It was a week of surprises, cheers, laughs, smiles, hugs, kisses, tears of sadness and tears of joy; all in one hell of a family reunion. Prisoners who had languished in dreary prison cells for years were finally set loose from the dungeon of death, Mile 2 Prison, to a waiting crowd of family and curious onlookers. For those condemned to death, or on life sentences, it is like the miracle at Mile 2. But, this is still the Gambia, where justice and the rule of law are foreign concepts, and Yahya Jammeh is renowned more for his double-dealing and duplicitous nature than for the honor of character. The relentless efforts of foreign governments, national and international institutions and organizations, Gambian online media and civil society organizations and many others, combined to make Yahya Jammeh miserable, isolated and desperate to the point of relenting on the political prisoner release condition imposed by the European Union.

Finally, the incarcerated prisoners whose physical movements were restricted are released from detention, but this is not the end; it is only the beginning of their freedom. It was not surprising that every one of the released prisoners paraded before the Gambian people, extended gratitude to Yahya Jammeh, and some signaled readiness to return to work with him. What clearly came out was the visible faces of anguish of a broken people; the emaciated, too weak to savor the moment, how old they looked, and how desperate some were to throw themselves back into the demonic grip of an unforgiving megalomaniac; Yahya Jammeh.

But the dramatic prisoner release happened because of growing pressure condemning Yahya Jammeh’s unilateralism and primitive styles, which most of the rest of African nations scorn at as caveman. It was evident from the very beginning that the released prisoners had critical decisions about their future to make; to stay and work for the regime in order to prolong its choke-hold on the Gambia and Gambians, to stay in the Gambia and pretend to live a peaceful life, or leave Gambia to avoid further victimization and be a free man once again. In the end, some will be compelled to return into Yahya Jammeh’s circle of orbit by economic circumstances, and in so doing, submit themselves to Yahya Jammeh’s dangerous political machinations. For those who choose this path, to prove their undying loyalty to Yahya Jammeh, one thing is certain, you have not seen the end of Mile 2, just yet; in fact, part of your destinies are still residing in the hell-hole of Mile 2 Prison.. And to those who choose to leave, it is not all that easy outside than inside. You will be compelled by your terrible Mile 2 prison experiences to be an advocate for those you left behind; those who wake up to the terrifying clang of cold steel doors, those that wake up in dark, dingy concrete fortified coffin cells, and the listless, whose fixed gaze on the distant blue horizon encapsulate the vicissitude of a regime on the verge of breaking the Gambia apart into a thousand little pieces. Staying silent is not optional, unless you don’t care about those you left behind. You experienced the horrors of incarceration, Gambians, therefore, hope that your time behind bars has taught you a lesson in compassion.

Finally, to those that choose to stay, even if you are not hired by the regime, the least Gambians expect is to not, in any way, shape or form, do anything to prolong the regime’s grip on power. But the prisoner release is not complete yet as long as Amadou Sanneh, a member of the leading opposition party, the United Democratic Party and two United States citizens, Alhaji Mamut Ceesay and Ebou Jobe, who were abducted back in May 2013, remain in prison. In addition, the fates of others abducted; some since back in 2005, Chief Ebrima Manneh, Kanjiba Kanyi and nearly twenty others is still being questioned. Are they alive? Are they dead? Where are they? The released prisoners who decide to stay and perhaps work for Yahya Jammeh to drag Gambia in the mud, particularly, Lang Tombong Tamba, Ngor Secka and other former military or NIA agents, with a history of torturing Gambians, and directly or indirectly being linked to their deaths, Gambians await to see if you will relapse into your former old selves; instilling fear, terrorizing citizens, causing the tortures of many citizens and non-citizens,, and even be tangentially linked to the deaths of others. Gambians invested too much to secure your freedom and some died trying do just that, now don’t throw their sacrifices by turning yourselves into lapdogs for Yahya Jammeh. You are obliged by the sad fate of your fellow countrymen and women, to help restore Gambia’s lost dignity and save your fellow countrymen and women from the brutal Mile 2 Prison life. Everyone has an option to leave the country and join the struggle to help lift Gambians out of its misery. For as long as Yahya Jammeh remains, no one is yet free. Some have tortured for Yahya Jammeh, helped kill for Yahya Jammeh and worked as slave laborers on Yahya Jammeh’s farms. The only thing you have not done, is wipe his ass clean. One day soon you may do just that, if you don’t make a wise decision about what you want to do with your life, after life in Mile 2 Prison.

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A big part of the miracle of change occurs by the forces of nature; sometimes with human influence, but more often; not. It is dynamic, imperceptible and mostly irreversible; with a capacity to draw human instincts to respond to changing circumstances. In political terms, Gambia and Gambians have reached a level of alienation that nature can only balance out with a corresponding decline of the Gambia’s agonizing regime.

And this week, Gambians’ collective emotions are on a roller coaster; with a few stragglers unsure how to respond Yahya Jammeh’s chronic detachment from reality. But, for the majority of Gambia’s diaspora dissidents, Yahya Jammeh’s amnesty offer is absurd, and borderline insane to even give weight.

