Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No 28/2007, 9th -11th March 2007
Editorial
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
YEAR OF DEMYSTIFICATION OF GENDER ROLES AND FOR EMPOWERMENT
As the world commemorates International Women’s Day, Foroyaa wishes to draw
the attention of the people to the significance of the commemoration. It will
then become apparent that the purpose of the day is not just to give
recognition to prominent women who have distinguished themselves in different fields
but to remind us of the rights and duties of women as part and parcel of the
world human community.
It is incontrovertible that humankind can only realise dignity and self
worth if we win the battle against powerlessness and poverty. Fear and want have
been the major scourge of the of the human race. The principal battle of the
21st Century is the battle against fear and poverty.
History teaches us that before the oppression, exploitation and
discrimination of women became a focal point humankind had to go through a series of
evaluation in their thinking. They had to accept that being a human being entails
being imbued with reason and conscience and the capacity to act in a just
and fair manner to prove the affinity of members of the human race. This is
what gave rise to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Needless to say, the disrespect or disregard of these fundamental rights
when dealing with certain groups had caused the emergence of subsidiary
conventions to ensure special protection to those whose rights are neglected by
virtue of race colour, gender, ethnicity, age, origin or physical characteristics.
Such conventions are often preceded by measures to highlight the conditions
of such special groups. For example in 1976 the UN Decade for Women,
Equality, Development and Peace was launched. Before the end of the decade the
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women had
emerged. It came into force on 3rd September 1981 to be precise. UN women
agencies such as UNIFEM also emerged which gave vitality to women for a, to
evaluation and the issuing of declarations, resolutions and plans of action. The
forward looking strategies of the 3rd world congress of women in Nairobi emerged.
This was eventually followed by the congress of women in Beijing in 1998
which gave rise to the Beijing declaration and platform for action. As we enter
the 21st Century, hundreds of resolutions have been issued and countless
conventions, protocols and declarations disseminated to equip anyone who wishes
to have clarity on the issue of gender.
What is necessary now is action on the side of individuals, communities and
states.
Foroyaa maintains that governments which simply count the number of females
who occupy top positions through the benevolence of leaders who behave like
patriarchs are simply paying lip service to the empowerment of women. True
women liberation is to liberate women from powerlessness, fear and poverty. The
sovereign equality of all citizens in a country must be transformed from an
ideal into a reality. Opportunity to be free from poverty must be available to
all on the basis of ability and enterprising initiatives.
Foroyaa therefore calls on all those who are sincerely committed to the
emancipation of women and part and parcel of making them genuine partners of men
who are imbued with reason and conscience to build a society based on liberty
and prosperity to transform the year 2007 into a year to demystify gender
roles and engage in civic education to enable each Gambian woman to realise her
dignity and self worth and her capacity to the architect of her own dignity
side my side with men. This is the only way yearly commemorations of
International Women year can have meaning.
THE PRESIDENT ADDRESSES THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Editor’s Note
It was Foroyaa’s intention to publish the president’s address in full and
then our comments. However we are still unable to lay hands on the
publication. The following are detailed summaries by Abdoulie Dibba.
On Agriculture
The president said that his government continues to be fully committed to
the revitalisation and improvement of the agricultural sector in order to
ensure increased agricultural output, foreign exchange earnings and national food
and income security. He pointed out that the current restructuring of the
Department of State for Agriculture has led to the creation of the National
Agricultural Development Agency whose main objectives include the effective and
efficient generation, mobilisation and utilization of human, financial and
material resources for the sustainable development of the sector. President
Jammeh said that they are in the process of finalizing the Agriculture and
Natural Resources (ANR) Policy which would be a road map for the collective actions
necessary to make the ANR sector more responsive to the prevailing
circumstances and challenges. The President told Deputies that the agricultural
sector preformed reasonably well during the year under review, registering a 3%
and 4% increase on cereals and groundnut production, respectively. Concluding
on this sector, the president said that the Participatory Integrated Watershed
Management Project (PIWAMP) being funded by the African Development Bank and
the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) launched in April
2006 is tasked to empower farming communities to increase productivity of
crops, livestock and forest resources at the grass-roots level through the
transfer and control of efficient land use Management from government to the
local communities.
