Breaking News:The Big Interview:Leading Gambian Professor Dr.Sulayman Nyang
Speaks!!
"In light of this understanding,  I would argue that the style of rule and
the manner in which President Jammeh negotiates his way with the other
politicians in the country has made it different from his predecessor. Under
Jammeh Gambians have seen  more violence and the Gambian people have come to
taste the same good and bad of military rule. If the Jawara regime was
called the times of Kairaba ( BIG PEACE), then the Jammeh period will be
remembered as  the time of powerful leadership that puts much faith in the
might of the state and the flexibility and malleability of the Gambian
people. Unwilling to see more blood in their politics and having embraced
the old Mandinka notion of "Allah Ya keh" as in the Jawara period, trouble
in the political system would come only when younger men like Jammeh and
Kukoi Samba Sanyang come to light. Such political animals are  endangered
species because of the nature of the changing international system and the
greater desire for peaceful politics through slow but positive
democratization." These were the exact words of  the leading Gambian
professor Dr.Sulayman Nyang. Dr.Nyang who teaches African Studies at the
Washington DC based Howard University,  is a renowned poet, cum consultant .
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Freedom Newspaper's Managing Editor
Pa Nderry M'Bai, professor Nyang says politics of violence never works in
any civilized democratic set up." Institutions take time to develop and
neither Jawara nor Jammeh will be around when scholars  and commentators on
democracy in Africa convincingly pronounce the Gambia a working and
surviving democracy. The main challenge for President Jammeh is to
demonstrate commitment to the process and let history takes its course.
Through compromise and bargaining he stands a chance. Any love affair with
violence and intimidation would fail because of changing times in domestic
and international affairs. Globalization and the increased sophistication of
human beings around the world have conspired to make  democracy the best
form of government ala Winston Churchill." The Howard University professor
posited. Below is the full text of the interview we had  with Professor
Nyang. Please read on...
...........................................................

Freedom Newspaper: Can you briefly introduce yourself to our dear readers?

Dr.S Nyang:My name is Sulayman S. Nyang. I am the son of Alhaji Sheih Nyang
and Fatou Bah. I am presently a full professor teaching at the Department of
African Studies at Howard University in Washington D.C. I was born in the
Gambia in 1944 and went to Quranic and Catholic Schools before I left the
Gambia for England  in 1964. I spent about a year in the United Kingdom
before I found my way to the United States of America in 1965. I received my
B.A. degree in Political Science and Philosophy from Hampton University in
Hampton, Virginia, my M.A. degree in Public administration and my doctorate
in government from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville,
Virginia.From 1975 to 1978 I served as a Gambian diplomat accredited to
eleven countries in Africa and the  Middle East. I was based in Jeddah ,when
the embassy was first opened in 1975 and we served Gambian interest in Saudi
Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, UAE, Libya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Lebanon, Iran
and Bahrein

Freedom Newspaper: The Gambia, has been going through rough times in the
recent past, with stories of alleged coup attempts, armed robberies,
disappearances and closure of media houses. What are  your views on Gambia's
political situation today?

 Dr. S Nyang: The Gambia is a country that has potentials. It can be the
hotdog inside the Senegalese  roll with a big difference. What I mean by
this metaphor is that the Gambians and the Senegalese are the same people
but history has conspired to make them live in separate political entities.
Many Gambians and  Senegalese have accepted this destiny. Once this
metaphor, is acknowledged by the peoples of the two countries then they must
work hard to avoid the negative consequences of the metaphor used by the
late President Senghor when he described the Gambia as " a  revolver pointed
at the heart of Senegal." I mean the former Senegalese President was very
concerned about the relationship between the two countries. He did not force
the hands of former President Jawara to bring  the two countries together.
Many agreements were signed and even after the UN made their proposal for
independent Senegal and about-to-be-independent Gambia, Senghor accepted the
Gambian choice of separate independent. This was the case up to the time  he
handed over power to his successon, President Abdou Diouf.

