselves or their kith and kin. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), whose life is a perfect reflection of the Holy Qur’an, has also admonished believers that they should say the right word or keep quiet. As a Muslim that you claim and always try to portray, I expected that you would always obey and respect the Qur’anic commands and the Prophet’s (saw) instructions so that peace will always prevail. Unfortunately, you have not exhibited that. May be you have not come across the commandments on truthfulness both in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. If you do not, please try to read the Qur’an and the Ahadith and study the Sunnah carefully once again. But if you have read them and deliberately ignored them, then I sincerely urge you to engage in Istighfaar (seeking forgiveness from Allah).

According to The Standard, you said, “There is only two recognized religions in the Gambia, Islam and Christianity, and that if there is any other religion, it might have proclaimed itself.” I know for certain that the state does not recognize any religion as far as the Gambia is concerned. In fact, wherever a state attempts to recognize a religion and ban others, such a state would definitely overstep the boundaries and violate the fundamental human rights of the people living in that state. The state in that case also puts itself in the position of God. Abdoulie Fatty, which authority recognizes Islam and Christianity as the only “religions in the Gambia”? Let me tell you and you must get this fact straight that what is recognized in the Gambia is this, “Everyone shall have the right to freedom to practice any religion and to manifest such practice”, Section 25 (1) (c) of the Constitution of the Republic of the Gambia. What is the source of the so-called recognition that you mentioned? Do you have another constitution apart from the 1997 Constitution? I would not be surprised if you had one because you are a potential Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi of the Gambia. If you indeed are a custodian of Islam, then Islam would definitely be in a pitiable state because you have blatantly violated the Qur’anic injunction about saying the right thing. Let me tell you emphatically that Ahmadiyyat is Islam and this point will be elaborated later in this little piece of advice to you.

The other statement you made was “The Tallinding cemetery incident last week is not the first of its kind, and I believe it is high time the Supreme Islamic Council wrote a letter to the government to tell them they don’t recognize the Ahmadis as Muslims.” Why does the Supreme Islamic Council have to write a letter to the government to tell them that Ahmadis are not Muslims, when you have already said that Ahmadiyyat is not a recognized religion in the Gambia? If Ahmadis are not recognized, obviously the government should have already known, so why not save yourself the trouble of writing a letter?

You said that the Supreme Islamic Council should write a letter to the government to tell them that the Supreme Islamic Council (SIC) “don’t recognize the Ahmadis as Muslims”. Are you telling me that the right to define someone’s religion lies with another person? So SIC has the right to determine who is or is not a Muslim? Who has given you and the SIC that authority? Let me just give you a small lesson here. It is a basic lesson on Islam but you seem not to know it. It is only Allah Almighty and His Prophet Muhammad (saw) who have the authority to define Islam and to declare someone a Muslim. For this Islamic Studies 101 lesson, go with this message: the words and sayings of Muhammad Rasoolullaah (saw) have been compiled and saved in several books of Hadith, among which Sahih Bukhari is the most authentic. In this book it is stated that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) said that anyone who calls himself a Muslim, is a Muslim. Ahmadi Muslims, as you know very well, call themselves Muslims. In light of the judgment of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), Ahmadis are therefore verified Muslims. I sincerely hope that your ego is not larger than the verdict of the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad Rasoolullaah (saw). End of Islamic Studies 101 for today. If you need more lessons on basic Islamic Studies, I will be readily available to help you out. Let me now talk to you about the other issues.

Another point you have to understand about takfir (declaring others as disbelievers) is that it is a serious matter in Islam. Anybody or any organisation engaged in such activity definitely thinks that he is above the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (saw). Or by any chance, do such people and individuals think they are the Lord of the Day of Judgment? Maybe they do. Because it is only Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (saw) who have the authority to define a Muslim. If anyone or any organization assumes the authority/power of Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (saw), then they have to consult a good psychiatrist because that person or organization seems to be bubbling with the unfulfilled desire of being recognized as God. This is a psychological issue and they definitely need help and I wish them a speedy recovery.