Our Comment
According to government studies about 60 percent of the population is under
24 years and 45 percent of the total population is in the labour force. Over
70 percent of the labour force engage in agriculture and the informal sector.
It states that agriculture is highly labour intensive and a substantial
portion of it falls outside the monetised economy. It is also vulnerable to
external shock e.g. decline in commodity prices, rising oil prices and
international currency appreciation. How it protects a rural community, whose economic
activity even the government claims to be seasonal from the adverse economic
and society conditions, is what the government’s agricultural policy should
address.
The president claims that they are in the process of finalizing the
Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy of the Government. Readers should note that
it took 13 years to come up with such a policy even though agriculture is
seen to be the backbone of the Gambian economy. Foroyaa will review the policy
when it comes out. However one claim that Foroyaa wishes to review is the
indication that the agricultural sector has done reasonably well during the year
under review, registering 3% and 4% increase in cereal and groundnut
production respectively. However, the president fails to indicate the long standing
problems of marketing the groundnuts. In his 2006 address the president said, “
In our relentless and collective efforts to combat and eradicate abject
poverty, my Government stands firmly resolute to eradicate abject poverty
particularly among rural dwellers. However, we have not been given any statistics
this year to show how far the country is moving towards self reliance in food
production. Needless to say nothing is said regarding the mechanism in place
to ensure the purchases of a groundnut crop which is claimed to amount to over
140,000 metric tonnes. The price of D7500 per metric tones which was offered
in 2005/2006 is now reduced to D6500 per metric tonne. Nothing was said
regarding the progress of groundnut purchases for the 2006/2007 crop. In the past
the president would mention the companies purchasing nuts such as Gamco and
GGC and indicate the tonnage purchased so far. In this year’s address nothing
was said on that matter. The purchasing of groundnuts is clearly not going
reasonably well and it is part and parcel of the agricultural sector. What the
National Assembly members need are explanations from the executive as to why
the groundnuts of the farmers they represent could not be bought and what
Government has in place to remedy the problem. Without such information, the
claim that the agricultural sector is doing reasonably well may be seen as mere
wishful thinking.
To be continued
AT THE COURT MARTIAL
CORPORAL SAMBA BAH TESTIFIES
By Annia Gaye and Fabakary B. Ceesay
Corporal Samba Bah, an officer of The Gambia Armed forces on Friday 2nd
March 2007, told the court martial that he was arrested on the 22nd March 2006.
Corporal Bah indicated that he was told by his former RSM Ansumana Tamba at
his guard post that he was wanted at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
He said he followed RSM Tamba up to the gate of his guard post and there he
met Lieutenant Musa Jammeh with other; that he was then asked to board the
vehicle and that they headed for the NIA headquarters. He said he was taken
straight to the panelists. He noted that he was not questioned on that
day.Corporal Bah said that Lieutenant Musa Jammeh then told them to take him to Mile
Two Prisons until further notice; that he was escorted to Mile Two Prison by
Sergeant Sulayman Badgie, Lance Corporal Jallow and Private Lamin Sanneh. Bah
told the court martial that he was kept in prison until on the 27th March
2006, when he was taken to the NIA to face the panel.
“At the panel I met Hydara, Lieutenant Musa Jammeh, WO2 Nfally Jabang, then
a staff Sergeant, Demba Sowe, a police officer, one Mr. Bojang, a Lance
Corporal, Foday Barry and Baba Saho, both NIA Officers, for the rest I don’t know
their names,” Bah said. He explained that Hydara told him that his commander
Sering Modou Njie has told them that he (Bah) was not part of the coup
plotters. “Hydara told me that they are taking things easy with me but I must
tell them what Pharing told me. I told him that what I had said is what had
transpired between me and Pharing. He told me that Pharing had told them that he
had spoken to me about the coup and had given me responsibilities to take,”
said Bah. Corporal Bah said that he insisted being informed by Pharing and
that he knew nothing about it. “Hydara then stood up and took off his jacket and
attempted to slap me but he was halted by one Demba Sowe, a Police officer.
