The disjointed nationwide discussion about the December 1st presidential election has drawn plenty of observers now turned experts and the regime old guards—trying to get their arms around our momentum by — loudly weighing in, aspiring to trim our hopes with unparalleled cynicism and pessimism. We keep drying our tears because each time we make tremendous progress, these personalities will throw a thorn in the laurels misaligning everything and amending our hopes. That kind of obfuscation—intentional or not and from either side of the aisle—inhibits our focus on the regime, let alone help us. Although sometimes we are constrained by statements uttered with actual malice becoming a sore spot in our memories, this an unprecedented moment in Gambian history for us to be deterred from our cause, perhaps even more than usual, we have an obligation to weigh necessity against the wishes of the dictatorship whose regime has already severely impaired Gambia. The country as a whole already suffers from a massive backlog of needs but the deplorable daily injustices against our citizens, looms above all others.

The regime hamstrung itself long time ago when they intentionally walked away from the needs of Gambian people. Now they are working on preventing added tensions for a chance to pull themselves out of the gutter by busy shielding their leaders irredeemable deplorable, hoping to mask their records of intolerance, misogyny and pervading feeling of exclusion that does not augur well for our country. Conversely, no amount of boilerplate passionate speeches from the regime can change the political equation because the country is ready for change. These are the only things Yaya Jammeh and his regime are amazingly good at, instead of apologizing to Gambians for failing us. Yaya Jammeh has swept in a cultural revolution to eviscerate traces of our past. Our venerable streets are being renamed after the regime elites who fanned the divisions in our society today. The macro aggression of the NIA has also reached unprecedented levels to sway people away from their displeasures and incorporate things that don’t resonate with our DNA as Gambians. All these should remind Gambians of the fierce urgency of now— in making this regime history.

It’s easy to forget also, the disastrous turn the dictatorship has completely razed our society too. It’s increasingly unfashionable to celebrate our once established traditional core values of empathy, neighborliness, truthfulness and trustworthiness that guided our aspirations or even translate them into concrete mechanisms in our daily lives. Those were the things that tied us together as one Gambian family but it appears everything is being swapped with the regimes ideological political configurations. Neither are our multicultural prospects made better by regime elites who fanned division, in effect, if not consciously, continuing to confused Gambians with Yaya Jammeh’s ideological political configurations. Those who secured the highest reaches in the national firmament are mostly cavalier about what their job responsibilities entails, but do not hesitate to take advantage of the situation — in stirring up enmity within their institutions.

Beyond the particulars, there’s plenty of work ahead to bridge the sore spot of political polarization apparent from the troubling rhetoric we hear from both sides of the political aisle. The Gambian people discontent about the murderous regime has become so widespread. We already have a guiding light of coalition to follow hoping it will lead us to victory in rejecting fortress dictatorship. Thus, the regimes primary aim is to prevent all parties from coalescing for them to maintain political monopoly. It’s difficult to see Gambia change for a better having a leader such as Yaya Jammeh who is as careless with his words and with his actions.

By Habib ( A Concerned Gambia)

It’s quite evident in the run-up to final coalition convention, some passionate strategists whom given waivers to talk on behalf of their parties, need to provide Gambians with a steady diet of a thoughtful—consistent reassuring messages on the very important issues and avoid confusing Gambians with hypothetical opinions—that are ostensibly giving everyone a pause. We understand there are advisers quite skilled at getting in front of a story and trying to minimize damage of loose cannons —that lacks a deep understanding of discipline on the campaign trail. As such, we understand that— it impossible to deal with or wall off every conceivable human impulse. This is not the time for partisans to reflexively flood our online radio airwaves— waging asymmetrical war of words, regurgitating old talking points of the regime and casting blame against GOFFER efforts. This is the time for extensive private negotiations for a chance to unite the nation.

This certainly isn’t the time for party leaders to enmeshed cheap political popularity by roasting their colleagues beyond a bare bone — just by mere suspicion or pursue political agendas of exiting the “Coalition Talks” rather than attempting to compromise for a chance to unite the nation. As is readily apparent, each campaign more than ever, needs to pay plenty of attention to surrogates making easily refutable false claims, theatrics statements, promptly releasing or leaking incomplete policy statements and worst of all— making remarkably rosy scenario don’t look credible. Some are very passionate people but their diminishing returns of political capital from their efforts, only contributes to the coalition effort being flatfooted. Those who are deemed less productive or incapable of taking advice from campaign pros or lack the experience skill set to engage the media, should be given different assignments to avoid any direct consequences for failure. Some loyalist had made a series of blunders of keeping alive Yaya Jammeh’s a 22-year-old false stories about our patriot opposition party leaders, that are surely driving their parties to distraction.

