While trying very hard to stay focused on revising my 22 reasons for Jammeh not to run for a fifth term, I can’t help being bombarded with and distracted by questions. For example is it not hypocritical of me to call Jammeh my godfather, flash his pictures all over my blog and promise to be his post-president security officer while at the same time calling on him to quit? Why am I challenging him now and not earlier? And what is my position on the “struggle”. In this blog post, I will seek to answer these questions starting with why Jammeh is my godfather.

A few months after I was appointed as the ADC to President Jammeh, we were in Kanilai when one of his orderlies called me aside and told me that a senior officer was briefing Jammeh on me and the officer said that the only security lapse on my part is that I abandon my duties to go to the mosque during prayer times. The orderly then advised me to skip my prayers during duties and to stick with the group at all times. The response I gave to him is too profane to repeat on this medium.

Anyway, a few weeks after that, I was in the State House mosque for prayers when a soldier notified me that I was called by President Jammeh so I went straight into his office. When he asked me why I entered his office in slippers, I told him that I was coming from the mosque. Jammeh then said to me: “well, there is only one thing that will not disappoint you in this world and in the next and that is your prayers” and he advised me never to compromise my prayers. Although I had already pledged to put my life on the line for him, that was the day Jammeh won my total respect and loyalty and those feelings are intact up to today.

However, in spite of my person feelings of loyalty, admiration and respect for Jammeh, I sincerely believe that democracy and limited presidential term limits is important for peace, security, unity and development for the Gambia and all other African countries. In this regards, my position is that, Jammeh has over-stayed in power and needs to give way for a new dispensation.

For those who view such a position as hypocrisy or sitting on the fence, do you sincerely want to tell me that you have never disagreed and stood up against someone that you care for and respect such as your parent, sibling, spouse, boss, neighbor or friend etc?

Another question I am asked is why am I challenging Jammeh now and not earlier such as prior to the 2011 presidential elections. The answer to that question is very obvious. At that time, I was an officer of the Gambia Armed Forces and a disciplined and professional soldier does not call on his commander-in-chief to step down from office. In which Armed Forces in the world would you find a soldier on active service blogging on national politics? That is a privilege only for civilians and as a private citizen, I chose to exercise my right to freedom of thought and expression through blogging.

Perhaps the most critical question I am being asked is whether or not I am a member of the “struggle”. That really depends on the meaning of the term “struggle” and its modus operandi. If being a member simply means “a person who desires political change in the Gambia” and the modus operandi is based on the principles of peace, security, decorum, the rule of law and democracy, then I am a full-fledged member. If however, the conditions for membership to the “struggle” is to sling mud at each other and to throw profanities, criticisms and allegations at Jammeh and at our national institutions, then I am not a member of the struggle.

Whether we accept it or not, there are thousands and thousands of Gambians like me who have no anger or hatred against Jammeh and his governing institutions but who do not like the existing state of affairs in our country and are determined to actively participate in bringing about a positive change. For anyone to claim that it is either their way or the highway is being undemocratic and resentful of the principles of diversity and inclusion which is a bedrock of Western Societies in which a significant number of our compatriots are residing in peace and dignity. After all, The Gambia, like all societies in the world, is composed of people with divergent views, experiences and ways of doing things. We will therefore make a rapid progress towards our common destiny if we learn to accept and respect our diversities and differences in opinion and actions.

In conclusion, I took up blogging as my preferred method to add my little voice to the discourse on contemporary issues affecting the Gambia especially in this important year of presidential elections. I believe that the Gambia is at a very important political cross-road and that 2016 is the year of change for the Gambia because that is what the majority of the Gambians want and I am optimistic that we will achieve that through the ballot box.

Furthermore, I also believe with total conviction that the majority of Gambians are a happy, peaceful, forgiving and God-fearing people and these attributes will overcome any disappointments, rancor, frustrations or anger that they may have against the Second Republic. Therefore, the only blood that will be spilled on Gambian soil in December 2016 is that of livestock and cattle as we celebrate the advent of a new government.