Then he threatened me, “I give you the last chance, if you don’t talk I will
deal with you.” “Had Pharing told me anything I will tell you, I have
nothing to hide from you,” said Bah. He said that he asked Hydara to tell him even
a single word that Pharing told him. Corporal Bah said that Hydara then told
him that he must accept what he (Hydara) had to say and he (Bah) had to put
that on paper. He explained that there was somebody whose name he did not know
who was writing what Hydara was saying and when that person finished writing
the statement, it was taken to another office. Bah said he was asked to go
out of the hall where the panelists were sitting. Corporal Bah explained
further that Hydara called Boto Keita and ordered him to go with him (Bah) to a
small office where Boto Keita took a blank paper and copied the statement on
it; that Boto Keita filled the form of the cautionary statement, his name,
address and occupation and asked him to sign it; that he was in the room with
Private Modou Lamin Sanneh and Boto Keita. He said that he had put his signature
under the column of the accused and also the date. He noted that there was
no independent witness then but ,as he said, it is now that he saw him (Babou
Loum) in the witness box at the court claiming to have been the one at the
time.
Going further, Corporal Bah told the court martial that his voluntary
statement was filled by Boto Keita and that he signed it at the Mile Two Prisons,
without any independent witness. “Before I signed the statement, I asked Boto
Keita, why should I sign it when I am not the maker or recorder of the
statement. He told me that, we all know that you did not do anything, but the only
thing I can advise you is to sign it before they will get rid of you. He
meant that if I don’t sign it I will be tortured. The moment he told me that, I
decided to sign it, because I have seen people who were tortured, like Captain
Bunja Darboe, Captain Yaya Darboe and 2nd Lieutenant Pharing Sanyang. I have
seen wounds on the head of Pharing and he told me that he was being beaten,”
Corporal Bah said.
Cross Examination by DPP
During cross examination by state counsel, Emmanuel Fagbenle, Corporal Bah
said that he was in the unit with Lt Pharing Sanyang but he had no knowledge
of a problem between Pharing and the state guard commander. When asked whether
he did attend a party on the 21st March 2006. Bah said he was at his guard
post. When asked when he resumed to the guard post on the 21st March 2006, Bah
replied that he was on guard duties since from Friday 17th March 2006. Asked
about the time he was ordered by the commander to go and sign for heavy guns
on the 21st March 2006, and the reason for that. Bah said it was in the
evening and that he was informed by the commander that there was a coup plot
going on. On several occasions, the state counsel would tell the witness not to
look in any direction but at the court. He would say, “don’t look at me, look
at the court, am not the answer.” The defence counsel, Lamin K. Mboge
intervened and asked the court to ask the prosecutor not to intimidate his client.
Mboge said ”the prosecutor is not fair with my client, he is laying an ambush
for my client. He is also intimidating my client by telling him not to look
at this direction or that. My client has a right to look at any direction in
this court,” said Mboge. Justice Agim ruled that the witness has a right to
look at any where he wants. Corporal Bah concluded that he appeared before the
panel in the afternoon but can’t remember the exact time. He said that at
the NIA, there was Musa Bojang, Musa Jammeh and Nfally Jabang, adding “they all
know me.”
Corporal Samba Bah is standing trial for his alleged concealment of treason,
at general court martial.
DETECTIVE CONTINUES TESTIMONY IN
TREASON TRIALETECTIVE
By Bubacarr K. Sowe
Lamin Cham, a Police detective on Wednesday continued his testimony at the
High Court in the ongoing trial of the suspects in the March 2006 alleged
foiled coup.
