Yes, in the catalogue ye go as men.
As hounds, and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels curs,
shoughs, water-rugs and demi-wolves are clept
All by the name of dogs: the valu'd file
distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle,
The house-keeper, the hunter. Every one
According to the gift which bounteous nature
Hath in him clos'd; whereby he does receive
Particular addition, from the bill that writes them all alike: 
And so of men now, if you have a station in the file,
And not in the worst rank of manhood, say it ... 
(Macbeth.  Act III sc i) 

Philosophers, novelists and poets throughout history have tried to prove that man's behaviour is, sometimes, closer to that of dogs than of any other creature. Some of us may not agree with their findings, but a good study of some people's attitude in the Gambia can make you change your mind. 

I am always of the belief that there are two groups of Gambians namely: Good Gambians and Bad Gambians. But honestly there is a third group which could be classified as "Very Bad Gambians". This third group has turned out to be those Gambians who do not give a damn to what happens to their country and its people as long as they achieve their personal goal. It would have done no harm, were they not the "aids and abettors" of Yaya Jammeh's repressive and murderous regime. It is about time that we focused our attention to this group, for they are more destructive to the Gambia than whosoever occupies at the State House. Without these people, Yahya Jammeh would not have been in the position he is today. 

Rummaging, lately, among some old cassettes, I came across a recording I made 5 years ago. It was a BBC "World Today Program" about the Gambia, in which "Father" Michael Cleary, Halifa Sallah, Susan Waffa-Ogoo, Ebrima Ceesay and Pap Cheyassin Secka took part. Two among these are in our midst today and nothing whatsoever has changed from the stance they took five years ago. 

To show that these two have not budged an inch from their positions five years ago, I have transcribed  some of the things they said then. Halifa five years ago is the same Halifa today when he said:

"There are two options to evaluate the agenda they have set and see whether this is the next best thing that could be adopted, or the whole society say: "Well, let's overthrow a government.
One option is a peaceful transition to democratic constitutional rule. The other option is violent confrontation. Now, if we accept that agenda, then it is a give and take process. It is important to evaluate whether there is more to be gained by adhering to that agenda even though it means that political parties are not going to operate until March. One sees the limitations, but again, it is negotiation, reaching a compromise for the sake of the society."

Ebrima Ceesay did not mince his words when he said:

"It is a fact that the role of the military is not to govern a nation. That is not their job. Their job is to defend the Gambia against external aggression. The Chairman and his colleagues in the Council must make sure, come July 1996 they go back to barracks or do something else. If they want the history books to write something good about them, they have to honour the time-table. They have to go back to barracks, but if they don't , then it means that their claim that they love the country is unreal."
   
These were some of the views of Halifa Sallah and Ebrima Ceesay 5 years ago. The strategy of peaceful transition advocated by Halifa and the tactics of Ebrima Ceesay to "flush out" the military from our society are of a shared objective. The objective of every peace-loving Gambian is the search for the GOOD of the Gambia. I believe that even those who support Yaya Jammeh are convinced, albeit misguided, that the DUMBO of Kaninlai can solve the Gambia's problems. The only thing that Yaya Jammeh's supporters fail to grasp is the fact  that the person Yaya Jammeh, himself, is the MAIN problem of the Gambia. All our approaches to this search may differ but our ultimate goal remains the same - Justice, Peace, Prosperity and Tranquillity for the Gambia. We all strive for a Gambia free of intimidation and persecution. We strive for a country where people are allowed to do whatever they want to do within the laws of the land without being shot at. We strive for a society where everybody can express his or her political viewpoint without being picked up by some Neurotic Idiots Agencies. We strive for a leader who could  guide us towards a common good and join our diverse people to prove man's brotherhood. Nothing more and nothing less.

This is nothing new to you and some of you might say that I have put in a lot about something you already know. You are right! Damn right, because Halifa Sallah and Ebrima Ceesay are not the subjects of this piece, although recent statements by Halifa keep me guessing which side of the fence he is. In one of Halifa's last postings, he wrote the following: 

"Finally, it is important to indicate to you that what kept Yahya here is his capacity to assimilate all the institutions, people and practices that he has found when he took over power. He still has grip over the opinion leaders, the traditional rulers and many other sectors of Gambian society. He has learnt to accumulate and take bags of sugar to mosques, dish out money to opinion leaders in order to maintain his control."

What I make out of the above statement is that, according to Halifa,  these so-called opinion leaders and traditional rulers are the real "king-makers" of  The Gambia. The intelligence of the Gambian people is no longer relevant. Whosoever gives more sugar to the mosques and dish out more money to these opinion leaders can easily call himself the President of the Gambia. Why do we have political parties? Why do we hold elections? Why do we talk about the Constitution and Democracy and rule of law and "all that jazz"?

Further I suspected an attempt to polarize the Opposition in this statement by Halifa:
 
"It is important for you to know that at each given stage there can be a legal and illegal opposition. legality and illegality are defined by those who control state power in having the capacity to arrest, detain and try those they accuse of carrying out acts to remove them from power. The tactics of a legal opposition and that of an illegal opposition cannot possibly be the same." 

I am finding it hard to understand the difference between a "LEGAL opposition" and an "ILLEGAL opposition", since ALL we want to see is the BACK of Yaya Jammeh. 

But yet I have nothing against Halifa if not mere admiration. For, lest we forgot, Halifa could have been one of the first Ministers or SoS of Yaya Jammeh's repressive government. Whether he still would have been there, I just cannot tell.

In the same program where I have quoted Ebrima and Halifa was also no lesser person than Pap Cheyassin Secka. Yes! The "Wrong" Honourable Alhaji Dr P.C.O. Secka - our present Attorney General. 
 

TO BE SURELY CONTINUED......


Please Note:
This is a two-part piece, divided between the good guys and the rotten one. All I am trying to say here is to show the steadfastness of Halifa Sallah and Ebrima Ceesay as oppose to the metamorphobic and chameleonic nature of creatures like Alhaji Dr. P.C.O.Secka - Our Attorney General.

Prince

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