   I started answering your question this way because I want to make it
categorically clear that Gambia's political stability depends on four
things. First is the state of the regional community of Senegambia Minor and
Senegambia Major. If Senegal and Gambia are in harmony and they benefit for
progressive, liberal and democratic political development in each country,
chances the two people would coexist amicably and their economies would
prosper. This political imperative is closely linked to political stability
in Senegambia Major. This larger political geography includes the two
nations and the other states benefiting from the Senegal and Gambia rivers.
This is to say, political difficulties in Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry and
Mauretania could be dangerous for peace and security in the area.

    Because of the interconnectedness of the countries, it is dangerous and
unwise for Gambians to pay little or no attention to the stability of the
neighborhood and the stability of the  country itself. This is why the
stability of the Gambia is related to the stability of the regional. With
respect to the Gambia itself, three of issues affect the state of things.
The first of this inner factors are the nature of the political process and
the politics of compromise and bargaining among the political elites. During
the Jawara era, political stability was maintained largely because of the
politics of co-optation. The United Party under Pierre Sarr Njie lost its
standing because its members defected to the PPP of President Jawara and
political opposition had no way of sharing power but through defection to
the ruling party. The system had no room for opposition parties to enjoy
some of the fruits of  post independent power at the local or national
government levels.

     Due to that state of affairs many of the young people who later
supported anti-government activities would be directly or  indirectly linked
to subversive efforts to create a new regime in the country. The Kukoi Samba
Sanyang coup detat was the first evidence of trouble for the Gambia. Here
one now sees the connection between political discontent within the Gambia
and the role  and place of Senegal and neighboring countries in the
political stability of the country. During the thirty years of President
Jawara many in his regime were either oblivious to the pains and
dissatisfaction of the opposition groups in the country or were deaf to  the
call for better democratic balancing of the interest of the ruling party and
the opposition. Once the first coup detat took place, the sitting
government of Jawara ran for cover. The Gambian hotdog now needed the
Senegalese rolls for security and safety. The Senegalese came and suppressed
the coup makers. Hence the Senegambian Confederation. This modus vivendi did
not last long because the players were either play games with one another or
were merely interested in satisfying limited and short-term ends. Whatever
was their true feelings, in the end they merely laid the foundations for
another explosion thirteen years later. Hence the coup that is now linked to
the name of the sitting President. Unlike the first coup detat the 1994
takeover made Senegal a silent observer and the question of peace and
security  failed to materialized.

    President Jawara faced the same problems as his predecessors. Both men
have been chosen by destiny to carry the mantle of leadership in the
country. The two things that faced them from the  very beginning of their
rule is the politics of the belly and the challenges of economic dependency.
Without resources as in countries like Gabon and elsewhere in the developing
areas, the Gambian leaders must find beat for their people and they must pay
bills so as to be counted as viable and credible in international affairs.
By addressing the politics of the belly through complex foreign aid deals
abroad and through the establishment of a politics of comprise and
bargaining with a smaller Gambian population, Jawara and his team kept the
peace with occasionally eruptions here and there during the thirty years of
almost one party state.

       President Jammeh lives in a more populated Gambia and the level of
political consciousness is higher than before. Two things have worked for
him. The first is the Gambian fascination to migrate abroad and to enlist in
the growing body of foreigners remitting monies to their relatives. This
globalization of the Gambian families, clans and villages has made the
poverty of the Gambia not the problem it used to in the early days or
Jawara. Rather, it is now seen as a part of the development process and
having a relative abroad compensates for the lack of direct or indirect
access to government. This changes the nature of political opposition.
Another factor is the manner and style of government of President Jammeh.
Any careful review of his rule demonstrates beyond reasonable doubt that he
has made more Gambians ministers of state than his predecessor. Not only has
he brought to government many people than Jawara; but he has brought to the
centers of power many Gambians who would never have made it to the top.