Under cross-examination with defence counsel, Lamin S. Camara, Cham said he
introduced the 5th accused person, Tamsir Jasseh to an independent witness in
English. Cham added that he told the independent witness that there is a
panel of investigators into the foiled coup and there were soldiers and
civilians being brought in for questioning adding that the witness’s role was only to
witness. Cham also said he told the independent witness to go through the
statement and if satisfied he should sign on his column. He said that he told
the independent witness he might be called as a witness in court. He informed
the court that the independent witness was present when Tamsir Jasseh
appeared before the panel on the 25th of March 2006. He also said Jasseh wrote his
statement in the afternoon, and the independent witness did not date the
additional statement.
The detective further said that the cautionary statement did not have any
column for date, and sometimes it is put in after the accused and witness
signed. Cham narrated that he knows the independent witness, Babou Loum, who he
said lived at Farato and is working as a video operator.
Quizzed further by the defence on who wrote “Babou Loum of Barra village”
on the statement, Cham answered that he wrote it, out of his own discretion.
He also stated that it will be a surprise to him if the independent witness,
Babou Loum is an undercover NIA agent. He could not recall the time when Babou
arrived at the NIA, but he was recording Tamsir Jasseh’s statement. He also
said he did not allow Tamsir Jasseh to access a lawyer and he too never
requested for one
Also cross-examining the detective was counsel Lamin Jobarteh. Cham said
that the investigative panel was set-up at the National Intelligence Agency
where the 6th, 7th and 8th accused persons, Alieu Jobe, Omar Fall Keita and Demba
Dem respectively gave their cautionary statements. The voluntary statements
of the 6th, 7th and 8th accused persons, he said, were taken at the state
central prison at Mile Two.
The Police detective said that the accused were detained at Mile Two from
day one of their arrest and he never saw a court order demanding their release.
Mr. Jobarteh put it to him that his signature is not on one of the
statements. Cham responded that he has his names, rank and office on it. Cham said he
does not know whether Omar Faal Keita is literate or illiterate but he
understood and speaks English. Cross examination continues next week.
CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR ON
FINANCIAL SERVICES
By Amie Sanneh
The Governor of the Central Bank, Famara Jatta, has described Government as
the only actor that can ensure an enabling environment that promotes
competition among a wide range of financial service providers, while also protecting
consumers from predatory or fraudulent practices.
He said it is regrettable that some Governments continue to use credit
schemes to transfer resources to specific target populations. The negative impact
of most of these schemes he went on, has led many to rightly advocate that
Governments disengage from microfinance.
The Central Bank’s Governor made these remarks, on Thursday, at the Paradise
Suites Hotel, while opening a Regional course on regulation and practical
operations of microfinance institutions organised by WAIFEM.
Mr. Jatta added that access to financial services tailored to the poor
contributes to human and economic development, economic growth and better safety
net to protect against economic shocks. “The great challenge, therefore, is to
address the constraints that exclude people from full participation in the
financial sector,” he said.
Mr. Jatta however noted that there is a broad consensus that Governments do
have a constructive role in building financial systems that work for the
poor. “More specifically, Governments have the responsibility to ensure that
legal and supervisory systems support and ensure soundness of a range of
financial organisations, including prudential regulation for financial institutions
that collect savings from the public,” he said.
Governor Jatta added that poor clients require responsive financial services
beyond credit such as savings, transfers, payments and insurance. He urged
microfinance institutions to explore the possibility of introducing the
integrative approach to microfinance. This he said have been successful in many
Latin American countries.
The Central Bank’s Governor also urged microfinance practitioners to embrace
the “critical triangle of microfinance” concept. “Institutions that are
successful in actualizing the concept and implementing other good practices
would stand in good stead in helping the poor improve their lives, make critical
choices about investing in business, educating their children and improving
family licensing ownership and capital requirements.