It’s tempting for party officials to make lewd remarks about others party officials and complained loudly about the requirements of the coalition on social media. It makes sense to harsh out modalities and disagreements at Kairaba beach hotel instead of the airways. We have heard— top level officials, either misspoke or unknowingly besmirched about other party’s being included in the coalition effort because— they do not have a presidential candidate. This coalition effort is an interesting test case to demonstrate a compassionate leadership. At this point, Gambians want all parties curb the excesses and encourage party leaders to swallowed their pride and endorsed the coalition. Our nation yearns for some semblance of solidarity from all the aspiring candidates to unite under one ticket and recognized the gravity we have on hand. Sensing an opportunity, we know the regime is very good at courting personalities who has a grudge against the opposition. We should be on the lookout because they are eager for a split ticket that would confuse Gambians.

In this election, we are going against the same disastrous Yaya Jammeh— who is flagrantly in opposition to all our values. None of this blu-haha should be a surprise. We cannot provide a perfect backdrop to play into the hands of the opportunistic regime— that seek to sow fear and division as a way to disrupt the coalition efforts. Any political leader who refuses to acknowledge that fact a team effort is need to defeat this monstrous regime and instead waging asymmetrical war on the coalition efforts, ought to be ashamed. The bottom line: I whole-heartily appeal to GDC surrogates to adopt the message of Adoulie Sowe—in promoting inclusiveness of his party in the coalition effort and his appeal to lay aside our petty political bickering— overreact with unrealistic demands at every turn.

Let squabbles over divisive issues on hold for the moment as we all strive to see the coalition succeed. On that last count, so far we are encouraged by those who didn’t see eye to eye on policies very much in the past, demonstrate matured leadership to serve the interest of the Gambian people. There is finally a real plan to salvage our country this year instead of the ruling party’s endless vision to strengthened dictatorship. All parties coming together to undo the Gambian people feelings of nervousness— for a chance to square our shoulders again— weighed down by bitter disappointments of the regime, sorrows injustice, marginalization of the diasporians and undo the regime’s intentional neglection of their duties. GOFFER is saying Yes they can deliver for a change we can believe it. Bravo to Aunty Fatoumatta, Uncle Halipha and all those key players not mentioned here, working tirelessly to deliver a coalition.

By Habib ( A Concerned Gambian)

As we approach December 2016 presidential election, Gambians have seen the formation of a new political party known as The Gambia Democratic Congress ( GDC) which takes center stage in our political dispensation. The newly established party has a young likeable leader whose philosophy, stand on issues of national importance, democracy and rule of law is not known to vast majority of citizenry who are yearning for restoration of democracy and constitutionalism in our country. While it is a welcoming idea to have a new and young likeable political leader and his party in the fight to restore democracy and rule of law in our country, we as citizens deserve to know what Mama Kandeh really stood for in the past 22 years and what was his contributions towards military dictatorship which has notoriously violated fundamental human rights of Gambian people, systematically destroyed our peaceful coexistence as one big family as well as economically prostituted our meager resources for self perpetual rule of the tyrant ? These are fundamental and legitimate questions which every Gambian must ask himself or herself in order to avoid the replica of false narrative which Gambian population were hook-winked in the similar manner by the then Lt. Yahya Jammeh and his semi-illiterate soldiers who had no serious plan for national development and democracy for our country when they took power in July 22 1994.

I have made extensive research on the GDC leader, his stance on issues of national importance as well as his political achievements in terms of his support for any meaningful legislation during the time he served Jammeh’s regime as a National Assembly member for APRC ( Alliance Patriotic Re-orientation and Construction) . I have not seen a single issue of national importance which Mama Kandeh stood for and supported which today has contributed to economic development or better democratic dispensation of our country. Instead I came across the record of a man who has consistently voted along with all the APRC deputies on bills during his tenure.

I have a reason to dig deeper into the legislative life of Mama Kandeh. I believe it is a sacred duty or responsibility of every citizen to thoroughly vet Mr Kandeh to avoid a repetition of the current political dispensation we are desperately working hard to replace. Mr Kandeh is an extension of current political dispensation by every measure and standard. This is evidenced by his lack of concerns for horrendous human violations in The Gambia for the past 22 years . Mr Kandeh’s Political opportunism and prostitution is further evidenced by his inconsistency and ability to join any political party to look for cheap popularity without any substantive contribution toward democracy and socio-economic advancement of the Gambian people. Before Mr Kandeh joined APRC, he was a member of the Opposition National Reconciliation party ( NRP) where he sought relationship with the leadership for cheap popularity and political recognition. He later joined the APRC as a National Assembly member until his expulsion for violation of Dictator Jammeh’s edit.