International pressure and the convergence of politically disastrous events, both at home and abroad, have forced Yahya Jammeh’s precipitous course reversal, which for many Gambians, is rather too little; too late. Yahya Jammeh’s pathetic amnesty is a comical expression of insanity, and unequivocally rejected by a defiant dissident diaspora, as laughable. The echoes of diaspora voices, from around the globe are expressions of unmistakable calls for political change as the only acceptable compromise.. The recent release of prisoners, political or otherwise, who did not deserve to be locked up in the first place, some for years, confirms Yahya Jammeh’s insensitivity to locking up, without cause, children, politicians, women, farmers, businessmen/women, students and visiting foreigners. Gambians have long been convinced that Yahya Jammeh is a bloodthirsty maniac and retarded carpetbagger, blinded by fantasies of his grandeur. Yahya Jammeh’s efforts to insult Gambians’collective intelligence with an amnesty and prisoner release, is the manifestation of his own intellectual myopia. The vast majority of the dissident diaspora rejects Yahya Jammeh amnesty offer as unnecessary.as they committed no crime, unless defending Gambia’s citizens traumatized by Yahya Jammeh’s regime is a crime. And to compound Gambians legitimate grievances, Yahya Jammeh recently characterized the dysfunctional political system at home, as a zero sum game, calling politics “a dirty game” as the headline of one article screamed out loud. This is the closest Yahya Jammeh has ever come to first confessing and then justifying the murders, executions, mass incarceration, tortures and disappearances of Gambians and non-Gambians under his watch.

This week, as Chad’s former military ruler, Hissein Habre, was forcibly lifted up by personnel of the Senegalese Gandamorie, in a Dakar courtroom, what stood out was his utter helplessness, and the angry, deafening jeers of relatives of his victims were raw expressions of unforgiving emotions. Across the border, in the Gambia, Yahya Jammeh must be watching the unfolding trial of a brutal tyrant, Hussein Habra, as possibly exemplifying his own end days. But, if Yahya Jammeh is not moved by the tragedy of Hussien Habre, perhaps the brutal end of his mentor, Col. Mumar Ghadaffi, was a watershed moment in his life. The story of Col. Murmar Ghadaffi, more than any contemporary tyrant, debunks the notions of invincibility, which dictators use to foil dissent, instill fear and conceal their own weaknesses.. In the Dakar courtroom this week, the fears of the Chadian people were unmask to reveal the depth of anger, rage and emotions of pain, which until now, were obscured behind the nervous looks on the hallowed faces of the battered Chadian people. And the parallels between Chad and Gambia are astonishing in so many ways, but particularly, the lesson that no matter how long it takes, the long arm of justice has the capacity to stretch infinitely into the future; until justice is served. That Yahya Jammeh is an exact replica of Mumar Ghadaffi in both temperament and political attitude, goes without saying, and his dramatization of the trivial and downplaying his crimes against Gambians, is signature Ghadaffi. And just like Col. Ghadaffi, his luck must run out, sooner or later, and the Gambian people will have the last laugh. If Yahya Jammeh thinks he can wipe out his long slate of serious criminal infractions against Gambians by patronizing people with gifts of money, cars, sugar, rice and oil or, because he thinks his word is the law, he is in for a rude awakening. The fact is, most of us live by our own laws, and could care less what he thinks his words weigh. For now, the lousy “amnesty’ and prisoner releases do not come close to the demands of Gambian dissidents for Yahya Jammeh to never again contest elections, and to offer his resignation to the Gambian people. Additionally, the Gambian dissident movement will never betray the memories of their dead and the missing comrades, a list too long to mention, by agreeing to return home and act like nothing happened the last two decades. And in as much we all long to kiss the ground of our homeland and feel the sounds, smells and sights of our motherland, we are tasked with carrying the legacies of the victims of all Yahya Jammeh’s blood-lust, and demand answers as to where they are and why they had die. And if we are to come home, we are not leaving our dead comrades behind, We owe it to them to bring them home one last time so that they make peace with mother Gambia and find eternal rest in mother Gambia’s earth; Buba Baldeh, Kukoi Samba Sanyang and Foday Makalo. For, they too were warriors in the battle that we still fight.

The euphoria about the presidential pardon continues to excite Gambians of all walks of life. Indeed the individuals who are released and their families will particularly rejoice at the freedom and the reunion for obvious reasons. They are the direct beneficiaries. But we the people or the Nation-State is indeed the primary concern given that what is happening is taking place within a particular political entity with a particular system of governance.

Thus while the president provides pardon it must be clear to all and sundry that this is not a personal whim of Yaya Jammeh. The constitution provides that the president has the authority to pardon prisoners based on a set of rules to guide the decision. Section 82 empowers the president to cause the release of any prisoner on a set of terms for his or her freedom. But to do that the president has to establish a committee as per Section 82(2):

“There shall be a Committee on the exercise of the prerogative of mercy consisting of the Attorney General and three other persons appointed by the president subject to confirmation by the National Assembly.”

