JAMMEH GOT TO GO-JOURNALIST MATHEW K JALLOW!!!
                BY STAFF WRITER OMAR NJIE
  "We have a history of false allegations with Jammeh, beginning with the Sana Sabally and Sadibou Hydara cases. I do not think Edward Singateh himself is as 
safe as he wants to believe. My own quarrel with Edward Singateh is why in the world did he, Sabally and Basirou Barrow, allowed Jammeh, a Casamance citizen to head their new government. That was a big mistake and we are all paying for it now. As far as the coup is concerned, I don't know what to believe here, but given Jammeh's history of false accusations, I will not be surprised if we find out 
it was all one big lie. In any case, I would have supported the removal of Jammeh by whatever means necessary, just as I supported Jawara's removal. If Jammeh were removed now, thousands of us will go home for the biggest one month of celebration that The Gambia has ever seen."said Mathew K Jallow, a Gambian journalist, cum political activist. Mr. Jallow was speaking in an exclusive interview with Freedom Newspaper's Omar Njie. Below is the full text of the interview. Please read on...
  
MATHEW K JALLOW, THE SON OF PEN AND MAN OF WISDOM

  Freedom Newspaper: Mathew your name is a household in The Gambia. You were one of those writing lead stories for the Daily Observer. Since your departure from Banjul, the observer had been turned into a pro-government Newspaper. In you own view who is to be blamed for the sale of the Observer? Do you have any idea about the sale of this onetime leading and respectable paper?

M JALLOW: The sale of the Daily Observer was in itself not necessarily a bad business decision. I am sure Mr. Kenneth Best may have felt that there was no way he could adequately and effectively manage the paper from this distance, however, I feel strongly that the true identity of the owner/s is still a mystery to us. I share the general belief that Amadou Samba is merely a front, and that the real owner is someone else. There are speculations that Yahya Jammeh is the real owner. We do not know for sure. As you rightly pointed out, The Daily Observer has become the mouth piece and the echo chamber of this government. The paper has lost its neutrality and its integrity. I personally don't bother reading it nowadays, and I suggest that people back home boycott it too. It is a propaganda tool for this regime, which means that all the paper produces is garbage designed to misinform and miseducate our people. That is what dictatorship do.
  

Freedom Newspaper: The sale of the Observer was greeted with a lot of controversy. While some Gambians believed that the so called proprietor Amadou Samba was used as a front by Jammeh to purchase the paper, on the other hand Samba insists that he owns the paper. What is your view on this ownership controversy?

M JALLOW: Like I said, I too do not think that the paper belongs to Mr. Samba. From the appearances of things, I can see Yahya Jammeh's footprints all over the newspaper. If Mr. Samba owns the paper, then he does not appear to have any say in its operation and management.

Freedom Newspaper: You served as Observer's Editor-in-Chief, can you tell us what type of person is Mr. Best? Do you think that Best betrayed Gambians by selling the paper to a man close to the President without conducting thorough back ground check on the person of Amadou Samba? Your stake on this?

M JALLOW: Though Mr. Best and I did not see eye to eye on many things, we maintained a strong mutual respect for each other. I needed to make a living and he was my number one fan; in other works, my journalistic style was a draw to a wide range of readers and he needed that kind of expertise and the innovative style of writing and coverage that I brought to the paper. Mr. Best and myself share a common frustration about the way Africa has evolved over the past half century. We both have a very strong passion to see Africa develop democratically, so that our people will enjoy the measure tranquility and prosperity that they so deserve. I will not fault Mr. Best for selling the paper. That was purely a business decision he had to make, and he was under no obligation to sell it to any particular type of person. Some business decisions people make, often trumps morality, and the two are not necessarily incompatible.

Freedom Newspaper: You sounded controversial. At your age, mathew is criss crossing everywhere just to take on the Jammeh dictatorship. This is manifested by your powerful write ups on this paper and other sister papers. Critics say the cheap talk is enough. It is time for action. What type of action do you want Gambians to take against Jammeh's government? 