Mr kandeh’s rise in politics happened at the time when innocent citizens were tortured , raped , exiled and murdered and he has been silent on these atrocities all these years. In terms of his voting record in the National Assembly, Mr Kandeh has shown and proven to Gambian people that he would be no different from the leaders of current rubber-stamping Parliament which has denied Gambians better democracy, rule of law and economic advancement. His formation of a new political party which comprises of former supporters and officials of APRC, is an affront and further confirmation that Mr Kandeh is in politics as an alternative to disgruntled supporters who were once key players in the constitutional entrenchment of the dictatorial regime. Among his key supporters and surrogates are former regime officials who sees mr kandeh’s candidacy as a blessing to protect and prevent any future accountability of their roles in human Rights violations they have witnessed or participated . Among such high profile supporter is the former military officer and Aide de camp to President Jammeh , Lt col Lamin Gano who has become key propagandist for the regime and GDC. Mr Gano’s propaganda for regime officials is even manifested in his daily outrageous and political hypocrisy. His recent congratulatory message to mr Ousman Sonko who escaped from oppressive Regime to Sweden and who is regarded as the most brutal henchman of the regime is a clear indication that mr Gano careless about the fundamental human rights and rule of law in our country . In essence ,mr Kandeh and some of his former enablers played a part in the regime’s human rights violations and economic destruction. While it is indeed noteworthy to see him calling for national unity and democracy in his political bolster but it is also significant to note that Mr Kandeh lacks substance in his political deliberations . His political record does not match with his recent rhetoric on the campaign trail. Mr kandeh’s refusal to agree in principle with other political leaders to sign recent coalition building document is another indication that he cannot be trusted and he is in politics to safeguard and protect the interest of the Dictator who he has been supporting since day one .

The historic tragedy of military dictatorship must teach Gambians that we should not fall for young and untested politicians who have no proven record , experience, and qualifications to run the affairs of our country. This will help the country from slipping into a replica of the APRC regime. We must focus on leaders and their parties with wisdom , knowledge, experience and better policies which have been consistent in the fight for rule of law , constitutionalism and better economic policy for our country . We have passed the time for experimental leadership in this defining moment of our country’s political dispensation. As citizens, we must look for steady , consistent, honest, decent and proven leader who is temperamentally fit to lead the nation in peaceful and unifying manner , and who sees our diversity as a gift of God’s creation that encompasses potentials ready to be tapped for entrepreneurism and economic advancement.

I therefore urge Gambians to take a hard look at the leadership of Gambia Democratic Congress ( GDC) before we make similar horrific mistake that APRC regime under the leadership of Dictator Yahya Jammeh has brought on Gambian people. We deserve better . Untested and unproven leader will lead the nation into a failure.

Please publish

Thank you .
Maxs

Editor,

Omar Jah of UTG has done it again. Jah damn well knows that he is on his way out and therefore decided to once again breed antagonism among UTG staff. Without following the laid down rules and regulations for staff promotion, Jah almost singlehanded promoted many perceived loyalists to the disregard of other hard working staff. As a result, some of the newly promoted staff are now earning more than their bosses. To add insult to injury, Jah hid behind the cover of UTG Management to do what he did. Jah, in writing to the beneficiaries, claimed that UTG Management did the promotion. This source can state with authority that this claim of Jah is a fallacy and any interested party is welcome to investigate. Instead, Jah was just utilizing the old tactics of his former boss and cousin, Muhammadou Kah. Messing up further, Jah never consulted UTG Finance to find out whether there were enough resources to accommodate the benefits of the newly promoted. Jah again neglected both the Appointments and Promotions Committee and the UTG Council, which is the approving authority of any recruitment and promotion at UTG. It seems that this Council is the worst that has ever been instituted to govern the affairs of UTG.

Council should know that when it comes to any major policy issue at UTG there are laid down rules and procedures to be followed. With regards to promotions, everything should be channeled through the Appointments and Promotions Committee which then laid before Council its recommendations. This is to ensure fairness in promoting staff, and it is what the rules call for. I urged Council to investigate and see whether this latest madness of Jah was in line with this simple procedure.