In this case, a committee has not been set up. Thus it is necessary that we become utterly concerned and interested that the rule of law be followed to give legal basis to the pardon. Otherwise the pardon is illegal, inherently. Therefore, more importantly, this means that we have allowed once again our president to flout the rule of law and thereby further entrenching misrule and bad governance in the country. By his actions and if we allow him to go scot-free, it means the president can decide the next day that in fact all those released must be captured again and returned to the prison. There is already a precedent on this as had happened in this Koriteh with the release of 85 people.

Thus we the people must demand that our Opposition, if they do not see this abuse of the law and power by Yaya Jammeh to alert them to it so that they ensure that the pardon is done according to constitutional provisions. Otherwise, this is not a pardon. It is once again a case of a tyrant who chooses to play with the lives of citizens as a means to mystify and entrench himself in power. Secondly many of the prisoners released raise more concern given the nature of their crimes, while many others are merely individuals who were in prison because President Yaya Jammeh wanted to put them in prison. These are political prisoners. This is matter that must concern us as a nation.

Secondly, it is clear that Yaya Jammeh did not release these prisoners – common criminals and political prisoners – out of any goodwill. Rather he is visibly under duress which can be noticed in his voice and body language at the July 22 ceremony. He is responding to some other forces both from within and outside the Gambia to do the right thing.  But he is reluctant to do the right thing hence his decision to pardon without regard to the law and in the manner that suits him. He chose who to release and how they should behave and who not to release. This is bad faith.

Given that he is under duress, it means he is quite aware that he faces risks if he continues on the path of misrule that he is accustomed to thanks to the Gambian Opposition and the people in general who allowed him. Therefore now is the time when the Opposition must begin to realise their role as true alternatives to the current government and take practical steps to address the anomaly that engulfs this tiny nation at the moment.

Our Opposition must therefore identify the urgent needs of the country so as to set demands and seek all means to ensure that Yaya Jammeh fulfils those demands. We must not be overwhelmed with the euphoria of the pardon and forget fundamental issues. As we speak, already many Gambians have been abducted, tortured, forced disappeared and killed by Yaya Jammeh. A complete culture of impunity prevails perpetrated y none other than Yaya Jammeh. He has disempowered the nation and the state by law and practice and created a system that places the lives of Gambians right in the middle of his palm. This is a direct threat to national security that must be addressed.

We must therefore call on the Opposition to unite and we help them to place these set of demands before Yaya Jammeh and the international community. By these, yet inexhaustive list of demands, Yaya Jammeh is hereby personally and officially called to ensure their fulfilment by 31^st December 2015:

1. Refuse to sign into law the recent changes to the electoral law because the bill is unconstitutional and violates the Elections Act, and in its place allow the IEC to level the playing field with necessary and democratic reforms;
2. Introduce presidential terms limits with immediate effect;
3. Step down as President of the Gambia  of state at the end of his current term;
4. Investigate all cases of enforced disappearance and bring to justice all perpetrators;
5. Investigate all murder and arson attacks  on Gambians and bring all perpetrators to justice;
6. Disband Operation Bulldozer security unit;
7. Disband ‘Black Black’, Junglers, Rangers, Green Boys and Green Girls and all other clandestine militias;
8. Review and restructure the National Intelligence Agency to make the agency answerable to the National Assembly;
9. Depoliticise the military and police and allow professionalism and merit to guide them;
10. Release all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners with immediate effect;
11. Compensate and apologize to all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners;
12. Conduct a general constitutional, legal and institutional review and restructuring to ensure that the country is being run on proper democratic values and standards.

Gambians have to realise that Yaya Jammeh as a person is not the issue. The issue is the system that is in place through which he wields power and exerts control. That is the system that must be addressed because that system which he has corrupted and abused is being used by him to damage our nation and lives. As long as that system is in place, regardless of who sits at the top as head of state, the country will be misruled at our detriment. We must bear in mind that it is this abused system that can allow him to release people from prison today, while the next day he is putting  many more in prison only to release them the day after, only for us to continue to applaud him for the ‘good gesture’. With this system in place, one can see that he has been able to harm people with impunity because he has subverted our sovereignty, personalised the State and flouts the rule of law. The lawmakers continue to empower him with more laws, while the courts decide as he wished in the cases in which he has interest. Where the lawmakers and judges cannot give him what he wants, he uses the armed and society services to do his bidding. Thus this system of personalising State institutions and processes must stop. This is why fundamentally Yaya Jammeh must step down because he lacks the capacity to abide by democratic principles in a civilized society. More evidently, he is a direct architect and beneficiary of this corrupted system.

