THE “TACTICAL COALITION” GOVERNMENT IN MOTION BUT WITHOUT DIRECTION.
By: Ousainou Mbenga
The slogan “Gambia Has Decided” which gave our beloved Gambia another world prominence since ROOTS and Kunta Kinteh has been officially replaced by “God Has Decided”. According to the Minister of Tourism, Hamat Bah, “God” has decided for Adama Barrow to be the president of The Gambia, therefore everyone should support the decision. Hamat and charlatans like him should leave God out of this matter. If God had a hand in this decision, God would have made sure of a leadership who “abhors greed and detest vanity,” whose humility is their strength and integrity their greatness”. Barrow and his “tactical coalition” government probably need your lame and senseless excuses made on their behalf but God doesn’t need your excuses. Furthermore, if God had anything to do with our situation everyone in the country would have had a sheep or ram to slaughter for Eid (Tobaski) just as Barrow’s entourage to Mecca and the rest of the aspiring “petit bourgeoisie”set on the same tracks as the Jammeh regime.
We must expose these charlatans who hide behind “God” to perpetuate our miserable conditions of existence with no relief in sight. We must fearlessly challenge all charlatans and the so called learned religious numbskulls that God has nothing to do with the oppressive conditions inflicted upon our people by the governments we elect. The governments are responsible, not God. We should be the ones giving the warnings to these unscrupulous government officials not the other way around.
Since Barrow has been “tactically muted”, he needs a mouthpiece to transmit his muted messages. At a press conference to justify the 57 brand new vehicles bribed to the National Assembly Members (NAM), the minister went on a tirade punctuated with praise singing of their “new Gambia” ending with a stern warning: “Those who think that they can destabilize this country, they are fooling themselves. God has decided that Adama Barrow is the president of this country. God has decided that. Those who want to abuse the system will find themselves somewhere very uncomfortable at the end of the day”. Waxing indignant, the minister leaves no doubts in our minds and hearts that the “old Gambia” of intimidation and fear-mongering under Jammeh is not yet dead.
For all practical purposes, the Barrow administration poses as the greatest destabilizing factor in the Gambia because of their actions and policies or lack thereof. All evidence points to their unwillingness to dismantle the vermin infested structures that sustained the Jammeh regime. And in the absence of a planned program for a “new beginning,” the Barrow administration lacking direction resorts to the following potentially destabilizing actions:
- The calculated undermining of “coalition 2016” in a rush for political predominance.
- The recycling of known National Intelligence Agency (N.I.A) agents who terrorized our people into the State Intelligence Service (S.I.S) in pursuit of a meaningless “reconciliation.”
- Retaining the architects of the APRC apparatus that ran the country into a grind.
- Condoning the resurgence of reactionary ethnic affiliations through nepotism.
- Questionable financial interactions with “foreign donors” for unscrupulous investment ventures.
- The delaying tactics pertaining to the office of vice president nomination.
- No mention of term limits for the presidency.
- The habitual non-responsiveness on matters of national priority such as the recent flood disaster across the country.
Here in lies the ingredients of destabilization brothers and sisters not the criticisms made of the Barrow administration and the simple question. Where are they leading us to?
“ONLY SCIENCE CAN LIBERATE AFRICA”
First, we must challenge and dismiss the myth that science is beyond the grasp of the masses of our people. I am confident that the last 22 years of Jammeh’s tyranny has awaken the sensibilities of our people to question the reasons for our wretch conditions of living and not leave it to blind faith interpretations. Only science can liberate Africa and Gambia in particular from the historic “one step forward, two steps backward” leadership that continue to suffocate every breathing space the masses create to relief ourselves from misery, only to be betrayed by the most unreliable sector of our society, the impotent petit bourgeoisie. We must cultivate a new and reliable leadership for the genuine “new Gambia”.
Our only guarantee to genuine liberation hinges on our unwavering determination for social justice, meaningful peace and a political strategy for economic prosperity. These lofty ideals are best attainable through the application of SCIENCE. The testable explanations of our wretched conditions of living and how to change it for the better as oppose to the backward believe that it was predestined for us to suffer on earth.
It is abundantly clear that the Barrow “tactical coalition” administration is buying time by making empty promises to consolidate their state power while taking us for granted. Yet still the advocates of “give them a chance” refuse to accept the fact that we can’t continue to sit or stand on the tracks waiting for a possible “run-away-train”. Some of us vigorously refuse to be led without a plan or program into uncharted territories.
What happened in the Gambia from 1994 to 2016 will not happen again. We must make demands of the Barrow administration and take them to task as oppose to “give them a chance” without any “accountability, transparency and honesty”. The “give them a chancers” want to hold us hostage in defense of the regime, even in their persistent lackluster performance.
We have entered the era of revolutionary politics with unwavering determination to entrench the power and will of the people to change our horrible conditions of living. We don’t have another 52 years to waste waiting for another demoralizing and unreliable regime (elite) that produces nothing but imports everything to rescue us. Our future is in our own hands not “donors, aid and partners in development”.
SOLIDARITY NOT CHARITY IS OUR BATTLE CRY! ONE GAMBIA! ONE NATION!
