Gambia’s criminal ruler, Yaya AJJ Jammeh, came to power through a military-backed overthrow on July 22nd 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 21st anniversary of the July 22nd 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!