Long love the Republic of The Gambia and long live our peace, security and harmonious co-existence. Together, we can make Gambia smile better!!!!

Lamin Gano

The tiny sliver of Africa’s smallest country is wedged into Senegal, and is seen as
a piece in its side, or the tongue that makes it speaks, depending on who you talk
to. The Gambia is a country with beaches that invite visitors to bask and hang
around. Moreover, the small fishing villages, nature reserves, and the navigable
river that start from the Atlantic Ocean going down the inland is dotted with
small wildlife and on a leisurely river cruise and makes it the bird lovers utopia.

Above all it is call the smiling coast West Africa because the way the river
empties to the ocean. “Gambia may not be big but its people are renowned for
their ability to live together, for natural friendliness and dignity and for their
innate common sense and good humor” Berkeley Rice. So what happened in the
last 21years that we lost such a wonderful qualities? Is mind-blowing to the
whole world. The country is hold hostage by one man, which was done
systematically by breaking down all the fabrics of the society through neglect,
oppression, and exploitation by an institution headed by nobody but Yaya
Jammeh.

 
The Agricultural sector which is economic backbone of the country and
employed about 70% of the population has had heaviest hit, where the
Government’s inability purchase the ground-nut of farmers resulted in the
collapse of trickle-down economics. The consequence of which reduce many
families in to extreme poverty. Secondly, the Tourism Industry that provide
employment to many youths have suffered tremendously due to the frequent vile
statements delivers by the President to the west in regards to their culture and
lifestyles and culminated in the reduction of the tourist visiting the country, as
security becomes an issue.

The ramifications from the above policies and the
worsening of Human Rights condition have upshot the mass exodus young men,
making a treacherous journey by land and sea out of Gambia to Europe. Many
perished in the Sahara either from the maltreatment from human traffickers or
succumb to illness without any intervention onsite. The few who were lucky to be
alive and to have crossed the Mediterranean and reach Italy, only few of them
will have official status or the right documents, most are short of money and
don’t know how they will survive, but all hope they will find a safe haven, be it
temporary or permanent, in a continent that seems soothing, profitable and
secure. And for some, the fortunate minority, that is indeed what they will find.

 
They will be taken care of. But many who are desperate, vulnerable, and ever
fearful of deportation as illegal immigrants, they will be forced to live on the
margins, to go wherever they can, and take on whatever work they can get to
survive. And that lead them to wide open to exploitation. They need money and
work, as a result, at the mercy of the farmers and landowners to pick their
tomatoes and because of their unofficial recognition and permission to stay in
Europe or worried about being sent home have no other option but to offer their
unlicensed labor. They are often badly exploited, paid a meager amount for long,
exhausting hours in the stifling hot sun and left to fend for themselves in
abandoned and ruined farm buildings or filthy temporary ghettos made of pick up
plastic sheeting with no sanitation or running water. In addition, they have no
employment contracts, no rights or legal protection, cannot complain or object
otherwise they won’t be employed at all. After fleeing Gambia to seek asylum in
Europe, selling their family assets, a long and dangerous journey, only to find
themselves in the tomatoes fields of Italy. These are realities that most of our
young men found themselves in, a life almost akin to slavery.

 
The Back Way syndrome has secondary effect, created vacuum of unavailability
of eligible marriage partners for our sisters, many will be waiting in the reserve
because there is no husband to be married to. The few who have one, majority of
the times have to settle for a polygamous setting where the husband is twice their
age. The other who drop out of school due to lack of funding, have camp around
the tourism industrial area looking for their luck with a working class European
tourist whose only advantage over them, is the purchasing power of their
currency.