  In light of this understanding,  I would argue that the style of rule and
the manner in which President Jammeh negotiates his way with the other
politicians in the country has made it different from his predecessor. Under
Jammeh Gambians have seen  more violence and the Gambian people have come to
taste the same good and bad of military rule. If the Jawara regime was
called the times of Kairaba ( BIG PEACE), then the Jammeh period will be
remembered as  the time of powerful leadership that puts much faith in the
might of the state and the flexibility and malleability of the Gambian
people. Unwilling to see more blood in their politics and having embraced
the old Mandinka notion of "Allah Ya keh" as in the Jawara period, trouble
in the political system would come only when younger men like Jammeh and
Kukoi Samba Sanyang come to light. Such political animals are  endangered
species because of the nature of the changing international system and the
greater desire for peaceful politics through slow but positive
democratization.


 Freedom Newspaper: In your view, what are the factors  that qualifies a
country to be called a failed state?

 Dr. S Nyang:  A country is called a failed state when its leaders have lost
control of the souls of their people and the state can  no longer capture
the attention and imagination of these people. Not only can a state lose
contact with its people, it can create the conditions that force people to
emigrate and leave elsewhere. Somalia is the best example of a failed state
and the inability of foreign governments to welcome her in world conferences
has underscored  the point.

Freedom Newspaper: On the other hand, President Jammeh had argued that he
had brought "unprecedented" development in the Gambia, with the ordinary
Gambian having access to basic education, health care and other social
amenities. The regime also brags about the University of the Gambia,
numerous schools, road network  and hospitals it built across the country
over the years. Your views on this?

 Dr. S Nyang:  The answer to this question is as follows: the development of
the Gambia is evident in some areas of life, but the gap between economic
development and the capacity to develop is wide. Gambia has very limited
resources and the infrastructure development claimed by the Jammeh regime
cannot be denied. What one would like to affirm is the poverty of the
country and the need for  Gambians to note that no journey can be taken by
the Gambians if they failed to work together seriously to effect changes.

Freedom Newspaper: What positive development (if any) has
Mr.Jammehinitiated since coming to power?

 Dr. S Nyang: Jammeh has developed the broadcasting service of the country.
There is a TV station that adds a great deal to the definition and
magnification  of the Gambian identity. With TV the President and the people
have a place in the cyber space. They had a place in the world of radio
during the Jawara regime;however, under President Jammeh, they are now able
to project themselves better than President Jawara could. Another
development is the renovation of the airport. I think most of the Gambians
who visited the country since this renovation, agree about its improvement
since Jammeh came to power.

     Jammeh's use of foreign doctors has added to his image among certain
Gambians. Gambia has many sick people. Anything better than Jawara in the
field of medicine would give Jammeh greater  prestige and honor.
             This is certainly true with respect to schools in the
provinces. Jammeh and his supporters would count schools built by the last
regime under Jawara and the new regime of Jammeh.

Freedom Newspaper: Comparing President Jammeh and Jawara who among the two
would you vote as a true democrat?

 Dr. S Nyang?  The two men represent different sets of circumstances in
Gambian history. It is dangerous and unwise to pit them as historical
contestants in an imaginary race. They are not racing against each other.
History has made them members of a relay race. Jawara has already covered
his ground and we can judge him conclusively, unless a miracle occurs and he
is back in power. I strongly believe the former President is more
comfortable now in the Gambia than he was in England. Like his counterparts
elsewhere in Africa, he now lives in the Gambia as other political exiles
have done. Running for office is out of the question. Old age and thoughts
about life beyond the grave are most  likely to be dominant in his mind.

Jammeh has history on his side so long as he is in command. He can change
his fortune and reverse and correct past errors and lead the political arena
honorably. Jawara had the chance  to do so but he thought otherwise. For
this and other related reasons, it is difficult to choice one against the
other. What one can say are the following historical facts.The first is that
Jammeh's rule is  linked to the violence and blood at its beginning, Not so
the Jawara regime. I could have gone that way, if the opposition under
Pierre Sarr Njie was recalcitrant and aggressive. Fortunately, cooler heads
prevailed  and the peoples of Banjul who were caught in the political fight
benefited and the peoples from the provinces managed to capture political
power and changed their circumstances.

Freedom Newspaper: But critics say deposed President Jawara was "reckless"
in the way he runs the Gambia. That he ignored corruption and its
perpetrators? Your views please?