Yaya Jammeh is now cornered which can be seen by his own decisions and actions as manifesting in this pardon. This can only serve to strengthen the Opposition, but provided they are united and steadfast. The Opposition must therefore identify a set of demands and approach Yaya Jammeh for dialogue. He cannot refuse and if he does this can only further embolden the Opposition. They can now effectively expose the apparent weaknesses and insincerity of Yaya Jammeh to the masses. The Opposition must also engage with the local actors such as the civil society, religious leaders, and business people and of course with our regional and international partners. Thus we expect to see an Opposition delegation to Pres. Macky Sall, to President Muhammadou Buhari, to ECOWAS, to the AU and to the UN at its regional and international offices. The Opposition must open to the media to share with the public what is being done. Yaya Jammeh must be pushed to the corner. He lacks support. He is isolated. He is scared. The Opposition must take the full blow. Now.

Yaya Jammeh, we have a constitution accompanied by laws that set up institutions and processes that set the parameters that govern our country. This is called the rule of law. As president, you have sworn to defend that constitution, which means to preserve and protect the laws and processes and institutions. But since 1994, you have led a path that only serves to violate our constitution, subvert the authority and power of institutions and shortcut processes just to make sure you confiscate our sovereignty, power and authority, with impunity.

The list of violations of our constitution and abuse of our rights that you have committed with impunity when you were supposed to protect these is too long to enumerate.

You have dismissed civil servants without regard to the rule of law. You have sacked judges and magistrates and lawmakers in contravention of the constitution. You have caused the arbitrary arrest and detention of Gambians of all walks of life with impunity. You have caused the torture of Gambians of all walks of life with impunity. You have caused the death of Gambians of all walks of life with impunity. You have personalized and plundered our sovereign wealth and resources with impunity. You have restricted and jeopardized our individual and collective capacity to earn decent sources of living. You have sowed seeds of discord and disunity among families, communities and between our various ethnic groups. You have promoted tribalism and nepotism in public life. You have interfered with, and injured the independence of the legislature and the judiciary in total contravention of the principle of separation of powers as laid out in our constitution. Consequently you have exerted undue pressure and control over the National Assembly to make laws to further erode our sovereignty and place it in your hands. You have placed undue pressure and control over the judiciary to force them to decide cases in your favour in total violation of the laws of the land and rights of citizens. You have interfered with statutory bodies such as the IEC, Ombudsman and the NCCE among others just to undermine and seize our sovereignty for your personal gain. In July 2015, you caused the National Assembly to change election laws for which neither the Executive nor the Legislature have the right, power or authority to change laws regarding elections simply because you and those lawmakers are interested players in the business of elections. You have caused disrepute to the office of the president and caused ridicule to the name and integrity of the republic.

Your pardon therefore has no merit because you have subverted the rule of law, and personalized the entire State machinery to serve your whims and caprices. Consequently, there is a vast majority of Gambians in prison not because of the crimes they committed, but because you want them to be in prison just to entrench your misrule. Thus in the first place, these people should not have been there at all. To turn around and decide to take them out of the very place in which you have deliberately placed them for your selfish interests deserves no commendation. Rather July 22, 2015 is a day of infamy – a day of untold sorrow and regret for the unimaginable suffering and waste of life you have caused these people and their families. While they should have been with their families, you caused a separation of maximum proportions between fathers and their children, mothers and their children, husbands and their wives, between loved ones…

You have caused intolerable damage and trauma on these people and their families from which many will find it impossible to recover. Yaya, you have harmed and killed with impunity. Not even the Almighty Allah with all His omnipotence deliberately or otherwise harms human beings and then decides to forgive them or not. His punishment and reward have to be earned by the individual. You are not Allah. You are not a monarch. Gambians owe you no gratitude or apology. Gambians made you what you are. These Gambians did not earn their punishment and you cannot therefore give them a reward. You have publicly claimed Mile 2 as your ‘Hotel’. Is that not evidence enough that it is indeed you who deliberately sent people to this ‘hotel’? What about the tens of Gambians already kidnapped and executed by your thugs? Who pays for those crimes? To therefore imagine that you play with the lives of Gambians anyhow you wish is not only ungodly but also deadly.

Yaya, you are playing this gimmick because you know that your time is nigh because you know the pressure is growing unbearably on your head. You have realized by yourself that you are indeed not only a tragic liability for our country, but also a mess that cannot salvage itself anymore. You have been ostracized by the world and you know the pressure that is on your shoulders. From the patriotic Gambian dissidents at home and abroad. From the EU. From ECOWAS and AU. From many more that you know more than we do. We know you are not acting in any good faith because you lack the capacity to do good. Rather you are being forced to act. Yaya Jammeh, you are evil. You are a pariah.

Yaya, you shall not escape the consequences of the atrocities you continue to mete out to Gambians and Gambia. Remember Hissene Habre? Sooner or later, you shall pay for your crimes against Gambians, dearly. The message that anyone can give you is to step down now and face prosecution. Any prolongation of your misrule only serves to further aggravate the inevitable and severe pain of your final demise, sooner than later. You do not need to pardon anyone because you decided to put them there first, and now you decide to take them out because you are afraid of your own evil.

You need to step now and face justice.