Most of these people endure all kind of abuse from physical to
emotional and they have to settle for it because there is no other way out.
Furthermore, out of desperation and living in a country where the private sector is
dead, due to lack of conducive environment for foreign investment resulted the
dubious recruitment of our sisters to work as maid in the Middle East, where they
are at the mercy of their employers who has total control them. They often endure
grueling long hours of works from dawn to dusk and no days off and should they
decide to break away from employment contract, an exorbitant fees are levied
against them which almost impossible to afford. Moreover, another group that
works the street mostly at the dark of the night, looking for a potential partner for
a brief sexual encounter to be able to put a meal on the table. In addition, most of
these girls are breadwinners of their families, either their parents are under
employed or too poor to provide for their families.

These are the realities, some
Gambians face because they don’t have a brother or sister in abroad who could
commit to monthly remittance to sustain the family. These are consequence of
society, when all its social or morale fabrics gone down the drain, when the
religious leader are recruited as cheerleaders to legitimized a system, when
everybody is waiting for Almighty Allah to come down from the clouds and take
away all the pain and suffering so that everybody can be fine and live happily
ever after. Gambians are very proud people, they may not be rich but they do take
a pride in how raise their family (feed, clothe and send them to school so that
they can become responsible citizens) and their remaining time is spent on
worshipping their creator until death befall them, however, the 21 years of
AFPRC AND APRC rule have destroyed almost all the pride that we call
ourselves Gambian.

The Back Way young men may never be united with our
sisters in an institution of marriage and the results are breakdown of family life
and alarming rise of illegitimacy. And no one knows what end of the story will be
but up to you and me.

OUSMAN JARRA

I am one of those who even with all the scientific findings in the world, can never truly believe that women are not more innately compassionate than men and that we are just not more naturally wired to be kinder and to feel emotions deeper. Bring me all the scientific findings damning my claims and I will close my mind to all their theoretical analyses and hard results and will stick with my ‘maternal empirical data.’

 
If African presidents, rulers, dictators, tyrants and self-claimed rulers-of-mountains-skies-earth-and national rivers, who are mostly men, are lost in the sweet bosom of power; the women in their lives: wives, mothers and sisters ought to know better. These women closest to these leaders ought to know and do better by guiding them. I very much can understand and empathize (yes, even with dictators) with the huge responsibilities they shoulder. Nation building is not easy. Running a home can be challenging let alone a nation and I am even more empathetic towards African leader’s plight due to the fact that the people they are to lead are particularly complex. Ask an average African on the street if they would let their children marry into another ethnic group different from theirs and they will likely say, they would rather they not.

 
We are not unified amongst ourselves; ask a mother how difficult it is pacifying and mediating between her children fighting over a toy and she will tell you, she is exhausted and frustrated. I can therefore understand the issues African leaders must face to lead a nation of people who see themselves as Mandinka, Ibibio, Mande, Olof, Igbo (Ibo), Hausa, Zulu, Oromo, Fulani, Bambara, Bapedi, Tutsi, Yoruba, Tiv, Ijaw, Hutu first before they recognize themselves by their respective nationalities and even African.

 
Africa has over 3,000 different ethnic groups. According to an article, Nation, Tribe and Ethnic Group in Africa on www.culturalsurvival.org, “The Oromo, 60% of Ethiopia’s population, with a different language, culture, religion and history, do not accept their lot within the empire. They, as well as other groups within Ethiopia, see the Amhara-dominated government as an illegitimate, colonial government similar to the government of South Africa. Africans, too, can be colonizers…”
One has to understand that the idea of nationhood was foreign to most Africans until the good ole colonizers landed on our shores. Therefore, our ethnicities are what define(d) us. Our ‘blood lines’ still make us feel superior towards each other. The reality is that in modern day Africa, we still brag about belonging to a particular ethnic group as if our blood color is different. Now, show me a White European who pledges alliance to being viking, Celtic, Flemish, or even considers themselves, Caucasoid first before claiming to be European?

