Culled from The Independent.
The Political Comeback of the Gambia's Old Order
The Independent (Banjul)
COLUMN
November 9, 2001
Posted to the web November 9, 2001
Alhaji/Serekunda
Banjul, the Gambia
Further to the unbaning of politicians of the old order, many of them
resumed political activity with the hope of making a comeback not only to
unseat the ruling APRC but more importantly, to re-gain their 'supreme
status' over the Gambian people. The obvious question to ask is, do these
people have anything to offer to the Gambian people? Have they shown remorse
for their wrongs during their tenure in office? And why in particular, the
PPP stalwarts insisted on Sir Dawda's coming once again, as their Secretary
General and Party Leader?
Many pronouncements have been made by some old guards of the PPP in
particular, Omar Jallow - OJ for short, in favour of the 'comeback old', Sir
Dawda. However, what the old order failed to realize is that the political
landscape in The Gambia has changed and no one including the APRC can be
assured of long-term broad-base support. Yes, there will always be
mainstream allies and supporters or militants but the critical mass to
determine who rules Gambia is not the block of mainstream party supporters
or militants, could significantly exert on the electorate.
This is what perhaps the old order believe is on their side but in reality,
most Gambians have made up their mind that the PPP is a no return cause and
Sir Dawda and his 'boys' should simply think of how to serve the country in
another capacity.
OJ in defense of Sir Dawda
OJ attempted to defend the return of Jawara by branding him as clean and
uncorrupt. A classic example he gave was that Jawara's Garden at
Banjulinding, a property he acquired legally was confiscated. Yes Jawara had
a Garden in Banjulinding ages ago but his mistake perhaps was, to mix
decency with greed. What could now be considered 'Jawara's garden' in
Banjulinding is in two parts, divided by a lane that runs into the Police
Training School located in that area of Banjulinding.
As you drive into this particular lane from the Serekunda-Brikama road, the
part of 'Jawara's garden' on the left is certainly state land that was used
by the erstwhile Department of Agriculture for research or experimentation
on field crops. It is unfortunate that OJ as former Agriculture Minister and
the last before the 1994 military coup could not either establish this fact
choosing misinformation to deceive the electorate. This is not surprising
because OJ has never been a serious Minister in Office and only bulldozed
his way by talking loud and not delivering. I have no intention to go this
far but if certain people insist on misleading and misinforming the
population, then some of us will certainly reply at the right moment.
OJ also castigated Jammeh's human rights record, but forgot what Jawara's
regime did to innocent rural dwellers following the 1981 coup.
To date, you can find innocent poor people in the rural areas who have been
physically disabled to varying degrees as a result of PPP ill-treatment of
suspects of the foiled 1981 coup. OJ should know that human rights issues
have gone beyond physical attacks, maiming and killing of the weak and
opponents, but of equal importance is the right of access to development and
better improved livelihood. During your rhetoric, you still seem to insist
on the old generation of human rights concept but hardly do you talk about
fresh issues of the new generation in addition to the old. Why and when I
turned my back on the PPP, was the time I saw parents burdened with the task
of making tables and chairs for their kids to take to school and they would
also have to take them home to keep in the duration of long holidays. This
is an equally important human rights violation. Jawara faithfuls would do
better to remember, that that erstwhile administration did not build the
many schools the APRC built. Parents were made to built them through
'Tesito' which was a cornerstone of the then political dispensation. No
schools no furniture for the school children.
Comparing Sir Dawda and Jammeh
Again, I will not attempt to compare Sir Dawda and Jammeh on their national
development output as no one in his right mind will compare the two in this
regard. Rather it would be teasing out the key moral differences -
corruption, between the two. It is strongly alleged in some quarters that
Jammeh is enriching himself, perhaps faster than Sir Dawda did over time. To
my mind, this confirms that Jawara is thus not the alternative 'comeback
old'. If it is proven that Jammeh is corrupt, his corruption is still better
than Jawara's, although corruption in any form or type is immoral and
socially unjust. The difference between the two allegedly corrupt Jawara and
Jammeh is that the latter for now took no state land albeit his alleged
involvement in a family land dispute in Bwiam. Another difference is that
Jammeh unlike Jawara shares part of his alleged corrupt wealth with the poor
and the needy.
Giving direct assistance to the poor is morally acceptable. To my mind, if
we are talking of a clean and incorruptible dispensation now this only
applies to people like Sidia Jatta, Halifa Sallah and Sam Sarr.
These are the people who sacrificed for The Gambia on the political front,
by way of resigning from their jobs or losing them because they dared to
become more vocal. Their political ideology is however an impediment to
their potentials as Gambian politicians. Sheriff Dibba on the other hand,
could be a reliable candidate if it were not for at times, his strong
sentiments.