Free Gambia.

Gambia’s criminal ruler, Yaya AJJ Jammeh, came to power through a military-backed overthrow on July 22^nd 1994. Since then, he stationed himself as the world’s “Pharaoh” ruling with an iron-fist, and constantly exercising power greed by violating constitutional and human rights protections. Jammeh’s known power excesses and human rights violations cannot be all chronicled in a single paper. Most of the organizations and individuals doing a review on his political criminality come short as events are with respect to time.

Take an example, the U.S State Department and the recently completed United Nation rapporteur which succeeded in revealing a pinch of Jammeh’s heinous nature but came short in practically scolding him, with the exception of cutting Aids meant for the Gambia. For the most part, Gambia online Newspapers and radios, and online activists in their many forums, did a lot of work in exposing Jammeh’s cupboard skeletal nibs, though the international community did very little to show empathy and solidarity with the oppressed Gambians, and it is as if some nations and organizations are petting the fully grown Gambian dictatorship. The only time you really hear from some of them is when their interest was touched. This is very unfortunate.

Recently during Jammeh’s commemoration of the 21^st anniversary of the July 22^nd military takeover, Jammeh showed his usual fetish and boastful nature by bad-mouthing citizens, and announcing to release some prisoners. Before getting into this topic proper, I want to publicly mention that I haven’t done anything wrong to Jammeh, and I neither need his forgiveness nor pardon. Jammeh can keep his blanket amnesty to those that wronged him, and those that are buying into Jammeh’s tomfoolery can as well choose to hang their lives. I am personally not interested in any amnesty, reconciliation, and position from Jammeh. He can carry the entire world, including his own criminal baggage on his head and just keep walking and let us see how far he can sustain the weight on his head.

My observations starts with Jammeh being under high pressure, both national and international, especially of late when he came under close radar monitor. Jammeh is sent to lick his wounds, inferior complexity and egos. This is a cheap way of buying himself time on the power seat. He is reminded that time is running out and he needs to step down and submit himself to justice without delay. The more he stays in power, the more he reduces his chances of making it to his trial court alive, matter of fact, it is conclusive to say that Jammeh will sustain more deadly wounds than Libyan Gadhafi and Guinean Nino Vieira. His exit is imaginarily ugly as his criminal baggage is heavy, and he drowns to rock-bottom in no time, in the most horrific way.

Most importantly, most of these cases were cooked-up, and some of these fellows didn’t commit the crimes they were accused in courts of law. Most as noted can be wrong by association, participation, and complicity, a crime that many Gambians down-play especially with mass enabling force that station themselves comfortably only after they part with Jammeh. In fact, most of these enablers are the first causality of Jammeh’s criminality, because the crocodile preys on the available prey. The many killed will never come back. Take an example the many that disappeared in the Gambia since this criminal administration came to power. Think of all those that were tortured, dealt with in some other wrong ways. Most of these are chemical reaction damages that cannot be reversed, as the dead will not come to life, and those that sustained physical, emotional, psychological damages are unlikely to heal anytime soon either. How can this be forgiveness and amnesty then?

Anyone who is following Gambia’s political situation knows the ending is coming nearer at a fast speed. The Gambia is sitting on a time-bomb about to explode and only if God helps us, that we see an exit of this criminal regime with minimal damage on collateral, property and human life. Jammeh has been cornered and isolated, both locally and the international community and that leaves him with the only option of bowing down to pressure, because a lot of organizations and nations cut him on his aids. By releasing these prisoners, he will reduce the overcrowded nature of Gambia’s prisons, added to the fact that he couldn’t sustain the prisoners’ well-being in terms of feeding, shelter, and medical conditions. This will also help him buy some political points with the hope that donor nations and organizations will start giving him funds to run his projects and dirty political agendas.

A third developing nation like the Gambia with no major export, oil, and minerals will sink down to rock-bottom if aids were cut. Unfortunately Gambia’s only tourism industry which supported the economy in a larger percentage went down because of Jammeh’s human rights violations and Gambia’s political instability. The food scarcity continues with skyrocketing commodity prices. The pay scale is low to support working families and most families depend wholly of remittances from their friends and relatives outside the Gambia to get on survival daily, as the major farming method, subsistence farming hasn’t catered enough produce to feed the demanding population. The lack of improved mechanical farming methods such as irrigation and good farming practices, grabbing of productive lands by Jammeh from its owners, together with his false hope around farming, all helps to continually dwindle farming in the Gambia, added to the lack of a ready market to sell produce at harvest. The latest which is enslavement of citizens at his farms shows the lowest level that this man masquerading in the presidency has gotten. Many are forced to work on his farms without pay.

Part of the problem with this so-called amnesty is the criteria which shapes a very ugly nature, according to Jammeh’s misfit thinking, with higher chance that it can even cause some problems, some of which we will see in the near future. Jammeh was seen doing his normal self, fetish, complex, insane, and hypocritical. He is the most divisive person that one can come across in history. I am pretty sure these rules of releasing these prisoners weren’t properly examined, neither debated at national assembly level nor followed wisely. This is more of a problem, another form of Jammeh’s political hypocrisy. I leave that to time, the old arbiter of matters to shine on it.