 
It is because of this burden of ruling over people who are divided amongst themselves and place ethnicity alliance over nation building that I can empathize with the contemporary African leader. You see, where there are unwilling subjects, brute force likely comes in. I say brute because when African leaders are tired of talking and warning, they terrorize. And very quick they are at that as well. The idea of a judicial process is still new to us; the force feeding of the European Justice system used to divide and conquer us has left a bitter taste in our mouths. Before the Europeans came, we self-mediated successfully and the concept of prison was even foreign to us. Amongst our clans, we always found a solution. The worst for a man was to be outcaste or worst yet, driven out of their village God forbid!

 
In his article, Concepts of Social Justice in Traditional Africa, Alyward Shorter states, “Throughout traditional Africa there were no codes of positive law, and society did not make laws, in any literal sense. Decisions concerning social control, and collective decisions taken for the good of the community, were based on cases or precedents. Custom was the guide to present action.”
Therefore, most African leaders are torn between social justice and judicial justice. New African leaders still have a mistrust of the European style judicial system which they secretly abhor for the fact that the probability of them falling victim to it is highly likely as in the case of the ICC set aside for mostly African leaders. Hence their heavy-handedness comes into play even with the threat of the looming ICC dock. As force is associated with control, African leaders often use it oftentimes with good intentions in their minds but it inevitably turns them into beasts.

 
When we speak out against them, our leaders brutalize us; imprison us; exile us; threaten us; and continue to steal our infrastructure resources to fund sinful luxuries. Their private planes zoom over national hospitals with one or only two oxygen tanks let alone modern utilized facilities. They throw repulsive birthday parties next door to people living in hole filled roofs. Yet their women are silent.
The same women that know better and still refuse to do better. Their children who go to private European or American schools and learn about the American revolution, the suffrage movement, civil liberties and its importance in nation building still even more silent. Will these daughters in particular not tell their fathers that we are dying? Will these wives that ‘admire Michelle Obama’ so much as one African leader’s wife gushed, during a birthday toast to her dear husband not tell him that his people are not happy. She knows better to admire Michelle. She knows that Michelle will not marry or hopefully stay married to a man who turns into a monster (some truth to the fact that most African leaders initially have good intentions but turn into monsters due to the sweet nectar of power).

 
When their beloved husbands start throwing people indiscriminately in jail then these women must speak up. When their husbands are holding minors without charge for months, these women must speak up. When their husbands are reneging on their promises by now wanting to change the constitution to seek a third term, these women must speak up. When their husbands are cherry picking and prosecuting members of the opposition when they promised that they would help heal the country’s wounds, then these women must speak up. When their husbands’ militia are seen on national TV, dragging a female opposition member on the road to point of nudity, these women must speak up. When their husbands are plundering their country’s coffers, these women must speak up.

 
The writing is on the wall. One cannot ignore the great injustices these men they claim to love are committing. Democracy or not, the manhandling and mistreatment of one’s population is unacceptable. The women in these leader’s lives see exemplary leadership forms around them in the world hence they know what good leadership should be or aspire to be. One must see the good in Michelle Obama to admire her so greatly, therefore, please do us a favor, shift your husband towards emulating the leadership style of Obama. Have your husband allow us civil liberties American freely brag about. Please dear African first ladies, first daughters, women of the first family, please guide your men to order. We want to breathe. They are choking us!

KAT’s Take

Every election cycle the opposition is confronted with the same challenge: how do they give an effective challenge to the incumbent in the absence of an alliance? Unfortunately, they have never been able to put their differences aside and come up with the alliance strategy that people have demanded, which resulted in losing the last three elections and the continuation of dictatorship in the Gambia. In the process, the opposition parties relationship have suffered in the trust department, and their most vocal supporters in the Diaspora have given up in the electoral process as a vehicle to bring an end to tyranny in the Gambia. As a consistent advocate for the utilization of the electoral route to effect change, in my last write up I have raised the possibility of whether the biggest party-UDP has what it takes to go it alone. In that same vein, knowing the situation we are in 2016: the age disqualification of the UDP most electable leader, should we not look at the presidential candidate from PDOIS for the answer to take on the APRC party to effect change?

