By Sulayman Jeng, Birmingham

Here is the beginning of another week Your Excellency. Its aura of expectant bliss is peppered by the heartening speeches delivered by your visiting ministers at the London impromptu meeting with their fellow Gambians. Their orations regenerated the truism, “the beauty of a morning is not often in the wholesomeness of the atmosphere but in the hopefulness of one’s thoughts, feelings and how one yearns to outset the day”. As an apolitical activist, I refuse to be on the payroll of politicians and a feeble victim of political thugs. As an upshot, I will hasten to sculpt the political dispensation of your rainbow cut and dry instead of how politicians and their surrogates fancy. If that doesn’t go down well with anyone, then have a word with God.

 
Hon Mai Ahmed Fatty. Candidly, rose to the occasion as a young, determined and zealous minister who conspicuously charted his route to drive in change and development for his ministry. Listening to his speech on Facebook live, my heart palpitated with unqualified love and renewed respect for him despite his many perfect imperfections. No wonder he is the darling of new Gambia. However, he fell short in telling his enthusiastic audience how he intends to resolve the popular call for the removable of the Police Chief and his tainted administration. Perhaps, the audience was mindful of not perturbing the alluring feathers of fierce Hon Mai less they are perceived as uncongenial by him. Lamentably, eschewing uncomfortable truths does not equate loving one’s country or leaders. Barack Obama opined: “Loving this country requires more than singing its praises or avoiding uncomfortable truths. It requires the occasional disruption, the willingness to speak out what is right and shake up the status quo”.

 
Another fascinating progress of your government, Mr President, is the warning of governors to stay apolitical during the forthcoming National Assembly Members election. It is no secret how the former incumbent had utilised governors and government apparatus such as security, media, vehicles and funds to marginalised the opposition. Such laudable impartiality enhances state neutrality and levelling equal opportunity in a viable political field. Furthermore, it entrenches meaningful democratic dispensation. Political parties will now have to scout for sponsors and/or dive deep into their pockets to fund their candidates and campaigns. In a similar development, the news of Nema Project and Gambia Livestock Marketing Agency entering a deal to construct livestock and milk production facilities across the country is enriching. It will not only create more employment for the returning youth force, but equally make dairy products available and affordable for struggling Gambian households.

 
Mr President, for the above developments to be sustained, efforts must be orchestrated in arresting the portentous and divisive political adventurism particularly on the social media by party surrogates. It is creating personality cults where activists with dissenting views from political leaders are terrorised with profanities, peddling mud on reputable characters and exclusion in order to marshal them into a dark valley of silence. Activists who are critical of you and your government are coerced to either join the league of political prostitutes mystifying you for a pin of pleasure or forever remain silent. Mr President, such an unhealthy political climate only profits a few politicians and their thugs at the expense of the majority. Dejectedly, it is also on such stifling atmosphere that repressive dictators are produced. It sickens the heart and deadens the mind to see how new Gambia which is yet to find its democratic feet after emerging from 22 years of repressive bondage treasures such horrific political indulgence. However, I am pleased to inform your Excellency that I rather die standing than continue slaving on my knees.

 
Notwithstanding, you inherited a broken system from a monstrous dictator after a worrisome political impasse, your government needs to set its barometer right by refocusing its lenses. There is battery of evidence to corroborate not only series of costly miss opportunities in amassing exhibits to freeze Jammeh’s assets, apprehend and prosecute alleged suspects but constitutional omissions. One notable instance is where a trained American sociologist picked and fixed a legal blunder committed by a barrister of a government bragging of 3 legal luminaries as cabinet ministers. That in itself is explicitly telling on the kind of system we have. The other regrettable evidence is Hon Omar Jallow’s childish tantrums directed at his fellow cabinet colleagues. In earnest, it demonstrates your ineffectiveness as an impartial supervisor of a rainbow government and the deafening hypocrisy of the coalition cum Tactical anything anything. What is visible from afar is the emergence of deadly sharks jumping from the icy ocean of greed and desperation tethering reputation of innocent citizens in exchange of a photoshoot with the modelling President. Of course I would love a hug and photoshoot with you but it has to be grounded on mutual respect and sincere appreciation of each other’s way of life.

