Alagi Yorro Jallow
Today the challenge of political courage looms larger than ever before,” Sen. John F. Kennedy wrote in 1956, five years before he became president. Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission Alieu Momar Njie and Halifa Sallah former spokesperson of the Coalition 2016 during the political impasse took principled and unpopular stands that put them at odds with friends, colleagues and constituents but that they felt were morally necessary for themselves and for the Gambian people . Extraordinary circumstances prompted acts of political courage. In the wake of the political impasse, Alieu Momar Njie sided with conscientious Gambians decided to side with the right side of history and unwilling to side with the wrong side of history.
Mamudu: The unprecedented complete wipe-out of Gambian power executives has got me thinking. We, as Gambians cannot build a corrupt free, progressive and prosperous future for our people if we institutionally condone, for political expediency, a dishonorable recruitment system for political leadership through a bidding process. Politics cannot be about public service for those who consider it as an investment or a profession.
Mamudu: Corrupt governments work like a system of gears. One gear spin another. Benefits of corruption is what keeps the system “lubricated.” One broken cog and the whole system comes to a halt. Sometimes it simply takes the courage of one individual in the right place and not a revolution to upset the apple cart.
Mamudu: Tell me why President Adama Barrow cannot read the Riot Act on Corruption. Why is Adama Barrow and his Attorney General and Minister of Justice Alhagie Baa Tambadou unable to apply the levers provided by the constitutional, political and personal soft power to weed this government of these corrupt maniacs on steroids, irrespective of rank, who are busy stealing money for our youth and farmers? Why are we not picking these corrupt men and women, regardless of their stature, religious political and tribal affiliation and prosecute them for economic hemorrhage. There is a huge disconnect somewhere.
In the political hinterland of the present-day new Gambia, with its political rhetoric, Alieu Momar Njie and Halifa Sallah reminds us that not to speak is to speak, and not to act is to act. For them, an act of political courage can only be a real choice made by a real person at a specific location or a specific time. As Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, Alieu Momar Njie clearly decided which side of history he would be on. He made a choice of enormous courage. It was an action of the heart. His humanity was radiant. Alieu Momar Njie gave ‘joy and hope’ to hundreds of thousands who needed freedom and liberty. His political courage inspired a generation and led society to pursue the common good. This, by any standards, is an immense legacy.
In Gambia, it is one Alieu Momar Njie, Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission that abruptly ended Yahya Jammeh bloody dictatorship. Yahya Jammeh was so confident of electoral victory that he allowed enhancements to electoral laws to bring greater “credibility” to Gambian elections. On polling day, voters overwhelmingly voted against him. He then tried to influence the electoral commission to announce him winner.
During the impasse and pressure from military figures and Yahya Jammeh, Alieu Momar Njie stood his ground. Threats were against his life. At some point he sought refuge in Senegal. Alieu Momar Njie’s conscience was one with most Gambians. It was time for Yahya Jammeh to go. Njie, true to his oath of office, announced Adama Barrow as the legitimate winner of the elections. Political moves that Yahya Jammeh and his military friends made after Alieu Momar Njie’s announcement only served to make President Jammeh the more illegitimate. In the end, Yahya Jammeh was humbled. He hurriedly went into exile in Equatorial Guinea.
Just thinking; is there a steak of Alieu Momar Njie in our Attorney General and Minister of Justice Baa Tambadou? Is he willing and able to indict ANYONE for economic crimes, irrespective of their stature in society? Can he withstand the pressure and threats that come with building cases against the Gambia’s High and Mighty? At this rate, it is only natural to assume that the corrupt elite will start ganging up against him. Does he have the wherewithal to move a notch higher, above arresting ordinary CEOs of government enterprises to raiding houses of very senior members of the executive?
Can the Attorney General and Minister of Justice say NO to the President, if, for example, the President, for selfish reasons, was to object to the opening of investigations against suspects close to him? Does the Justice Ministry or the Director of Public Prosecutor come with the courage to bring obstruction of justice charges against any senior member of the executive trying to influence his office against charging or investigating any specific persons?
I am waiting for another Alieu Momar Njie moment. The courage of one individual, doing the right job, in the right place in the interest of the ordinary man on the streets has the power to permanently change how leaders conduct the affairs of government.
With the current constitutional order, it could happen in our lifetime. Is the Attorney -General and Minister of Justice Alhagie Baa Tambadou the man? I do not know……..
