PRESIDENT OBASANJO FAILS TO TELL JAMMEH NOT TO BID FOR THIRD TERM-WHY?
EDITORIAL
President Yahya Jammeh's recent move to reconcile with the opposition should be greeted with caution. As the saying goes "OLD HEARTS NEVER DIE." Jammeh, is not democratic and as such his promises to accommodate the opposition as a legitimate pressure group should not be taken seriously. This man is hiding in the name of unity to deceive his brother President Obsanjo. We all know that Jammeh, has an agenda that is to impose himself on Gambians.
President Obsanjo's trip should have centred on how to discourage Jammeh from running for a third term, as a President. Jammeh, have overstayed his welcome. We expect leaders such as Obasanjo, to tell his African brother to consider stepping down from office rather than to derail Gambia's fragile democratic process. Yes, others will argue if Obsanjo, had such moral authority to advise Jammeh not to run for a third term in view of he (Obsanjo's) refusal to heed to a popular demand not to run for a third term. Such critics are right to some extent, but the reality is that Jammeh is an "unproductive" leader, who should not harbour future Presidential interest. He had not only failed as a leader, but had also betrayed the confidence reposed on him by Gambian electorates.
We are convinced beyond reasonable doubt that Jammeh would not have reconciled with the opposition, if there was normalcy in the rank and file of the opposition. Jammeh, is trying to use the NADD break way as a front to reconcile with the opposition. Now that he promised to play by the rule, let watch and see. Jammeh is not be trusted. He changes like a chameleon. Gambians should be cautious about his promises. His eleven year rule is characterised by broken promises.
It is a welcomed development to see a senior statesman like Obsanjo to talk to his brother, who does not have respect for elders and citizens of the impoverished country. National reconciliation is a good thing, but compelling Jammeh to give up his third term Presidential bid is also crucially imperative. Both Jammeh and Obsanjo should emulate President Mbeke and Ahmed Tijan Kabbah of Sierra Leone, who had publicly declared their determination to step down from office after serving their last term in office.
Africa, is denied development due to lack of term limit for the Presidency in some countries. We cannot develop as a continent, when our leaders are not willing to give chance to others to lead. All these can be attributed to greed, corruption and love for power. In most cases, those insisting to rule through forceful means are retired soldiers, who lacked knowledge about governance.These are people who mistakenly found themselves in power and as such will do whatever it takes to curtail freedoms and liberties of citizens.
The Gambia, is no doubt at cross roads. While, Jammeh, is hell bent on ruling our country come what may, the opposition which should effect democratic change are today divided. The chances of Jammeh leaving through the "ballot box" is slim. Our country, will likely see another Sir Dawda, who ruled our country for more than three decades. This is the time for the Common Wealth, the African Union and the civilised world to tell Jammeh to allow someone in his ruling APRC Party to run for the Presidency and not he Jammeh. Failure of which, our country will risked being misruled by Jammeh, who perceives democracy as "alien to Africa" and The Gambia as a nation. Jammeh, believes that Africa should have its own democracy and the one practiced in the West. This tells a lot about the type of President we have in our country. Jammeh is a faked leader. As Thomas Sankara rightly said"A soldier without political education is virtually a criminal." This is the type of system we have in The
Gambia. Those steering the affairs of the state, don't know their left and right. This to some extent, had denied the country development. Our country is today an isolated nation. Jammeh, must go in the interest of democracy and national pride. He is a disgrace to our country. We rest our case.
Posted on Sunday, February 12, 2006 (Archive on Saturday, February 18, 2006)
Posted by PANDERRYMBAI Contributed by PANDERRYMBAI
Return
Rating: [input] 1 [input] 2 [input] 3 [input] 4 [input] 5 Comments: Save
---------------------------------
Current Rating: 4.00 Rating: 4 please increase your fond.the writing is a little bit small.
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre.
いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい
|