 
Mr President, I will conclude by referencing Famara Drammeh who has this to say:
“I am not against the renewed bilateral cooperation between Gambia and China, however it’s important to make it clear to them that our Fisheries and Timber resources are no go area this time around.
We are losing millions to unsustainable fishing practices, deforestation and Illegal Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU). It’s time to give chance to marine and terrestrial ecosystems to regenerate itself while continuing to provide food security at national level”.

 
Until tomorrow again, Mr President, have a blissful Monday and keep up the good work.

Sulayman Jeng
Birmingham, UK

By Madi Jobarteh

It is two months now since Adama Barrow was sworn in as our Chief Servant. He has almost constituted his entire Cabinet with the exception of the key position of Vice President. He is filling various positions in state enterprises and parastatals. Actions have also been taken to address some of the atrocities of the APRC Tyranny. He already made his first international travel to Senegal and now just returned from another trip to Europe. In essence Adama Barrow is in charge. But where and what is the state of the nation?

 
What the Barrow Administration continues to fail to do is to engage the Gambian people directly to lay out his vision and agenda for the Gambia. In a democracy, the common practice is that when a president is elected, one of your first actions is to speak to the nation either directly or through their parliament. The aim of this address is to explain your defining policy agenda and mission to the people so they know what you intend to do during your tenure. It is to speak to the people to lay out before them in practical terms how you intend to deliver on your campaign promises and manifesto. It is about telling citizens where you found the nation and how you intend to carry it forward.

 
Hence Adama Barrow’s advisers must tell him that he needs to speak to Gambians. It is already long overdue. We want to hear what is his vision for the Gambia. What kind of Gambia does he intend to create and how does he want the people of the Gambia to help him? What is his position regarding the APRC Tyranny in terms of addressing the injustices and atrocities that were committed? Should he, or will he ban or let the APRC continue to exist? We need to hear from him about his mission about the way and manner his government will operate. Will it be an open government or a closed government?

 
The Gambia is at a crossroads. We came out of a 22-year brutal dictatorship. Before that we had a semblance of democracy without empowerment of the people under the First Republic. Now that we have arrived at the doorsteps of the Third Republic, what kind of Gambia does Adama Barrow envisage? At the moment, one can sense some unprecedented animosity in our country based on personality, party and tribe, and it is the responsibility of Barrow to unify and reconcile the country by putting off this sectarian flame. How does he intend to do that? In any case he must realize that this is not a task for only himself and his Cabinet. But all Gambians have a stake in that objective. But how does he intend to get everyone involved to achieve this objective?

 
Barrow must realize that when he speaks to the nation that is in his best interest as it facilitates his governing of this country. This is because when he speaks and shares what is in his heart and mind for the Gambia, then the people begin to know which direction he is heading towards. By knowing that, either people join him in that journey, or we raise issues and concerns to improve his journey. This means he would have created a platform for transparency, accountability and cooperation. History has shown that leaders, who are transparent and accountable, find their tenure more durable, participatory and stable.

 
Barrow’s advisers must tell him that this is the dawn of his tenure and it is good for him to start with best practices. Let him not only learn from our experiences as a country, but let him also learn from the experiences and practices of the rest of the world. Let the advisers tell him that the heart of governance and development is communication with the stakeholders and there is no greater stakeholder than the citizen. Hence let him talk to the citizens to share his vision with them.

 
We must add our voice to tell Barrow that he needs to reflect immensely on his own personal leadership. What kind of leadership is it? At what historic epoch did his leadership emerge? What does he wish to achieve with his leadership? What legacy does he want to leave behind? How does he intend to usher in a New Gambia? What is the meaning of the New Gambia? Is he going to be a transformational leader who inspires, gives hope and mobilizes the people towards the common good? Or is he going to be transactional leader like Yaya Jammeh who used the carrot and stick just to get what he wanted? These are fundamental questions that Barrow needs to think about personally in order to carve out his vision and mission for the Gambia.

 
One thing I can share with him is that his leadership is a bridge. It is a bridge that has taken us from dictatorship and expected to deliver us to democracy. Over the past 50 years of our nationhood, we did not either build the right institutions or the institutions were there but weak because government was centered around personalities. Under Jawara and worse off under Yaya Jammeh. Hence Barrow must realize that his role and legacy is to use his three-year tenure to construct a democratic foundation that will make the Gambia a modern democratic state based on clear and predictable laws and processes and efficient institutions.

