Joe and All,

I do not think anyone of us wishing to see a better Gambia can take this issue about serving the Jammeh tyranny that lightly. 

Sure, even Adolf Hitler had his lieutenants and willing executioners, and as the President himself is fond of parrotting, he has a million and a half of us to choose from...(actually a terrible illusion). There always will be Gambians who would readily parade into the decrepit mist of what were in the past respectable ministries. But these days, except for a handful of offices, occupied by Jammeh's own Untouchables or Harijans perhaps, Departments of State have become politically banal, bereft of all official respectability. Being Secretary of State has become a parody, choreographed by a caprious muse that keeps everyone on edge - like sitting on fresh eggs! Some are whisked away even before they finish formulating policy for their tenure of office, leaving no footprints, and so nothing to advise the next in line; and because it has become a game of musicla chairs, the rest of the administration, the  civil service in particular, takes the cue, and behaves accordingly. Those dismissed or paraded into the Mile Two Hilton go quietly into the night, without as much as a squeak. It is divide and rule at the very top. No independence, no room for personal initiatives, no adminsitrative strategies, and indeed no competition for power and wealth. What we have in Gambia is  chaos management, butressed by accidental progress fuelled by the hard work of ordinary people - including those of us overseas. To put it mildly!

Just imagine. The Secretary of State for information has his office atop the GRTS complex itself in Kanifing. Because he sits above everyone else (fourth or fifth floor) he symbolically sees and hears everything under him. In a little dictatorship that is the Gambia, is it difficult to imagine that press freedom is an illusion? Can the good doctor Janneh believe in his own intellectual freedom as long as he works for Jammeh?
There is systemic control in every aspect of Gambian governmental life. Those in government have to do things the President's way or they hit the highway. So those Gambians who scurry to serve the APRC regime as ministers in the hope of wielding influence for the good of the nation are at best supremely naive. If these educated Gambians behave that way, what should we expect of ordinary coconut heads and prominent pip-squeaks?

Cheers,
Momodou S Sidibeh  
 
PS.
While I was in Gambia a little over a month ago, I was supposed to visit a permanent secretary. A friend sent him something I undertook to take along. So visiting him was planned. But by the time I got around to paying him a courtesy call he was already sacked!.
Incredibly as it sounds, unbeknown to me at the time, I made an unplanned call with my in-law to a well-to-do business man in Bakau. As we took our seats while exchanging courtesies, someone else was summoned in. He was radiating with joy, unable to suppress a furtive grin. He had just been appointed new Perm Sec and he personally called on the older landlord - whom we were visiting - to relay the great news. But I did not hear at what ministry and felt it was impolite to ask, as I had never before met the man. So we all got into a round of well wishing and prayer. Obvious celebration here!

Two days later I travelled to the home of the former Perm Sec. Indeed I had visited his office in Banjul feeling innately important, as I confidently passed the offices of lesser officials. I was visiting a perm sec without an appointment, you see. But come see my countenance when a former assistant took me aside to break the severely bad news, that he was no longer there, that he is at home, that they do not know why he was given the sack. My enquiry embarassed them, eventhough they understood I was a Johnny-just-cam, belly-full with stale notices about governement reshuffles. I thanked the man for volunteering to spill the beans despite my embarassing ignorance.
Well at his home, we were let in by the wife, as he he was away praying at the local mosque. But even after his return and the usual handshakes the conversation was more of a monolgue punctuated with seemingly endless minutes of awkward silence. Though we were kindly received and served refreshments, over here it was like a funeral. And then it occured to me that I had met his replacement a few days earlier.  

Hoping to be able to find time to share a little of my ímpression on Gambia with you, sooner rather than later.
Sidibeh


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