So a clear message to those who are easily taken by Jammeh’s political hypocrisy and gymnastic. Life is about principle. It is about following your heart for what is good for your nation and its people. In this regard, we accept the freedom of those released, and we say no thank-you to Jammeh, rather we say, it is too late and way overdue. It is not enough at that. We say, shame on you Jammeh for being the political criminal you are and putting Gambians in the type of captivity for over two decades. We say, Jammeh your so-called amnesty is all lies, as Gambians are not in need of your amnesty, and if there is any needing amnesty, it’s Jammeh’s sinking soul.

To the many Gambian activists at home and abroad, you succeeded in having a big victory today. Go celebrate for fighting to liberate your nation. You succeeded in cornering and isolating Jammeh completely, forcing him to bow down to pressure. This is one of the biggest battles you won in this struggle. While Jammeh may tailor the story as if it is religious, cultural, and all the nonsense, we all know it is fat lies, fabrication, and political emptiness. It is obvious that he fools nobody but himself and he can wallow in his political madness all he wants, and that doesn’t move people an inch. Among those that are politically wrong is Jammeh.

Stay put comrades! Please don’t be moved by the so-called amnesty and don’t lose sleep over Jammeh’s usual bad-mouthing of Gambian citizens. It is your victory, go celebrate! Jammeh has been cornered and he is bowing down to pressure. One more final push and we can send his sinking soul packing and off to where he belongs.

Long Live the Gambia!

Addressing this subject of Yahya Jammeh’s leadership, I am going to be using my experience living in The Gambia as a child and a frequent visitor in my adulthood as a case study for several reasons:

1. Because Gambia is where I come from and, I am more familiar with it than any other country I have ever lived in.
2. Gambia was and arguably the most populous and vibrant country in West Africa therefore whatever affects Gambia affects all of the Western parts of Africa.
3. It has become a “proverb” all over the world how bad Yahya Jammeh’s leadership is ruining the Gambia socioeconomic institutions and fabrics.

Ever since I was a young teenager growing up in The Gambia, I kept hearing continuously almost like a mantra “that our only problem in the Gambia is Jammeh’s bad leadership” or “that our biggest problem in the Gambia is Yahya Jammeh”.

Books have been written about this man, Radio conference call forums are unending , social media topics and postings, all kinds of comments on social media platforms and avenues where various experts, teachers, writers, professors, have tried to foster solutions to this all abiding problem of how Yahya Jammeh ruined the Gambia’s economy and turned the country into a land of hopelessness.

To the man on the street however, who does not go to the symposiums and seminars, he is only left with what is displayed in his eyes as the Jammeh’s economic development only translates into the roads, street lights and well decorated buildings. Infrastructure that has no ‘intestines’ or tables, chairs, equipment etc, with the street person hoping that there would never arise a kind and lovely leader like Yahya Jammeh who will build a wonderful nation for them like what they already have under Jammeh, where everyone would be happy and satisfied like they are. For this hope, the ordinary man and woman prays in his church, mosque and even in the secrecy of his home for their president and his regimes infinitive longevity.

This hope is what drives him to keep on queuing up in all kinds of weather, in hope of showcasing his or her solidarity and loyalty to Yahya Jammeh and his cohorts. For the hope of this supposedly great and kind leader Yahya Jammeh. As paradoxical as this might sound, this hope have even led some naive and zealous men to sabotage and throw a number of attempted coupists’ under the bus all across The Gambia in recent times. In fear that just in case not from their ranks and social class, might arise that kind and great leader that would ignore their plight and selfish objectives of helping themselves build their dreamed paradise as already, under Jammeh.

The only problem with this kind of mentality is that it is now over 50 years since the Gambians have been hoping and are still hoping for a good and kind leader that would bring our nation to the Promised Land. If we are to apply the principle of critical thinking, we would see that it is either what we are praying and hoping for is wrong or something is wrong with our nation The smiling coast (The Gambia).

Hypothetically, if this hope and prayers had been correct, there should have been at least a president amongst the two we ever had in The Gambia since independence, who should have gotten it right, especially since the time span we are talking about is not 5 or 10 years, but over 50 years. 50 years is a lot of time. There should have arose a lot of opportunities for at least a few Divisions in the Gambia to have produced a great leader, who would have built prosperous and a greater Gambian nation.

The fact that this same problem seems to plague all the over 50 countries in Africa, is by itself not a coincidence. With no apparent evidence of remedy, could this be telling us that we are putting our hope in the wrong place? Are we sure Yahya Jammeh’s leadership is truly our main problem

As a young teenager growing up in The Gambia, there was no chance for me to think outside the box. I automatically found myself thinking as majority of the people in The Gambia. That our only problem is “Yahya Jammeh’s leadership” in The Gambia. Whenever we speak about Yahya Jammeh’s leadership however, we are not talking about the leadership of schools or less significant government agencies. We mainly refer to a politician or top government officials at the helm of affairs in our nation.