Mark my words, many UTG staff are very bitter about this unfair promotion. It is simply unacceptable and the whole exercise should be repeated in the manner prescribe by the rules.

Council for once should seriously assume its responsibility or honorably relinquish it. UTG Council should not be a place where members are out to protect staff just because of one relationship or the other, but this seems to be the case with Jah. WATCH OUT Council.

By DA Jawo

I have always been saying that the forthcoming presidential elections are like a referendum for Babili Mansa’s Islamic State project and if Gambians decide to elect him for another term, the first thing he would do will be to introduce full-fledged Sharia and other draconian laws that will regulate the way that ordinary Gambians will conduct their lives on a daily basis, thus destroying the very norms and values that we have always known in this country.

 
Another scary possibility is the prospect of Babili Mansa giving such Islamic radicals like Dr Zakir Naik the free hand to virtually run the country by proxy, making all the decisions that would affect our daily lives.

 
This extract below is from an analysis of what we should expect after the December elections made by a prominent Gambian academic and social commentator who has quite a deep analytical knowledge of the situation in the Gambia:

 
“After the December election, Jammeh is definitely planning to implement fully-fledged Sharia law in the Gambia to “regulate” public behavior. Apparently, the Indian Islamic preacher, Dr. Zakir Abdul Karim Naik, while recently praising Jammeh for his tough stance against gays and lesbians, did make a slip of the tongue remark on Peace TV when he revealed that Jammeh would be implementing a fully-fledged Islamic law in the Gambia from 2017 onwards.

 
“Jammeh plans to change the national flag to “reflect the Gambia’s new status as an Islamic country” and he also intends to ban any non-Muslim man marrying a Muslim woman. Among other things, I am told that Jammeh also wants to make sure that after the election, even meat to be eaten in the Gambia must have come from animals that have been “sacrificed” to Allah – “Halal”; a Muslim who becomes a non-Muslim or converts to Christianity will be sentenced and that even theft is going to be punishable by amputation of the right hand.

 
“After the election, assuming that Jammeh will remain at the helm, the Gambia is going to be mired in the most severe crisis it has known since independence from Britain in 1965. The country’s future seems so bleak and hopeless. Jammeh will keep trying his luck – doing things that involve risk, and hoping to succeed. Knowing Jammeh, he would push his luck too far, and yes, there comes a time in your life when you have reached where you say enough is enough. I believe that that time is slowly dawning on Gambians”.

 
So if this apocalyptic analysis is not scary enough for Gambian voters to take the bull by the horns and get rid of this regime come December 1, then I wonder what would ever stir them to take the necessary action to save Gambians from such a looming catastrophe.

 
Therefore, this should be even enough food for thought to propel the opposition to intensify their search for a single candidate for the December elections, particularly the GDC who are said to be making quite unreasonable demands before they would join the proposed coalition.

As Dec.1st looms closer to the staggering shock and awe of extremely difficult times Yaya Jammeh already accentuates will grip the country, a dismayed, disconsolate Gambia waits and wonders. And the most pressing question: With all the turbulence of terror, unprecedented kidnappings, opposition leaders in jail and the divisive socially intolerant policies to intentionally balkanized us into identity group politics, should we allow our personal ambitions and grievances against the opposition leaders —confuse us into extending the political schism that has divided Gambia for some 22 years? How has our country fallen so inescapably into political pandering and coalition talk dead line gridlock? The honest answer is —we are caught in a vise of Yaya Jammeh’s own design of stonewalling and dissembling things that does not perfectly suit his likings. Haven’t we Sort through all the desires of one man for 22 years and know all the details of his failures?

Nevertheless, we all know the current Gambian leader has a history of egregiously erasing the truth but one telling episode among the countless he leveled with the Gambian people is: Yaya Jammeh has gone out of his way to splendidly reinforced his own guilty verdict by putting a magnifying glass on his crimes— with respect to the death of opposition leader’s colleague —Solo Sandeng. He goes further to affirm the tremendous difficulties of the country— is caused by their failed Ponzi schemes policies and the burrowing owls pecking on our national coffers to nourish their greed. We cannot allow Gambia to falter a bit more on the same wrong direction. This is the moment to see this election as about the collective Gambian people’s predicament and the wrong direction our country is heading to. And this is the moment for the opposition parties to come together for— Gambians to rebuke Yaya Jammeh and give him the shellacking he deserves. Equally predictable, the guy has proved—he has neither the character nor the prudent disposition to continue as the president of the Gambia.