 
A modern democratic state is a country in which the laws of the country are human rights-based to ensure freedom, social justice and equality. A modern democratic state is based on institutions and processes that are efficient, accountable and responsive. A modern democratic state is a country where free enterprise and an enabling environment are the foundations for economic wellbeing and wealth creation. A modern democratic state is where public institutions are managed by competent and efficient public officers who deliver efficient and affordable services. A modern democratic state is where citizens have the administrative and legal space to exercise their rights and freedoms in actively participating in the governance and development process of the country.

 
Therefore what kind of Gambia does Adama Barrow intend to build? Let him tell us. Let us not just see and hear decisions and actions being taken. But we need to know on what basis are those decisions and actions taken. Within what framework and for what goal are those decisions and actions being taken? When he tells us this, then we understand him better to support and guide him because governance is a collective duty for all citizens. Government or the presidency is one institution and one person in the governance of a country. Each and every citizen has an equal role to play in different ways.

We want to from you, Adama Barrow about the state of the nation.

God Bless the Gambia.

By Sulayman Jeng, Birmingham

Mba kook…President Barrow ya boys leh koteng. Sometimes in my quest to unrestrainedly understand the rationale of utterances that leave me dazed, I strive to take a quick walk in the person’s mind-set. True, under an ideal and healthy political dispensation, no one would have faulted President Barrow’s admittance that Lawyer Darboe is his father and political godfather. His invocation of the Mandinka dictum that “When one father’s die, there is nothing one can do about it but when one’s father’s compound stands in ruins that punctuates one’s ineptness is equally valid. What actually left me cold was its context, timing and insinuation given the murky political climate hovering over new Gambia. If my inferences are anything to go by, President Barrow is not only insensitive to the brewing political tension under his watch but a mediocre political Muppet.

At this stage, he was expected to debunk the unprecedented accusation and counter accusation, looming tribal politics and chilling profanity shelled at party leaders which will detox the unhealthy political climate. But his youthful pouring out of the heart in praise of Lawyer Darboe only validated his sceptics’ allegations. Perhaps, he meant well but the timing just isn’t appropriate. Many are now left pondering will he efficiently, effectively and impartially treat all his coalition 2016 leaders with the same yardstick?
Party surrogates. What about them? They invoke those merchants who ruthless enter a free market buy out their competitors even if it means deleting them.

Competition breeds efficiency but when it turns nasty, it must be regulated. Honestly, I do not buy the notion that there is something not adding up between Hon Lawyer Darboe and Hon Halifa Sallah. For them, the two personified Tom and Jerry. Privately, I don’t know but from their public interaction, I have not notice any animosity in their body language and conversations. Besides, the two are responsible adults who can settle their own differences without anyone dragging their reputation in the mud. We draw daggers aiming for each other’s throat because I say Halifa this and you say Darboe that while they are amicably getting on well. It is understandable when someone rubbishes you, it is appropriate to defend your integrity responsibly but descending into profanity and unsubstantiated allegations is immoral and unacceptable. Let our our elders resolve their differences in the traditional and ethical way. Moreover, they are humans with frailties. Rever but do not mystify them.

 
Tribal politics and tribalism. Is UDP the only party which has tribalist supporters? Oh hell no. Almost every Gambian has a trait of tribalism in him or her. For some, theirs is dormant and rarely rekindled while other’s are active and vile. Like the caste system which prevented us from inter-marrying is gradually laid to rest, so will tribalism if it is unanimously tackled with maturely, sincerely and honestly instead of aportioning blame to one another. It will foolhardy to dismiss tribalism in our midst as trivial. The imams and priests must also step in to address the demon.

 
Yesterday, Fanta Darboe Jawara reawakened a sleeping monster. As we walked with her through her horrific ordeal, nothing was more just than closing down Mile II and bringing to just all who contributed in her nightmarish experience. Hers was a tip of the iceberg according to her when contrasted with others who the public never heard or seen of enduring years of barbaric dehumanisation under our security forces. I am looking forward to an interesting chat with Hon Mai Ahmed Fatty tomorrow in London.
Mr President, until tomorrow again nin buwaalu mang Allah domo, have a blessed day.