Once Upon a Time – Ever heard of a runaway President held captive at a ‘Malabo’ prison-house denied of the very basic comforts and certain luxuries taken for granted. How about the left-over bullshit crowd stranded to mourn the monster’s fall existing on a diet of delusion brainwashed to the core. In this narrative, we shall chide the antics of a secretive APRC cult left to fend-for-themselves by the imbecile Kanilai Monster they had idolize. It is an opinion-piece story on a scandalous criminal syndicate on a short hiatus in Guinea Equatorial & elsewhere before the International Criminal Court (ICC) come calling.
As for the APRC bandwagon, every sector of Gambian society was infected with its venom. Just yesterday I learnt of school names, and roads and public spaces still littered with the so-called July 22 tag. Those schools must effect immediate name-change or be shut down, and the roads and squares renamed. Folks that is no power overreach, but for the fact that tax-payer ‘dalasis’ funded those projects, plus the tags are mired in controversy, glorifying a coup. And for #DailyObserver Newspaper, the nonsensical games as the mouthpiece of a group accused of high-crimes is concerning. The editorship therein continue to embolden the same agenda-driven APRC narrative & antics of a scandalous nature. Stop it! And learn to be a newspaper abiding by the ethics of that profession – or declare your true colours: In the case of Saul Badjie, the NIA 9, Yankuba Kolley, Seedy Njie, APRC fool-in-chief Fabakary Tombong Jatta, and others – reflection is a powerful tool & sincerity is a virtue. If you would chew on this throw-back see how it feels with such narratives & expletives as ‘’SUMMA DEKKA’’ ‘’DEKKA BI MAA KOMOUM’’ ‘’I WILL RULE THIS COUNTRY FOR A BILLION YEARS …’’ ‘’No Mandinka will ever rule this country as long as …’’ on, and on, and on. Today, the Gambian people have sent u packing, unhinged, heaping shame on you through the power of the pen, and with it showcase talent.
It is a difficult task trying to analyse these spineless cowards spewing lies with no remorse. Just dial back to the recent hate speech by the clueless Fabakary Tombong Jatta. A friend of mine suggested what the APRC crowd need was psychological counselling. Perhaps, but let it be known that every aider and abetter of the Jammeh regime found to be complicit will face the music. No matter how long it takes – a permanent court-system shall be instituted in Banjul to hear & to prosecute atrocious crimes of that misrule. For national security reasons Yahya Jammeh should NEVER be allowed to set foot in the Gambia – to be tried and jailed through the international legal instrument. Given the divisions and evil inclinations associated with those unlettered segments of his ilk, even his dead-body should never be allowed on Gambian soil dispelling the hysteria of a scandalous era in our country’s history. In recent years, the world watched with keen eyes as Hissen Habre, the former Chadian dictator was sentence to life in jail at the high court in Dakar. In time, the Ministry of Justice may decide & consult through ECOWAS and African Union framework as such. Please allow me to register unshakable confidence in Minister Tambedou – He reeks of quality throughout!!!
And whilst Jammeh transport our food and wealth to kanilai for himself and kin, tragedy struck for a hungry nation emptying itself through the ‘backway’ migration to Europe. Ordinary families enduring hell-and-high-water though persevered through maximum restraint & patience. In my travels across Europe, never have I seen a people so concerned for their own back home than the diaspora registering excellence within the economy #LoveGambia. We should not forget to applaud our Christian community for standing by its values and for keepin-it-real during that stress. The Banjul Christian Community held the ball tight even when all hope seems to be fading. That closed-knit community refused to be used by the lure of APRC dirty cash, cars and cheap thrills. Indeed a lesson to our young people, and to people everywhere!
With the downfall of dictatorship, I had expect the entire Supreme Islamic Council would rush to resign for failing the Muslim Community. Ethics to side, imagine a scenario of a Kanilai-born pauper of no fixed address giving a million-dalasi gift to that Council, would the leadership not first seek to ascertain its origins? Or they knew Jammeh is a thief but still accepted the money, and cars, and the gifts. To great surprise, I watched in utter dismay the same Supreme Islamic Council cosying up to the new leadership with soothing words even harder to digest. IT AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN – because the old ways are obsolete. Moreover, for the strict business of a secular state as specified under Gambian law. In my view, the country could do with new leadership at the Supreme Islamic Council for the fact that that noble institution was left corrupted, with tainted reputations who failed in their advisory role in Islamic jurisprudence. I remembered the privilege and honour being audience to a series of lectures by the celebrated Gambian Islamic Scholar Ustaz Omar Bun Jeng (R.I.P). A noble man who epitomise profound humility, of knowledge and of high ethical standing. A giant among scholars, he lived and died simple. And every time I think of such calibre of scholars, Imam Baba Leigh springs to mind, so does Imam Bakawsu Fofana, and Ustazz Barra Kanteh in Sifoe, and countless others across ‘blessed’ country.
In closing – Let us take a walk across to KMC see what’s in store. The wealthiest Metropolitan council in the country in terms of tax receipts and subvention from central government. And just in case you’re left wondering, the council is headed by the world’s most useless Mayor in the person of Yankuba Kolley. A celebrated idle-man with unmatched skills organising birthdays using tax-payer funds whilst the city burns to rubbish sic. Lonely, came to define them, even the women folk APRC would cavort with in tax-payer-funded-wastage have jumped trains, migrated to pastures new. Folks guilt can be torturous for it takes a criminal to befriend one. As the mark of July 22 comes to pass, people of understanding will reflect on the tragedies & events leading up to NOW, whilst reconcile to cultivate ways that represent the very best of us in the manner we treat one another. Brothers & sisters – ‘Wherever you see wrong, or injustice, report it to the police, because this is your country. And your democracy. You made it. Protect it. And pass it on.’
And for anyone out there conniving to harm our government & country, you will never succeed; because the Gambian people have finally journeyed to light, closing a chapter of darkness on a criminal empire left to rue for its crimes.
Gibril Saine, LONDON
