By Lamin Keita
I am calling on all patriotic Gambian military officers to defect immediately so that your sons and daughters and mine can be proud of your legacy, sacrifice and bravery for the Gambia. Yahya Jammeh has murdered his close associates and has lied to Gambians for many years, till now.
We still have a few individuals who doggedly want him to remain in power against the will of the people of the Gambia. In contrast, this message goes to all bonafide Gambian Military officers or civilians. I am sure the Gambian military are clueless as to what direction they are undertaking, other than being loyal to Jammeh. I watched CDS Badjie, the Interior Minister Bah’ and the Vice-President Njie Saidy’s on GRTS giving speeches in a ceremony promoting military officers.
I washed my hands, and removed my [lost] trust, from all the mentioned upper echelons of Jammeh’s state sponsored rebels. What I was able to conjecture using my theoretical knowledge of political science is that Gambians must not depend on (or expect that), the Gambian Military will save them from their recent predicament. It is reasonable and compelling to state that Jammeh has exhausted all of the ‘bench-marks’ that has supported a warrant for his arrest since 1994, by the military; yet, none of this has occurred, up to this date. Additionally, Jammeh’s provocative speech of rejecting the election result justify his immediate arrest by any competent and intelligent military units globally, except [of course] the Gambia. The Gambian military knew Jammeh was fanning the flames and digging their own graves.
Moreover, in reviewing the CDS speech, what I have honestly deduced from what he spoke is that he was telling the military “to kill any coalition supporter who might demand Jammeh’s step down” in the name of maintaining the peace and security of the Gambia. Furthermore, the same words were spoken more specifically by the Interior Minister Bah, that the military officers must “suppress the Gambians and any external forces”, no matter what it cost.
However, I believe that all of the so-called ‘promoted officers’ knew that their promotions were not sincerely legit, and they would do much better if the Gambia were under the umbrella of democracy, than living under the climate of Jammeh’s oppressive rule. They may be promoted today, but they’ll be persecuted at a future date by the same despot, Jammeh. The military should also know that, they are not an enemy to the people of the Gambia, and should not be fooled by the “carrot-and-stick” approach, which Jammeh is using to tantalize them. He will decorate them with the highest, flashiest honors he can command, but I can assure you, he is going to kill all of you.
I will bluntly issue this statement for CDS Badjie and security forces that had earlier announced that they ratify and sanction Barrow with the Coalition, as the winners of the December 1st election—to know that they can tell lies all along, but they cannot fool the Gambians all of the times. We are aware of the lies you peddle; especially, on December 3rd to 5th, when you attempted to clandestinely remove weapons from Kanilie and Batto Kunku to deliver them to Yundum, Bakau, as well as, within the greater Banjul area with the flimsy excuse that you were de-escalating Jammeh’s power. Nor are we unaware of your false excuse that you did not want the Casamance rebel to get hands on Jammeh’s weapons. It is time to expose these people, who pose as champions for the cause of the people, and compel them to tell the truth.
Can CDS Badjie tell Gambians and the world, who Borra Colley, transported in a black-tinted Mini-van from Kanilai to Banjul on Monday, December, 5 2016? Gambians deserve to know who and what was in that van. Can CDS Badjie attest to the Holy Quran, he frequently cited in his rambling speech, if he did not order the arrest of Batch Jaw (a soldier) and the other soldiers a day before the election. Jaw and other soldiers were turned in by one Ebrima Colley from Banyaka (a soldier nick name Banyaka), after they openly state that they will never vote for Jammeh. They were subsequently arrested, and are still in detention at NIA. More importantly, If Badjie really support the will of the Gambians why wouldn’t he request the release of these soldiers?
Overall, let us not allow ourselves to be fooled twice by the few non-intelligent military officers. I have declared it, and I have evidence that since in Jammeh’s concessional speech, there was a conditional clause because he asked his military henchmen to defuse the tension by force, but because of the number of youth populating in the streets of Serrekunda and Banjul, the military’s refuse to execute his actions because of bloodbath. Jammeh’s next move was to cause civil disobedience (particularly, from the court appearance of the UDP leaders).
Jammeh’s plot was if UDP members forcibly demanded Darboe and other political prisoners released in court, then the military was going to be called in, following a massive demonstration by his APRC supporters—with a military coup ensuing. By the grace of Allah, all these sinister activities of Jammeh have failed and were exposed before implementation. I am sure by now, you have now connected the dots that Jammeh was left with no choice other than declaring that the election was rigged, and he now calls for a fresh election. Jammeh was also hunted by his banning of post demonstration because his last resort was to call his supporters to demonstrate and denounce the December 1st, 2016, election as having been rigged. Ultimately, in the coming days we will see if Jammeh will flagrantly violate this or not.
In short, whoever is supporting the illegitimate return of Jammeh, whether you are in the Gambia, or in the diaspora, you are digging your own graves. Certainly, your name will be provided to the ICC for being part and parcel of the persecution squad of Jammeh. For the Gambian military, especially to the CDS Badjie, Bora Colley, Interior Minister Bah, Sule Badjie, Yankuba Badjie, and finally, my landed primary school classmate, Umper Mende, a word to the wise is quite sufficient. It would be wise for you to defend the course and the will of “we, the people,” than defending a criminal. “We, the people” will understand your efforts and sacrifice for defending the truth and interest of the Gambians now, than when Jammeh is forced to relinquish power, which is the ultimate and the inevitable end, we are approaching.
All the signs are indelibly written on the wall that Jammeh is just waiting—buying time—so before it’s too late, I appeal in the name of whatever god you worship, quickly make this astute move to save yourselves. Furthermore, the Gambians and the coalition members should be extremely careful what CDS Badjie tells them. If he and the security forces are truly supporting Barrow, Badjie would not have arrested the soldiers on Wednesday (the day before the election), for simply saying they were not going to vote for Jammeh. Why would CDS Badjie be playing double standards, while fully knowing that he will be the first one to be eliminated, if Jammeh returns to power.
This word also goes out to the coalition: keep up the momentum, and always give hope to your supporters through the social media. Information is power, and this is what Jammeh has fed on for 22 years, and is still exploring the same strategies. The faster you put your word out, the more consolidated you become—there is no cause to fear or succumb to Jammeh’s tirade. Because slowing down the momentum will render the supporters’ weak and will consolidate the dictator Jammeh’s unholy course. History has taught us that dictators can’t withstand pressure, and this pressure must never fade out or become a passive mover. Fire up! Fire up! One Gambia, one people, and the Truth shall set us free. No amount of insurmountable force will thwart this noble journey we have just begun, and it is important for our military, which does not have a sense of direction at this moment, to devote their support to the will of the Gambian people. They will become more honorable and patriotic under the new Gambia, rather than becoming a rebel in their own land.