Sheriff Dibba's miscalculation
It is surprising that Sheriff Dibba a highly experienced politician is
admitting what was widely believed; that he urged his militants or
supporters to support the UDP under Ousainou Darboe. Ousainou's betrayal of
him should not have surprised him if he had done his homework well. It was
quite obvious to all objectively minded people that Ousainou was a flag
bearer of the PPP. All the signs were there, that is, the active proponents
at home and abroad of the UDP. Dibba should certainly have known that he
shall never be endorsed by people who run the UDP behind the scenes. Perhaps
again, he was carried by sentiments, considering that Ousainou defended him
in the 1981 treason trial. But Mr. Dibba should remember that Ousainou did
this for money off his back in prison!!! If he can recall, The Gambia Bar
Association was not as vocal during the 1981 coup as some of their members
did in the Second Republic. Again, the answer is simple. Some of these
lawyers saw the opportunity to make their bucks! Hundreds of people were in
detention and would certainly need costly legal aid or representation!
Unfortunately for Mr. Dibba, time ran out for him. I suggest that he
consider giving his service to the current administration. He has a lot to
offer and working with the current administration could improve some of the
way and manner in which they operate. There is no perfect system anywhere
and there will never be one, except in Allah's Kingdom. If Dibba should ever
accept to participate in nation-building at the apex, then he must have an
open mind. It takes time to change a system especially in politics where
there are a lot of interest groups. This is not peculiar to The Gambia. This
is equally true in advanced democracies.
Advise to President Jammeh
Jammeh should be patient and learn to ignore those who are bent on
distracting him from his work of statecraft. Remember, some of his
detractors are 'specialists' in this area. They've learnt to cause trouble
since secondary school days. They will remain just so within the civil
service. Jammeh has a monumental task ahead and it is not going to be easy.
The world economy is full of uncertainties and it will not be easy,
considering that his disagreement with the West on a number of issues, which
in some cases are quite justifiable. But the reality is that as a lone
president Jammeh cannot change some of the things he would have liked. He
needs the support of his colleagues to get his agenda through. This is a
huge task considering that many of his colleagues also have their agenda,
which are different from his own.
What is important, although morally incorrect, is for him to secure his
country's interest and get things done.
On the relationship of the security agents as well as party militants with
the public especially political opponents, once again, maximum restraint
should be applied. Remember, the APRC is the ruling party and most of the
burden is upon it to prove that they are justified to rule this country. The
opposition is generally seen as a victim of ruling party aggression. This is
a problem of perception, which should not be ignored. Please note that this
is not necessarily the true picture but unfortunately.
I agree that the NIA have a greatly important role to play in matters of
state security but they must demonstrate optimal wisdom in their operations.
True, we do not have security cameras pitched up our streets as in the West
but have people who could do such security work in a nice way. In The
Gambia, most people who worry about the NIA know these people unlike for
instance in the UK, where until fairly recently even the MPs do not know the
head of one of their intelligence service (M ). A couple of years ago, she
was shown on television as a result of pressure from British MPs, but who
knows how true the effort of the UK Government was in response to political
pressure. So you have an edge here provided your security agents track their
suspects with tact and respect. In this way, their professionalism would be
appreciated.
On development and progress of The Gambia, I believe you are on course.
Jammeh has good intentions for the country attested to by very ambitious
projects, But he must be careful not to be on a spending spree. I personally
do not mind the borrowing of money to build the country provided that
project funds are not mismanaged.
The challenge to the diplomatic community
The diplomatic community in The Gambia is the 'eye' of their respective
countries and as such should be fair in some of the pronouncements they
make. Western Diplomats in particular, EU's Mark Andre is well known to be
on the forefront of the human rights and corruption problems in The Gambia.
Although he and his colleagues including a Gambian Human rights lawyer at
the Human Rights Commission in Banjul justifiably condemned the April 10
2000 killing of students and advocated for some form of justice, they are
never heard talking in terms of bringing Jawara and his cohorts to book for
the torture and death of victims of the 1981 coup, many of whom were
innocent rural dwellers. If the West is still pursuing cases of atrocities
committed during the Second World War, I see no reason why they should not
advocate for justice for crimes committed by the Jawara regime some twenty
years ago if their strong and outright damnation of Jammeh's atrocities are
to be taken seriously. In the same vein, I call on Ousainou, the PPP/UDP
flag bearer to make his position clear on this issue should he ever become a
Gambian President.
I am convinced many Gambians are prepared to forgive in line with our strong
traditional and religious (Muslim & Christian) teachings, but the problem
persists when it becomes common knowledge that those advocating for justice
are not even-handed.
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