 
The APRC party under Jammeh is at its weakest, and it is also no secret that Gambians have given up on them. The issue lies in what the alternative are going to offer. Are the opposition parties going to pursue the same losing strategy of going it alone, which evidently will lead to voter apathy and the reelection of the APRC; or for once forge an alliance that will be seen as a credible force that can defeat the incumbent. It is also important to realize that the removal of Jammeh and the APRC regime is indeed a big step in our quest to bring democracy, but the mere replacing of Jammeh does not guarantee that for once the Gambia will build the needed foundation for democracy and rule of law. We as a people can replace tyranny, and in the process also build the much needed institutions of democracy, so that we do not have to fight it again in the future. There is absolutely no doubt that Halifa’s candidacy can give us the alliance for an all opposition party in a transitional frame work, and guarantee us the chance to make the amendments necessary during a transitional unity Government, which will result to the building blocks of a genuine democracy. Having work in the effort to bring an alliance of all the parties in the last several years, I am well aware of the difficulty of bringing all the opposition parties behind PDOIS’s leader Halifa as the alliance leader.

PDOIS is one of the oldest parties, and has never been able to garner more than five percent of the vote, which goes to the heart of the issue of electability. In addition, there is a perception that PDOIS has not been very supportive or flexible in regards to, for instance, opened to supporting the UDP’s party leader, who in the past has demonstrated the most electable among the opposition parties. Clearly, the aforementioned history makes it difficult to convince the most needed party-UDP to overlook what happen in the past, and take the lead in supporting PDOIS and Halifa’s candidacy as a short term strategy to effect change. However, a solid agreement should be looked at by all the opposition parties, especially the UDP. For instance, central to this agreement could be the following: a one year transitional Govt. that will only focus on constitutional changes, like term limits and programs and changes that will sanitized the twenty one year nightmare that Gambia and Gambians have endured; calling for a multi-party elections that the transitional leader will not participate; and the creation of an independent judiciary and independent election commission that would forever give Gambians the power to effect change and the protection of citizen’s rights.. If there is one party and leader that would keep his word to any agreement sign onto would be Halifa Sallah.

 
It would be very easy to dismiss the above plan, or even come up with other plans that could be equally effective in defeating Jammeh. But, it is also a fact that if the UDP and PPP were to back the candidacy of Halifa Sallah, this will give it a credible alliance that can bring people to the polls, and most importantly the surest way of creation of the building blocks of a genuine democracy. In conclusion, it is going to take an alliance of the main opposition parties, and the reliance of a party that would keep its word to any agreement, for the Gambia to have a genuine chance to effect change and the building blocks of the institutions of democracy. For the majority of us, maybe it will have to take holding our noses to do it. If I may borrow a quotation from Lindsey Graham, Senator from South Carolina and former presidential candidate for the Republican party: “asking me to support either Trump or Ted Cruz come down to taking poison or getting shot, either way you end up dead”. Now, that same Linsey understands the dynamics of the race and has finally decided reluctantly that he does not care for Cruz, but is prepared to do whatever it takes to support him in order to save the Republican Party. We as a people should do whatever it takes to save our homeland.
Thank you
Musa Jeng

A number of criticisms and labels are made against Gambians in the diaspora (GD henceforth) especially those in Europe and North America. One of those criticisms is that when it comes to Gambian politics, GD are as disunited and uncooperative as the opposition political parties in the country. These differences are played out daily on the various diasporian fora such as online newspapers/ radios, blogs, Facebook pages and other social media. For the purpose of this blog post, I will highlight just two.