M JALLOW: I can understand the frustrations of many people who are just looking for a leader to save our country from the grip of a dictatorship. I have always had a passion for writing, and I express myself best through it. When you combine my passion for writing with my very political mind, you expect an active and opinionated social and political commentary. I think Yahya has created so much bad blood in our country that he does not deserve to lead one day longer. Right at this moment, there is a popular uprising in Nepal. The king who had ruled with an iron-fist is conceding to a power sharing formula with the demonstrators. But now, they want him out instead, because he conceded too little and too late, and before it is all said and done, they may topple him. There is not a single head of state who is not vulnerable, and Yahya better put that at the back of his head. Right now, we need a popular uprising in The Gambia. We must commit to whatever is necessary to get rid
 of Yahya Jammeh once and for all. We cannot and must not rule out any method necessary to achieve this goal. The people have to overcome their fear of our military and their guns. After all, these are our sons, daughters,brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces, and there is not reason on earth why they cannot themselves overcome their own fear of Yahya Jammeh. We have just had enough of Yahya Jammeh's rule. This is not what our people bargained for when they elected Jammeh the very first time.

  Freedom Newspaper: Going back to your early days at the Observer, can you tell us something about the show down action you initiated against the management of Mr. Best? What must have compelled you to manipulate reporters and printers to rebel against Best's management? To what extent 
has the said strike affected the Observer? 

M JALLOW: Well, I did not manipulate anyone, Mr. Njie. Everyone joined me voluntarily, because they knew I was fighting for their best interest. I just felt that Mr. Best was not treating us fairly, and I need to stand up for us all, and I did. I got everyone around the table and I gave Mr. Best an ultimatum or else. This disrupted the papers flow in a significant way for about a week or so. But, Mr. Best later succeeded in turning everyone against me, and I became the phriah that everyone ran away from, because everyone was afraid that they might be accused of plotting something sinister when they talked to me. I became very isolated as if I had been possessed by an evil spirit. Yet, frankly, I did not blame them, because I understand everyone was in a survival mode, and talking to me would jeopardize their jobs and livelihoods. You see, what you have to know about me is that I hate injustices. I have a long documented history of rebelling against injustice, not only
 toward me, but to anyone. We should always treat others the way we want others to treat us. You never go wrong when you do this.

Freedom Newspaper: What can you tell us about the bees story you wrote some years back. Was this figment of your own imagination or a true story?

M JALLOW: Mr. Njie, I do not even remember this story. I do not remember writing about any bees, so I have nothing to say about this.

Freedom Newspaper: How was your relationship with the Nema kunku alkalo? Was it cordial?

M JALLOW: The alkalo of Nema Kunku, Momodou Bah, was my friend and brother. Besides. he was also my lecturer at Yundum College. I am a family friend and brother. I love his family and they all love me back. I have the same relationship with all the alkalos in that neighborhood.

Freedom Newspaper: During the First Republic you were arrested and later imprisoned at the Mile Two prison. What was life like in jail? Why were you imprisoned?

M JALLOW: In 1992, I was in prison for three weeks. It was the worst experience of my life. So, I do not wish Mile 2 to even my worst enemy. The mosquitoes are unbelievable. The place smells horribly. Imagine so many dirty bodies piled up together in such a tight space. It is just a horrible place to find oneself in. Not even a animal deserves to be locked up there. I remember when I got out of jail, I wrote a cover story for The Point Newspaper about what life was like behind bars. The story, a compelling reading was titled; "To Hell and Back." My jailing was not political, rather it was about the non-payment of child support. A lady in Lamin took me to court, and I was ordered to pay child support to her twin girls. I denied being the father to her twins, after I learnt that the real father was someone else. As you know here in America, the courts are reversing thousands of child support decisions because DNA tests exonerate men who had been paying support to children
 they did not father. Mothers can now be sued under the "deception law" to pay back every penny in child support they received from men they knowingly deceived about paternity. Being a father is the best thing in the world, and at first I was very estatic when she told me she was pregnant. I devoted everything I had to her pregnancy; time, money you name it, I did it for her. Everything she needed I bought for her, only to learn later that she had duped me. I was crushed beyond belief. Imagine devoting so much love and affection to babies only to learn that you are not their real biological father. 
Very devastating, isn't it? Now, I have an opportunity to have a DNA test done to prove once and for all that I am not the father those twin girls. The mother is Experanca Nyuky, and the twin girls are Margaret and Madalene I think, and they all live in Lamin village.