Today, we are at a key juncture. Given the tentative nature of the December 1st election being the most consequential elections in Gambian history, we must allow the disgraced outlaw regime a fighting chance of ridding to the State House gate on the backs of poor Gambians. The opposition leaders gracing the coalition talks should also remember that they’ve been robbed of opportunity and respect by the regime. We all know Yaya Jammeh and his regime are now on their heels — cunning political maneuver to impact the coalition talks and election behind the scenes. Nothing to quibble with here about that fact. Clearly this election is an urgent concern, and one that opposition leaders has sought urgently to deal with. They are all familiar imprudent mistake of the past. We understand that this election has consumes the nation’s bandwidth, but we cannot to fiddle ourselves with heart burns with conspiracy theories about coalition. If one more day is needed to get things right, lets shallow that hard pill for a chance to squared our shoulders again soon.

Yaya Jammeh has clearly communicated his quest of staying in power and enforcing his conflict-of-interest if it means— killing 10,000 Gambians to reserve his peace. Those words cannot be not met with warm considerations, prayers only, corner cutting the coalition efforts or better still — it shouldn’t only anger few swaths of the Gambian public. All Gambians should be fed-up and clamor for alternatives to tame the beast of Yaya Jammeh. Yaya Jammeh and some of his surrogates will defend that conversation as “locker-room talk or attaya session talk” rather than repudiating him. Interestingly, a kernel of truth exists in the statement—a broken clock being right twice a day. We cannot afford his quest to come true by allowing the alarms of broken clock to ruin another Gambian’s life. We will rather sweat in the coalition talks than bleed blood on December 2nd .

By Habib ( A Concerned Gambian)

Gambians who wondered just how shortsighted the cognitive elites of dying regime when facing their hypocritical moment of truth in going against the entire nation in the wake of the storm of Change, got their answer from the so called Chief of defense staff. One of the pied pipers of the regime boasted in obscene terms, warning his recalcitrant colleagues that —they are sick and tired of court endless marshals and they will begin executing disloyal solders straightway. These kinds of cheap tiresome scolds, is a telltale sign of the regime miserable campaign of murdering Gambians at free will without fearing any consequences thereafter. It’s also important to observe that they continue to drive in the head of Gambians the logrolling ideologies of Yaya Jammeh— as being immortal by using the fake debunked story tail of their former junta member.

When it became clear that they have largely completed the destruction of our country and Gambians do not need them anymore as a panther in moving forward to 2017, they resorted to the only reaction they know for twenty two years. They’ve got to be kidding. After all, we observed that the event demonstrated the folly of how the badjie brethren’s hostility towards Gambians, helped Jammeh in his social engineering quest to divided our nation and destroyed the professional code of conduct— by being innately unapologetically and unaccountable as the unelected holders of our nation. Gambians now are aware that these folks do not only have a mere manners deficit, their fatal weakness for pride and greed along with their ideological prejudice, have warped our country out of privilege. These are the same cadre of corrupt elites of our service men lacking a moral core to do what is right. They are the architects of death, executioners of torture, and the pied pipers who do not hesitate to pass on Jammeh’s immoral judgments against Gambians. They will antagonistically have their subordinates leak favorable stories about them on the issues of the minute. Its’ so sickening Gambians still fell for their chameleon tendencies.

Our country has been looted, vandalized and into flames of division by the cognitive elites of the regime. Gambians have helplessly watched in horror for twenty two years— and we are all wondering together if our beloved country is going to ever get back on track anytime soon. We have seen so much of the worst examples of behavior from Yaya Jammeh in regards to the sanctity of human life— that some Gambians counterbalance their safety by being shortsighted of events. How can we blame them all? Virtually, after all what Yaya Jammeh and his regime have done to Gambians, we are now afraid to judging people by their best intentions. This well-established phenomenon have magnified the impact of hashed regime calloused indifference when it comes to dealing ordinary citizens.

In short, contrary to common belief, these people have irresolvable grievances because with all the power and looting of our wealth through their spouses or ghost names, their angry faces have never become relaxed with happiness. It is sad that Gambians have grown accustomed to such abuse. We cannot continue to be content with the hidden cost of this regime. They represent everything we are not. We have been dismissed as good for nothing, wounded as a nation. Who wants to be cast aside as the last man to die in the pool of crocodiles? Their pleasures of trips to our central banks coffers and barbecues can speak for themselves where these peoples heart are. What sorely needs our attention today is something different than what we have experience for the past twenty years of terror.

By Habib ( A Concerned Gambia)