The first difference in my opinion is on political affiliations. One way to notice the different political affiliations of GD is through our different online radios/newspapers. While one media house is busy glorying and representing Halifa and the PDOIS as the best option and deligitimizing all the others, another media group will be riding on the PPP platform and claiming that OJ is the promised Messiah of the Gambia. At the same time, you will hear another media entity claiming that the only opposition party that can take on Jammeh is the mighty UDP. I even recently heard from a pundit that the UDP does not even need a coalition and will kick Jammeh out of the State House in December 2016. Some even claim that Hamat Bah is the main man as he has abandoned his cows for the love of country.

The second area of difference among GD is on the method on how to bring about a political change in the Gambian. There are different groups including the following:

The No Fifth Term Group: Members of this group believe that Jammeh has completely expired and therefore he must step down immediately to pave way for a free and fair elections amongst the rest of the opposition parties. If Jammeh fails to step down, then they are calling for a total boycott of the elections.
The Coalition Group: This group does not believe that Jammeh will voluntarily step down and therefore claim that the only way for a political change is for all the opposition parties on the ground to unite and present a single candidate to take on Jammeh.
The Riot Group: This group believes that the political landscape is so skewed in favour of Jammeh that not even a coalition can win against Jammeh. This group is saying no to elections all together and are calling for Gambians to rise up like the Burkinabe did against Blaise Campaore. They believe that a popular uprising will send Jammeh running across the Kanilai-Cassamance border.
The Use of Force Group: This group believes that Jammeh will not step down, that elections cannot take him out and that Gambians are either too peaceful or too scared of death to rise up against Jammeh. So they believe that the only way to bring about change is through the barrel of the gun.
The Peace, Security and Democracy Group: This is the group where I belong. We also believe that the Second Republic has indeed expired and that the majority of Gambians are craving for a Third Republic so badly that there is no way Jammeh can win in December 2016. But unlike all the other groups, we firmly believe that The Gambia can and will have a peaceful political change through the ballot box and not through the barrel of a gun. We believe in peace, security and democracy.
My opinion about the GD is that their differences is actually not a sign of disunity but that of diversity. Furthermore, the collective desire for a Third Republic among the majority of those in the diaspora is a far stronger uniting factor than their differences. To borrow the quotes of an iconic leader talking on climate change, “what unites us is stronger than what divides us”.

In this regards and based on the fact that our constitution stipulates for us to elect a President every five years, my postulation is that whether Jammeh steps down or not; whether there is a coalition or not; whether there is a popular uprising or not; and as long as the use of force group stays on Facebook and there is no outbreak of armed violence in our country; Gambians will go to the polls on 01 Dec 2016.

Therefore, my challenge to my brothers and sisters in the diaspora is that you must not leave any stone unturned in making sure that you cast your votes on 01 Dec 2016. Our constitution clearly gives every Gambian above the age of 18 (including you the diasporian) the right to vote so therefore you must exercise this right for the first time in 2016. In this age of information technology, every Gambian living abroad who has a passport or an appropriate Identity Card should be able to register and vote with the click of a mouse or a tab on their smart devices. There is no need to fly to Banjul or to a Gambian embassy/consulate. Lack of funds/resources is not an excuse because there are thousands of organizations, agencies, departments and pro-democracy movements that would be more than delighted to finance such a process.

A few months ago, I read on one of the online newspapers that there are about 100,000 Gambians living in the diaspora. Assuming that there are one million Gambians legible to vote this year and one candidate ended up running against Jammeh, just imagine the power of 10% of the votes which is literally in your hands. All that you people have to do is to constitute a small committee of prominent Gambians in the diaspora such as Imam Baba Leigh, Dr. Seedat Jobe and the like to come together, strategize and make it happen.

While hoping that the GD will take up my challenge and make it a success, there is only one caveat to my challenge. Since you people have problems with my comrades-in-arms farming and dancing for my godfather, you must not vote for a Serrer person who will turn them into fisherman!!!

Long live the Republic of The Gambia and long live the peace and security it is so well-known for. Together, we can and we will make the Gambia smile better!!!

Lamin Gano