Freedom Newspaper: It's often said that jail helped to reform people. Has this saying applied on Mathew? What have you learned while in jail? What about the conditions of other inmates?

M JALLOW: Jail is a terrible place to be. I would not say that jail reformed me in any way, rather I came out a very bitter and angry person. It can cause some weak people to commit very serious crimes once they come out, but even though I had the thoughts, I never actualized them. But, was I bitter? You bet I was.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: You are very engage with Gambian politics, regardless of the fact that you are absent from the Gambia, what is your advise to Gambians in the diaspora regarding the wellbeing of our country?

M JALLOW: My advice is simple; we all want the best for our country and we should pull together to do something about it. We are here, but our political power is so great, we can accomplish whatever we set our eyes on. The diaspora Gambians are the best educated and the wealthiest group of Gambians. We have university professors, doctors, researchers, educators, computer and technology wizards,
and God knows what else. If we talk, our people listen, and if we decide to lead, they will follow us. Why should we continue to allow a very poorly educated person like Yahya Jammeh to use our own army to hold us and our country to ransom? Those of us here have the know-how to steer our country towards development as we also institutionalize democracy at every level of our society.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: According to president Jammeh, his government has its own definition of Gambian democracy, what is your definition of president Jammeh's democracy?

M JALLOW: Who the hell is Yahya Jammeh to define democracy for The Gambia? Yahya is not The Gambia, even though he thinks and acts like he and The Gambia are one and the same. He is just one individual among a million others, and he has no right to decide what democracy we accept and reject. Besides, there is only one democracy, 
and he does not even have the slightest clue what it means. But, more importantly, he does not have the intellectual capacity to grasp complex theories of democarcy, and how they evolved. Yahya has brought "democrazy" to our country, and we have every right to reject it.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: We have seen in many countries where there is no time limit for the presidency, and yet these countries are ranked among the most rapidly developing countries, do you think president Jammeh have the same dreams for the Gambia?

M JALLOW: If Yahya Jammeh has any dreams, he can take them back to Casamance where I understand he is from. We do not need his twisted dreams. We have enough dreamers among ourselves. I also have a dream for a Gambia where no one will be killed by our government. I have a dream that will outlaw torture, unlawful hiring and firing, freedom of assembly and the press. I have a dream of providing 
clean running water in every single Gambian village. I have a dream to restore accountability, the rule of law and stamp out corruption once and for all. I have a dream of providing adequate health care, excellent roads, turn State House into a public museum, and the garden into a public park. I dream of providing free education to grade twelve for every Gambian child. Mr. Njie, we all have dreams. The difference
is that our dreams are supported by a knowledge and the know-how of how to actualize these dreams. Yahya lacks the education and the knowledge, and this is what sets us apart from Yahya and his dreams. Look at it this way; those of us have dreams for what The Gambia can and ought to be, but Yahya has fantacies; and there is a big difference between a dream and a fantasy.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: According to your postings in one of the Gambian online newspapers, you said this: "If only 10 to 20 thousand of us with bad ass arms can attack the government of Jammeh from Selete and Kartong to take care of Yundum barracks; Patta, Wellingara and Farrafenni and within the Banjul area we will kick his ass out......Continued", do you think this is an appropriate way to remove Jammeh?