Mr. Jatta noted that access to a well functioning microfinance sector can
economically and socially empower the poor and low income people and help small
enterprises to better integrate into the mainstream economy. He added that
an estimation between two and three billion people around the world are
excluded from access to financial services. He explained that 90 percent of the
population lacks access to formal finance due to the fact that banks do not have
the comparative advantage in providing financial services to the poor. The
Director General of WAIFEM Dr. Chris Otsede, in his welcoming remarks gave a
brief development about WAIFEM. He said the reason why WAIFEM is interested in
microfinance since mid 1980s, microfinance has assumed growing importance in
the financial services delivering paradigm of developing countries. The
microfinance revolution was animated by the war on poverty he said.
The course which is being attended by member state banks, namely, The
Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone is expected to end on 15th March
2007.
FOCUS ON POLITICS
INTERVIEW WITH PA SANJALLY BOJANG,
FOUNDER OF THE PPP (EXCERPTS)
With Suwaibou Touray
POINEERS OF THE PPP
Mr. Bojang said, he was the organizer of the party but he was illiterate. He
mentioned Sheriff Sisay, Jombo Bojang, Famara Wassa Touray, Saikouba
Dandanba, Faa Touray Sanyang etc. when asked about the campaign to convince the
electors to vote for them, he said it was not easy. He explained that they were
like jihadist; that truck load of young people and fighters used to go with
them during campaigns. He mentioned the prominent ones, he could remember such
as Bakary Darboe, Landing Nyameseng, Kumbuna Manga, Jombo Bojang, Famara
Wassa Touray, Batou Bojang, Kebba Saikouba and Mamanding Dampha and many others.
Mr. Bojang acknowledged that a lot of wrongs had been done but as he said to
our reporter, “leave the sleeping dogs to lie,” that we must forget certain
things because as he said when they are mentioned, they could arouse a lot
of hatred. He described Jawara as not being patient and opined that what is
important in a leader is, let him not be the type of person who is never
satisfied; that he should not be somebody who loves everything for himself.
Mr. Bojang said to his utmost surprise, they discovered that the chiefs met
in Maccarthy and agreed not to support them. He said he quarreled bitterly
with them; that they thought that the PPP was going to uproot them when
independence comes, so they supported the U.P.
According to Bojang, the decision of the chiefs not to support them
engendered a lot of hostility and as he said that was the reason why when they
arrived at Sankwia in the Mansa Konko administrative area, they selected Yaya
Ceesay instead and dropped one Kalillu Darboe, a son of a chief to stand as their
party’s candidate. He said at Mamut Fana when the Wollofs showed their
opposition, they dropped from their trucks but did not say what they have done to
them but said they eventually supported them instead.
Narrating the PPP’s campaign trial, Mr. Bojang said at Bakadaji they found
the flag of the UP everywhere and they put them all down. He said one
Muhamadou Krubally whom he described as a foolish man who claimed to own the flags
was beaten severely by their militants. At Basse he said one Michael Baldeh
came to greet them and invited him to speak at his rally which he did. He
explained that when they wanted to hold their own rally the following day, a boy
insulted them and was also beaten severely, which led to a big fight that
resulted in the burning of many houses. According to him, a chief had to retire
to Cassamance to avoid the clash. The people, he said became afraid later on
and decided to accept their flags. He blamed the commissioner for encouraging
Michael Baldeh to stop them from holding their rally.
So as you can see the culture of violence in election campaigns in the
Gambia has been initiated in the early 1960s. The PPP defeated the United Party in
this election. It got ten seats, capturing eight out of the twelve seats
allocated for the protectorate and UP winning seven seats. The Democratic Party
led by Mr. St.Claire Joof and the Muslim Congress, led by Mr. Garba Jahumpa,
which together formed the Democratic Congress Alliance, won only one seat in
this election.
