Our little Gambia is awash in a flood of lies, big and small, and few
appear to care. Politicians and their 'Jalibas' in high places routinely
lie, and if not lie, then dissemble, and if not dissemble, then
deliberately mislead - and there are no meaningful consequences. The lie is
often not put to the liar. Cynicism and acceptance go hand in hand in our
little country. It is a highly infectious combination and it is sickening
the public life and social progress in Gambia.
For 38 years, we have witnessed a process of political deception people
never understood why elections were held. The surprising thing is that the
churches and the mosques, held up as the purveyors of truth, kept quiet and
never did anything. Better late than never, the freewheeling, 15 or more-
day APRC campaigns won't make up for the plentiful years of orchestrated
ritual, but there's always the next election to look forward to.
It is almost as though we have become too sophisticated, or too benumbed,
for rage. The president and his toadies lie, and we yawn. APRC politicians
hide behind smokescreens of obfuscation and misdirection, and we lose
interest. Her we go again!
Did the students involved in the April 2000 demonstrations fire live
ammunition at the security forces? It was a lie almost from the moment it
was 'reluctantly' mentioned by Vice President Njie-Saidy. Was there a
conspiracy concocted by Dumo Saho and others to topple the
government? "Yes", we were flatly told on the highest authority. It is a
lie, bald and without qualification. More lies, anyone?
If all these cooked up, desperate attempts to deny the obvious is not
deliberate deception, then the long silence when the error on the
government's part is inescapably evident becomes a lie in itself. Look at
the case of the allegations by the Bissau president and its aftermath. It
gave unmistakable testimony about the price that truth telling might
require if it contradicted the 'official truth'. The continued denial was
and is a knowing, political deception. That's a polite word for a lie.
It is a consensus now embraced by the president and, at least occasionally,
by his cabinet members as well. But what should we call repeated
presidential statements about the supposed provision of total food security
by next election? Politics as usual? And is politics as usual just another
euphemism for lies in the name of some larger good? Then there are the
repeated promises of electrification of over 98% of the country. So on and
so forth.
The least exclusive club in the country belongs to the legions of big-time
liars who held or hold positions of high public and private trust and
abused it for personal gain in connection with the looting of taxpayers.
Perhaps it is simply the endless repetition of these public lies that has
so blurred our ethical sensibilities. The media, facing the reality that to
give the act its proper name might offend many in this exclusive club. But
whatever the reasons or rationalizations, the result is abundantly clear:
The public dialogue is being stifled. Lies are left to perpetuate in
explosive proportions emanating from the executive.
Lies work in the short run. In the long run, they destroy everything they
touch.
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