M JALLOW: I am getting close to being pretty sure that perhaps only a popular uprising will save us from the wrapth of this man. Jammeh just said that he plans to be around for 
the next thirty years, so how do you remove someone so determined to hold on to power at all costs? We must never rule out armed popular insurrection, even though it is not the preferred way to remove a person from power. Remember, the saying "desperate times call for desperate measures. We are at that critical juncture right now. No doubt in my mind about that. I think Yahya want to go out with a bang, but he will also suffer the consequences of his obstinacy, no doubt about that.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: How about our innocent brothers and sisters, are you not jeopardizing their lives?

M JALLOW: I do not agree with that premise. I also do not think that our people can be in more jeopardy than they are in right now. We all are aware of Yahya Jammeh's secret death squads; The Chiaka( formerly The Green boys) as they are known now. To be honest, I no longer recognize The Gambia. In my travels in our sub region, I was used to seeing horrible things in other West African countries and I swore they could never happen in our country. Boy, did Jammeh proved me so wrong.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: What is your participation to voluntary organizations in the diaspora, whose collective objective is to rescue and restore democracy and rule of law in the Gambia, example STGDP and MOJA.

M JALLOW: I once contemplated joining STGDP two years ago, but I withdrew once I realized some people were actively promoting an O.J and Halifa agenda. As you may know, I do not like the idea of anyone thinking for me. As for MOJA, I am aware of their activities going back to 1981, and I had a relationship with some of their founding founders, but no, I am still not a member of any group, amnd maybe I should, or I may found a new one myself. I think what we also need to do is to start a new political right here that we can export back home. I think we are ready for that.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: Your critics accused you of aiding and abating Hamat and Ousainou's boycott from NADD. Is this true?

M JALLOW: That is absolutely not true. Ousainou and Hamat are well qualified to make their own decisions without being influenced by someone like me three thousand miles away.That is a ridiculous assumption, even I supported their move to quit NADD. I have nothing personal against O.J. and Halifa, rather my issue with them is ideological. As a member of the Jawara regime, O.J. is one of the reasons we are in this Jammeh mess. O.J. was doing exactly what FJC is doing now; being the griot-in-chief for Jawara. At every damn meeting, all O.J. did was to praise-sing Jawara. He never once spoke about the problems facing our people. I began to hate his politics then, and I have not changed my mind since. As for Halifa, my problem is with the socialist platform of his party. I do not have the time and the space to delve into that here, but I am willing to share my reservation with anyone who wants to know my point of view.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: I understand the fact it's your constitutional right to support the party of your choice, but can you justify why you support the UDP/NRP coalition. My support for the UDP/NRP ticket is motivated by my knowledge of the two individuals here; Ousainou Darboe and Hamat Bah. They are both great human beings and their politics are not extremist like Lamin Juwara or fringy like PDOIS. Theirs is just the middle-of-the-road normal politics as we know it. I can take that. As for people accusing Mr. Darboe of tribalism, I say that is pure balony.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: Don't you think we stand a better chance of defeating Jammeh with a united opposition?

M JALLOW: Certainly, a united front is preferable and desirable, but when the ideologies are so different, uniting them can be next to impossible. We know that Jammeh is practicing the politics of coercion, and that is not democracy. What people do not realize is that elections alone are not synonymous with democracy. Even Saddam once had an election where he was the only candidate, and he came away winning with 95% of the vote. Most elections in Africa are a sham, and ours are a typical example of democratic elections that smell rotten eggs.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: You were quoted as saying that a united Fula and Mandinka produces unchallenged voice in the Gambia as you perceived they formed the majority. Don't you think this a call for tribal segregation to other minority tribes?

M JALLOW: When I said the Fulas, I was including the Wollof, Sereres, Sarahules and some
Jolas. My reasoning is based on the fact that if the Fulas support it, it will also most likely be supported by these other tribes. The Wollofs, Sereres and Sarahules usually vote the same way most Fulas do, and there is such a close relations between them and the Fulas, that it has become a bond like none other. This is not tribalism, it is just a fact of life, and there is no denying it.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: About eight weeks ago, you said this " Halifa is very selfish. He realizes that Darboe and Bah have a good chance to unseat the reptile we have there, and he is going for the spoil", it was evidently clear that Halifa declined his first nomination as flag bearer, and it's Darboe and Bah who resigned from the coalition. What motivated such attacks to Halifa?