I listened to that theorem, that our main problem is Yahya Jammeh’s leadership so many times, that I never even thought it might not be true. It was automatically assumed to be true by most of the people around me. But Jammeh’s brutality cannot be ignored and it speaks for itself, worst dictator in recent times.

“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” 1 cor. 13:11

However, having lived outside of the Gambia for the past 20 years, working with politicians, countries, governments and being a student of national transformation. I now being a consultant and an expert in a top global financial institution, i now think differently.

Before I bring out my arguments, permit me to say that there is no doubt about it that Yahya Jammeh’s leadership has no place in our entire human civilization endeavor as a nation. My friend John Maxwell has popularized the saying “Everything rises and falls on leadership” I couldn’t agree more.

However, when it comes to building a nation, even though leadership too is important, but it won’t be of overwhelming significance. The role of leadership might be more significant when we are talking of business, company, or smaller units like family, communities, associations, industries, etc.

In the above mentioned people groups, the role of a set man is almost supreme and indispensable. But when it comes to nations, I would like you to take your time to read through my argument in this piece. I appeal to all of you that are reading this, not to be in a hurry to stone me or stop reading. Please don’t think I am in some form of error or in support of Yahya Jammeh’s regime or his brutality.  I am not!

Let me reinstate here that yes, leadership is important in all human endeavors, but when it comes to nation building, leadership, especially leadership of a single man is not of the significance we have attached to it.

In history however, not too many people were willing to listen to this type of reasoning that I am presenting today. All throughout human history, men tend to simply take it for granted that a good leader means a good nation. A kind leader would take care of his people and bad leaders oppress their people.

There is a justification to this manner of thinking though. Especially since most parts of the then known world, in almost all ethnic groups, the leadership of these nations were primarily kings and monarchs. In which case without a doubt, individual leadership of the monarch is the singular factor in determining the standard of living of the people.

Yes, if we in The Gambia today have been running a monarchy system of government then that statement, “leadership is our only problem” could have been justified.

Our modern world is long become a post monarch world. The democratic system of government has replaced the supremacy of the monarchs in most countries of the world. It is for this reason that the emergence of democracy has now reduced the all-important role of a good and kind leader in building a prosperous nation.

Even though leaders still have their place and their roles to play in building any kind of nation, yet in the modern world of the 21th century, the role a leader plays in building a nation is no more as paramount as it once use to be.

If I ask most of you reading this article to mention to me the names of the leaders of each European country, not many of you would be able to do that. Apart from the big and influential countries of the world like America, England, France Germany, etc. Most of you might not be able to name more than 10 leaders of nations.

The lesson history has taught us is that it is no more strong men that build great nations. It is strong systems that build great nations. If you have strong men that refused to build strong systems, their works would be short lived and their memory forgotten. Our emphasis therefore should be in raising experts, technocrats, administrators, leaders who are capable enough to build strong and lasting systems.

In most of the advanced countries of the world today, I cannot say they mostly have strong leaders. No, they no longer look for or depend on finding loving and caring leaders that will lead them to paradise. They have managed to build strong and reliable systems that functions automatically, irrespective of whom the leader is, strong or weak.

The truth is all these Gambian citizens asking for better leaders are not really ready for them. They mostly don’t know what they are asking for. Senegal was a case study in recent times. They had the best leader in Abdoulie Wada any nation could dream or think about. Their leader was so good and supreme that there was no country on earth that could produce a leader as good as he was. Yet, because Israel did not know the value of such leadership, they complained, they whined, murmured, grumbled and demanded for yet a better leader in “laid back” Macky Sall.

But the thing displeased Senegalese when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Senegalese people prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Senegalese as written in the bible, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”1sam 8:6-7

My dear readers, I hope you see what happened here. The leader the children of Senegal had and were not satisfied with was the Lord God himself. He was ruling over them through Abdoulie Wada. But the people of Senegal were still not happy; they wanted to have a leader according to their own fantasy. They wanted a King, so God gave them a king. But soon afterwards, they were again dissatisfied with this king they got and demanded yet for another.

When people think that their only problem is leadership that is a way of them saying, it is only the leader that needs to change. Meaning they don’t need to change. It is only the leader that must pay the price of growth and development. Meaning they don’t need to do that. It is only the leader that must work out means for their advancement and prosperity, while they just follow.

What is happening in this case is that, the people are abdicating their power to the leader. But that is not what democracy is all about. Democracy is all about the power of the people, for the people and by the people. In democracy it is the people that take responsibility for the growth and development of their nations. They take responsibility for their economy. They take responsibility for their advancement and civilization. Even though there is a place for leadership, but leadership only stops in the area of giving direction and casting vision.

Had there been strong leaders in the world that worked the magic and succeeded in bringing the desired prosperity to their people? Yes indeed, but in every one of those cases, it’s either the leaders were eventually killed, betrayed or rejected. Most of these so called great leaders were only recognized as such after their death.