There was no provision in the constitution to appoint a Chief Minister to
coordinate the work of the new Ministries that were created, Therefore, when
the then Governor Sir Edward Windley decided to appoint a Chief Minister, the
Protectorate Chiefs gave their support to P.S Njie who then became Chief
Minister. Jawara, who was Minister of Education, resigned in protest which
culminated into a political crisis. The Gambia Workers Union also struck shortly
after that which motivated the colonialist to convene the Bathurst and London
Constitutional conferences in 1961. This was why another constitution came into
being in 1962 that paved the way for Gambia’s attainment of full internal
self-Government. The seat reserved for the chiefs to the house was drastically
reduced from eight to two, and a new general election was held. In this
election, the PPP defeated its main political rival, the United Party and formed a
government of its own in which Jawara became the new premier.
The P.P.P ruled the Gambia from 1962 to July 1994 only to be ousted by a
military coup in 1994. What were the expectations of the people during this
period? Have those political and economic expectations been met?
What happened to the other parties like the Muslim congress and the united
party?
Read on to find out more in the next issue.
“I WAS IN CELL FOR A MONTH,”
SAYS A DEFENDANT
By Fabakary B. Ceesay
One Yankuba Darboe, a resident of Fagi Kunda, on Wednesday 7th March 2007,
complained to Magistrate Pa Harry Jammeh that he had spent almost one month in
police custody before being brought to court.
Mr. Darboe was brought to court on the charges of obtaining money by false
pretence. He was said to have received an amount of D600 from an individual
for a mobile phone which he failed to provide. He denied the charges and told
the court that the mobile phone was being repaired. When asked by Magistrate
Jammeh how long had he been detained, he said, “I was in cell for almost a
month, I was first put in Serrekunda Police cell and later at Bundung Station.”
The police persecutor, Kalilu Kinteh denied this allegation. “Tell the
police to help me facilitate contact with my relatives,” he asked the court. He
was granted bail in the sum of D700 and a Gambian surety. Magistrate Jammeh
urged the prosecutor to respect people’s rights by bringing them before the law
on time.
INSPECTOR TESTIFIES IN KANILAI FARM CASE
By Bubacarr K. Sowe
Inspector Ebrima Jammeh, a Police Officer attached to the Serious Crime
Unit, on Thursday testified in the ongoing alleged theft trial of Bala Nyassi, a
driver at the Kanilai Farm.
Mr. Jammeh said that the matter was referred to his office by the National
Intelligence Agency (NIA). He said that Bala Nyassi who is employed at the
Kanilai Farm as a truck driver was assigned to disburse goods to Guinea Bissau,
and in that period he made three trips. Inspector Jammeh told the court that
he should have returned a deposit of 400, 000 CFA and the police
investigations revealed that Mr. Nyassi did not surrender the deposit of the last trip.
Mr. Jammeh also said that Nyassi told them he was attacked by rebels in
Cassamance while going to Bissau. He adduced that Nyassi promised to pay the money,
but he did not have any option but to charge him with “stealing by clerk or
servant.”
The police inspector said that he did obtain a cautionary statement from the
accused which he signed. The said statement was admitted and marked as an
exhibit.
Under Cross-examination, Nyassi asked Jammeh whether he had ever told him he
will pay the money and Jammeh responded that he, the accused, had indeed
promised to pay it.
OPINION
DOUBTS IN THE MINDS OF THE THOUGHTFUL
It is coming to two months now since president Jammeh stood before the whole
world and declare that he can cure Asthma in five minutes and HIV/AIDS in
three days. He stated that he has been doing it in secret before, because he
was not mandated then to do it in the open. He revealed that he is now mandated
to conduct the treatment openly, but only on Thursdays and must not exceed
ten patients per HIV Clinic. He emphasised that anyone wishing to be enrolled
in his treatment course must be tested and have his diagnoses confirmed and
must accept publicity.
We know that most, if not all the medicines being used in the treatment of
diseases are properties or chemicals derived from either plants or animals.