M JALLOW: I did not like the fact that Halifa accepted the NADD nomination. At that time an opportunity presented itself to bring the two camps together to be led by Darboe and possibly Halifa as his running mate, but Halifa blew that out the window by accepting the NADD nomination, after first rejecting it. My criticism is nothing personal; just political.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: You are a journalist by profession, is there any link between journalism and politics?

M JALLOW: I have practiced journalism, but I am not a professional journalist. I love writing and I have been writing since the days of THe Gambia News Bulletin. I wrote for Mr. Jones, The Gambia Onwards; and Mr. Dixon Colley, The Nation. See Mr. Njie, there is no way we can divorce journalism from politics. In my case, I guess it is the politics that made me gravitate towards writing. I saw all the injustice around me back then, and I realized I had to write to bring it to light. That is what has continued to keep journalism an integral part of who I am.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: Are you interested in president Jammeh's job?

M JALLOW: Without kidding you, yes I am. I don't know if I will get it, but I have my eyes set on it. I spent the last several years getting ready for that challenge. I have a degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management, a degree in Business Management, and I am just completing a Masters in Public  Administration. I already have a track record with my jobs with FFHC/AD and Action Aid as a person committed to see development in our country. I live for the people, and not just my immediate family. We need to institutionalize real democracy in The Gambia. I am an admirer of big Olaf Palme, the assassinated Prime Minister of Sweden, and I generally like the liberal democracy systems in Scandinavia and Canada, and I want those systems for our country too. So, in answer to your question, yes I do. I plan to make The Gambia the happiest country on the African continent. My political motto is; "Putting People First."

FREEDOM NEWS: Jammeh mobilize a group of supporters in which he call the ten thousand man march in protest the recent foiled coup, is this a threat to the opposition that he still garners the majority of support?

M JALLOW: Jammeh's majority if at all he has it, obtains by coercion, intimidation and vote buying. Why is Jammeh in the business of sending people to The Hajj? More importantly why is he using public resources to do so? We need to educate our people to be motivated by self interest in their decisions to vote for any political candidate, rather than by blind emotions. Our people are generally uneducated about politics, and we need to change that.

FREEDOM NEWS: After all the tortures, alleged killings and the mysterious disappearances of both civilians and servicemen, are you still convince that a coup was attempted to oust Jammeh?

M JALLOW: We have a history of false allegations with Jammeh, beginning with the Sana Sabally and Sadibou Hydara cases. I do not think Edward Singateh himself is as safe as he wants to believe. My own quarrel with Edward Singateh is why in the world did he, Sabally and Basirou Barrow, allowed Jammeh, a Casamance citizen to head their new government. That was a big mistake and we are all paying for it now. As far as the coup is concerned, I don't know what to believe here, but given Jammeh's history of false accusations, I will not be surprised if we find out 
it was all one big lie. In any case, I would have supported the removal of Jammeh by whatever means necessary, just as I supported Jawara's removal. If Jammeh were removed now, thousands of us will go home for the biggest one month of celebration that The Gambia has ever seen.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: Tensions between the Gambia and neighboring Senegal are getting worst every day, who would you blame for such crisis?

M JALLOW: I absolutely blame Jammeh and his harboring and shielding of the Casamance rebels in our country. Senegal has done nothing other than being a good neighbor and a loving brother to us. Look Mr. Njie, half of my extended family on my mothers side live on the Senegal side of the border. My grandfather was the alkalo of Yuna (Angale) in Gambia and his brother the alkalo of Yuna (Francee) in Senegal. The two villages are barely two miles apart, so although I am Gambian, Senegal to me is as much family as Gambia is. I cannot be made to choose between the countries. I am not alone in this kind of relationship situation. Besides, I also love Senegal to death, having lived in Dakar for more than a year. I find their ways of life very alluring.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: But President Jammeh used to get along with ex-president Joof, why is it a problem with Wade's government?