The truth is people who ask for good leaders, don’t know what they are asking for. Most of Gambians don’t know what they want. Yahya Jammeh is a bad leader no doubt, but our institutions and democracy is as weak as Yahya Jammeh.

It’s elections 2016, so let’s show Yahya Jammeh that power belongs to the people and our people build leaders and our institutions are strong enough to kick him out of power.

This obsession about Enablers of Yaya Jammeh is going to be a major factor in the derailment and weakening of the struggle to bring about positive change in the Gambia if we are not careful. All those who are struggling to remove Yaya Jammeh must realize that in fact all Gambians are enablers of Yaya Jammeh. The facts are clear; first, the people voted for him, either by directly voting for him or refusing to vote at all and therefore enabling him to be a winner.

Secondly, the opposition, by their refusal to see the urgency of unity by any means have therefore conceded the space to Yaya Jammeh to occupy in full. By their failure to unite, the position has also caused frustration in many people to lose hope and therefore fail to vote. Thirdly, all those Gambians who have fled the Gambia for whatever reason have by their absence enabled Yaya Jammeh to occupy the space in full. Fourthly, All those Gambians who are in the country and have refused to stand up and demonstrate against the regime have therefore enabled Yaya Jammeh to continue to rule as he wished. Fifthly, all those who have decided to work with him in any capacity are also enablers. Therefore in essence all Gambians are enablers of Yaya Jammeh.

Having said that let us however realise that all of these enablers come in various degrees of responsibility and culpability. Of course there are many among the voters of Yaya Jammeh who do not have the necessary information and political awareness to realise that this regime is not in their interest. Others have been intimidated or marginalized by denying them basic social services in their communities and therefore forced to vote or show allegiance to him. We cannot hold these voters primarily responsible for the atrocities of Yaya Jammeh.

There are many in the public service that are honestly and genuinely doing their work as citizens for the State of the Gambia and in most cases with so much indignity because of the abuse and interference they get in their jobs from the Office of the President. These are innocent men and women who may have even gone to Kanilai to farm or paraded before Yaya Jammeh on July 22 celebrations. They have been forced to do so, openly or tacitly and they lack the individual power to resist.

Yet there are also those at high levels as directors in various ministries and departments and even heads of institutions who are complying but with lot of indignity and tacit resistance. Some have served in that capacity primarily because they genuinely believe that they can make a difference and have taken steps to bring about change in their little ways. They are not enablers. People like Fatou Camara or Amadou Scattred Janneh can be counted among many as part of this group. Fatou was the first to truly bring media chiefs for a detente with the dictator with a view to improve relations in the interest of the country. As minister, Scattred Janneh was the only one to have visited the burnt Independent newspaper and express total solidarity with the newspaper contrary to Yaya Jammeh attitude.

Those we need to hold to account are indeed Gambians either as public officials or private citizens who have taken decisions and executed actions that directly harm Gambians. For example, Momodou Sabally has made official statements that insult the dignity and integrity of the Gambia and her citizens. As recent as few weeks ago, Sheriff Bojang has not only denied, but went further to defend the atrocities of this regime openly in response to the US State Department’s report on human rights in the Gambia. Other individuals like Imam Fatty or the Imam Ratib have not only failed to provide good counsel to Yaya Jammeh and condemn the un-Islamic nature of the regime and actions of Yaya Jammeh, but went ahead to defend and cleanse Yaya Jammeh as an Allah-fearing individual. We do not even have to mention others such as security men and women who carried out actual acts of violence in the name of Yaya Jammeh. For example Bai Lowe did confess that he was part of the assassin team.

But even where such individuals did such, what needs to be born in mind is that when such an enabler finally breaks off from Yaya Jammeh for whatever reason and now finds it prudent to seek the removal of Yaya Jammeh, we the people must welcome such individuals. Bai Lowe just demonstrated that he is prepared to give his life away to see to it that Yaya Jammeh is removed. This is noble of him, indeed! They can only add value and strength to the struggle than otherwise. By their willingness and readiness to seek change in the Gambia is clear testimony of their acknowledgement of the misrule of this regime regardless of their previous participation. We cannot therefore forsake such people. They are Gambians and they have a right to take part in the development of this country. We cannot claim holier than thou attitude to shun them. After all many of us would have acted similarly or even worse than the people we accuse of being enablers if our circumstances turned in a certain way. In that case we would have also become a terrible enabler. But it won’t be justified for us to bar such people when after everything they decided to join the struggle to save the Gambia.

No Gambian has the authority to determine who should be part of the struggle or not. Each and every one must do his or her part and be your own judge. So long as one is not continuing to engender the regime and directly harm Gambians by your individual actions, any individual who now seeks to bring about change is an arsenal that must be accepted and utilized.

If we do so then we will all become Dis-Enablers of the ENBALERS in which case we are all therefore enabling the regime directly or indirectly. Think about it…!