The other thing you have to know is that the SIC is an organization just like any other organization in this country. It has no right or mandate to say who is or is not a Muslim. I, Tahir Ahmad Touray, recognize it as an association the way I recognize some other non-governmental organisations. Period. It is not an organ of the government. It is not and you must get that. I think you are impersonating the State. Do not use the name of the State in your affairs. I know for certain that you were used by the government past regime. Were you paid for your services by the taxpayers money? You played a very significant role in the Jammeh regime.

You also said, “I am saying this because the Christians never encounter such problems with the Muslims in Tallinding with regard to burial rites because they have their own cemetery.” You further said, “to settle the matter the Ahmadis should look for their own cemetery as dictated by the Prophet with regards to people with different faith.” It appears you do not understand the basic lesson I taught you. Ahmadis are Muslims and that is why they have to be buried in the Muslim cemeteries. Christians, as you know, are a different religion. If you do not want to be buried in the same cemeteries with Ahmadis, why not look for your own instead of asking Ahmadis to look for their own? We as Ahmadis already have our own, and do you where they are?—Every Muslim cemetery in the Gambia is ours because we are Muslims.

You have tried to condemn violence and terror as reported by The Standard. You said that Islam’s name has been stained by a few extremists who have used the name of Islam to commit heinous crimes. Kunu kantalaa buka a yaa je! You are one of them. Tell me what makes you different from them. If you are not an extremist then there is no extremist in this world. Remember that in 1997 you justified the act of killing of innocent Ahmadis. In 2014, you said that Ahmadis should be banned in the Gambia. In 2015, the SIC, an association you belong to, said that an Ahmadi must be exhumed from a cemetery in Tallinding. And on 10 May 2017 The Standard reported as saying that Ahmadis should not be buried in the common Muslim cemeteries. What more do you need to be classified as an extremist?

Abdoulie Fatty, I know you have been trying since 1997 to gain popularity by labelling Ahmadis as non-Muslims. That is where your popularity lies. A cheap popularity! Why not look for a better vocation? Inciting fitna should not be a vocation of someone who considers himself a custodian of Islam. You have succeeded in orchestrating fitna by getting closer to the government during the last regime. You are trying to find a way to attach yourself to the present government so that you can continue your divisive vocation. I pray that Allah protect the Gambia from any fitna you are brewing. Aameen.

Mr. Fatty, I am advising you from the bottom of my heart. Do not let yourself be used by some powers in the name of Islam. That is a very serious crime. How much is your stipend this time? You remember the meetings that were held in different countries by the powers sometime in 1997? Well, your attack on the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at in June or July 1997 followed those secret meetings. It was in the last few decades, Abdoulie Fatty, that your ideology (Wahabbism) started growing very fast through the building of schools and mosques throughout the world from charities gathered from Saudi Arabia through the support of the Kingdom. Scholarships are also provided to thousands of students to study in Saudi Arabia where they are of course indoctrinated with Wahabbism so that when they go back to their countries they propound Saudi supremacy in Islamic affairs. Many Muslims have benefitted and are still benefitting from such scholarships and I believe many Gambians have benefitted and are still benefitting from such scholarships.

Mr. Fatty, you are treading a dangerous path: the path of ‘control through destabilization’. Through that game, vulnerable countries are selected by some powers. These vulnerable countries usually are countries that are politically fragile and have some economic challenges. The Gambia is very fragile because it has just emerged from a whirlpool of tyranny and of course has some economic challenges. Those who want it destabilized will pay whatever it takes to buy over a willing Mullah like yourself and the power whose political ideology you are selling have more than enough money to spend and spare in order to achieve their political ambitions. This is an age old agenda by the Power to achieve political hegemony over all Muslim countries, beginning obviously with those who are more desperate for money and can more conveniently be destabilized. The Gambia apparently is on the top of that list. Control through destabilization. Be careful Abdoulie Fatty! You know that whatever you are saying is for the fulfillment of the political ambitions of some Power.

I have more to say but I will stop here for now. Be very very careful. My ink is not yet dry and there is more to be known about you by the Gambian people.

Long live the progress, peace and prosperity of the Gambia.

Long live the Gambia.

Written by:

A Humble servant and lover of the Gambia

Tahir Ahmad Touray