M JALLOW: I do not know of Jammeh's relationship with Joof, all I can say to him is to take a hike and leave The Gambia. Jammeh has over-stayed his welcome, and needs to hand over to professionals who know what to do to run a clean, democratic government.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: You recently call for Gambians to use Senegal as base and launch attack on Gambian soil, why were you convince that Senegal would allow 
such?

M JALLOW: I am not sure Abdoulie Wada will allow that to happen, because he is a mature and an accomplished politician and diplomat. He is taking a lot of crap from Jammeh already, and I just hope he is gathering the evidence he needs to show the world how Jammeh is helping to destabilizing his country. Wada can give Jammeh a taste of his medicine by allowing a popular Gambian uprising to use Senegal as a spring board just as Jammeh is allowing the Casamance rebels to recruit, train and launch attacks on Senegal from The Gambia.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: You suffered a lot in the hands of the former regime, and yet you are not satisfied with the current regime, why do you believed both regimes are failing the Gambians?

M JALLOW: Bad as the former regime was, Jammeh's regime is worst. The former regime of Dawda Jawara was known for its endemic economic corruption, but Jammeh's is known for far worst; the same or even more corruption addition to deaths, disappearances tortures and the unending hiring and firing. It is insane to think that a country can be run successfully without the benefit of social stability. 
Any rule against the will of a people will usually end in tragic circumstances.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: Operation Jammeh freedom is your latest slogans, can you compare the PPP and the APRC?

M JALLOW: I hate both, because neither truly represented the people. In a truly working democracy, the people are the decision makers and the politicians must acquience to the wishes and desires if the people. In our African systems, the politicians turn themselves into small gods and the president becomes the big god and emperor. I hate that. Why should anyone subordinate their prideand dignity to that of any other human being. Everyone should have the belief in their hearts and minds that they are the best human beings God ever made. Yes, I truly hate both the PPP and The APRC with all my heart. Simple as that.

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER: Critics say Jammeh's flamboyant lifestyle is unacceptable and unaffordable by poor Gambia, who is Jammeh competing with our tax payer's 
money?

M JALLOW: Jammeh is costing us millions in wasted money, and we have no idea about the magnititude of his corruption machine. The millions Jammeh has wasted on himselfso far could have provided safe running water, education, health care to thousands of our compatriots. Besides, why do he need a zoo in Kanilai when the Abuko Nature Reserve is in serious disrepair. Jammeh's thinking process defies logic, and his excesses are costing us a lot in human life and material and financial resources. I just wander why our armed forces continue to allow themselves to be used by this man to perpetuate his regime? Why do they continue to protect him from the people? I urge them to use their senses and see Jammeh for what he is; a man who is ruining our country every minute he occupies State House. Now, I am willing to entertain pardoning Edward Singateh and any one else who might be implicated in Jammeh's atrocities just so we can get rid of this monster. 







    
Posted on Monday, April 24, 2006 (Archive on Monday, May 29, 2006)
Posted by PANDERRYMBAI  Contributed by PANDERRYMBAI
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          Current Rating:  3.29                        Rating:   3    Edward Singateh and fucking jammeh we have alot in store as we know you lot like the back of our hand the true voice bakau            Rating:   3    Jammeh, as long as God is with you, fear nothing, u are choosen and shall be protected by Allah.            Rating:   3    jameh`s removal will send all the jolas back to Casamance as jammeh is making every gambian to hate the true voice of bakau            Rating:   1                Rating:   3    BY GOD'S WILL, JAMMEH IS FOR GOOD GAMBIANS BY FORCE, Y NOT U COME BACK TO GAMBIA AND WE WORK FOR GAMBIA, WE ARE NOT FOOLS            Rating:   5                Rating:   5    
             

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