Medicines or cures for diseases became discovered by human beings through
experiments or by accidents. For example in an environment conducive for the
growth of a certain disease causing micro-organism, certain properties or
chemicals derived from a certain plant or animals can be placed to find out whether
that organism can continue to grow in its presence (that is chemical derived
from the plant or animal). If the organism continues to grow in the presence
of the chemical, it shows that the organism is not sensitive to the chemical.
That chemical does not have any negative effect on the growth of that
organism. You know from there that you cannot use that chemical to fight that
organism.
On the other hand, if the organism could not grow in the presence of the
chemical, that gives you the idea that the organism is sensitive to that
chemical and that the chemical is having a negative impact on the growth of the
organism. That chemical can be used to fight that particular organism; and if it
is not fatal to introduce or inject that chemical in the body of a person who
is sick with that organism, then it is discovered that the chemical is a
cure for that disease. Then you can give the chemical a name. If the discovery
is made by President Jammeh, he may wish to call the chemical, now a medicine,
‘Jammeh’ or ‘Jammehcin’ or ‘Jammehcillin’. It is that kind of experiment
that is done in the laboratories of research institutions. Those research
institutions do not declare a chemical or drug a medicine or a cure of a disease
until it is safe to be administered to humans which they do by testing it on
animals whose anatomy and physiology are similar to that of humans. A
medicine or a cure for a disease is discovered by accident also. It can also be
discover by making a trial of the chemical on human beings instead of animals as
it is done in laboratories. President Jammeh also can discover a cure for
HIV and Asthma through that same method. That is possible. But, the manner in
which he made his pronouncement that he cures HIV and Asthma is what created
doubts in the minds of all scientific and thoughtful people. His claim that he
can cure HIV in three days and Asthma in five minutes; that for HIV he was
mandated to treat not more than ten patients at a time and only on Thursdays.
It is a common knowledge that in science it does not matter which day in a
week the treatment is given. What matters is the potency of the treatment or
medicines which is not determined by the day. The thought that the treatment is
effective only on Thursday is viewed by science as a myth. So it is the
mystification of the whole nature of his treatment that arouses doubts in the
minds of all those who think intelligently.
The primary concern of the world regarding Jammeh’s claim is whether he can
really cure HIV, that is, whether his treatment is capable of eliminating the
virus in the body of a confirmed HIV patient. Now the onus lies on him to
prove to the world that his treatment is capable of doing that without
necessarily revealing the chemicals or medicine involved. That is what he has failed
to do so far from the day he made his most obscure declaration.
In my opinion, what Jammeh should have done to prove himself right to the
world is to invite scientists from renown international research institutions
all over the world, not only media practitioners, to come and confirm for
themselves that his claims are genuine. Those scientists should confirm by
themselves that the patients he treat really have HIV before the commencement of
the treatment by taking their blood specimens and having them tested. And at
the end of the treatment the same thing should be done to confirm whether they
are still having the virus or not. If it is confirmed by those scientists
that the patients are really cured after the treatment, there will be no cause
for them to hide that fact. In that case, it is the whole country, The Gambia,
which stands to benefit. The benefit can be derived from the discovery of a
cure for a disease like HIV by our president which has been and is still a
major concern to the whole world. It can be a means for the cancellation of all
our foreign debt as well. It provides billions of dollars for the
eradication of poverty of our people and the subsequent development of our country. It
can even be more beneficial than the oil which he said was discovered in the
country some years ago.
As for the treatment of Asthma, not much is needed to be known whether his
claim is true or not. The Asthmatic patients who have taken his treatment are
the credible witnesses of the truth and falsity of that claim. If it is true
as it is claimed by some of them on GRTS immediately after taking the
treatment, then those patients should not have Asthmatic attack any more and should
not be seen running to the health facilities for nebulisation and other
treatments.
After almost two months of the treatment, Jammeh should now come out to
clear any doubt in the minds of the thoughtful every where in the world. There
should not be any need for quarrelling with any one that, he is the one who
invited people and made the claim. Let’s hope that he will not make the world
laugh at us.
By Fabakary Trawally
Baddibu Salikenni
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