 Dr. S Nyang:  Those who blame Jawara for corruption must judge him fairly.
If he had taken money he would not have returned to the Gambia. I visited
Jawara in London after his fall. Prior to that he was a distant  star
unreachable to young scholars like me. It was only after his fall that his
relatives and in laws who knew brought my name to his attention.

       When I visited Jawara's residence in the United Kingdom I saw no
affluence. I  saw no stolen property. What I believe happened in his case
was his easy going behavior which open the doors to hustlers in the society.
It is very easy for a chief or a king to fall into the hands of our people.
Through fear, flattery and skillful manipulation of Juju and other African
means peculiar to their cultures, African leaders who build no organizations
fall and perish. Without effective organizations most of the African leaders
lack transparency and accountability. Through deception and manipulation a
leader, even as tough and determined as Jammeh, could fall prey. President
Jawara allowed certain practices to go own and those under him knew how to
grease the  pole and massacre the ego of the BIG BOSS. Jawara fell into this
pit of political doom when corruption was seen and identified by both his
supporters and his foes. Gambia is a very poor country, and it is easy to
notice and identify corrupt officials. Jawara was not as kleptocratic as a
Mobutu, but  he was careless to some extent to miss the mischief of his
collaborators. This, in my view, will be the judgement of future  Gambians
and Africans.

Freedom Newspaper: Would you say that  President Jammeh is repeating the
conditions that led to Jawara's removal, even though coups are illegal in
all  its forms?

 Dr. S Nyang:   I have already answered that question.

 Freedom Newspaper: What leads to military coups in  Africa? Has the African
military undermined the development of democracy on the continent?

 Dr. S Nyang:  I have already answered that question.

Freedom Newspaper: What's the way forward to end coups and counter coups on
the continent?

  Dr. S Nyang:  I have answered that question.

Freedom Newspaper: Do you see President Jammeh as a "dictator." ?

 Dr. S Nyang: Jammeh's part to power resembles Jerry  Rawlings. Students of
African politics would say that Gambia came to power through a coup detat
and as a military ruler he was perceived as a dictator. That was why  we
created the Pro-Democracy Movement in the  United States and he urged
Chairman Jammeh of the military regime to think ahead and move towards a
civilized government. After much debate and pressure, he and his group moved
forward and the opposition groups that felt victimized under Jawara had a
new  day. Unless I am mistaken, this was my feeling at the time. The
opposition groups saw an opening and they thought they would do better under
this political dispensation that before. Real or imagined, things apparently
turned out differently.

Freedom Newspaper: If you have the chances of meeting President Jammeh one
day, what would you tell him?

 S Nyang: That meeting would be a private matter and its contents would be
private. It will certainly cover Gambia and its future.

Freedom Newspaper: Do you support term limit for the Presidency? If yes,
why?

Dr. S Nyang: This has been a debated issue under Jawara. So long as the
Gambians seek power through elections, term limits will remain a major bone
of contention. Such a policy can be real only when the political elites have
alternative avenues of self-empowerment and self-gratification.

Freedom Newspaper: We were made to understand that you at some point served
as Gambia's Deputy Ambassador and Head of Chancery  in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
This was between 1975 to 1978 during the First Republic. What  was life like
in Saudi?

 Dr. S Nyang: When I served in the Gambian Foreign Service I was in my early
thirties. I was actually thirty-one years old. I was First Secretary and
Head  of Chancery. I was the Deputy Ambassador and I acted as ambassador
whenever Ambassador Ousman Sallah, as recorded in the Gambia Gazzette in the
1975-78, went on breaks.

       The Gambia Embassy in  Jeddah was a bi experience. The Jawara regime
wanted to serve certain Gambian needs. There was the question of the hajj
and the problems of Gambian pilgrims. This was the main task of the
diplomatic staff. Being a  small country we has an Ambassador, a  First
Secreatry/Head of Chancery, a Second Secretary (Omar Secka), a Financial
Attache (Mass Sarr), and an Arabic Translator (Baba Drammeh). Together with
my colleagues  we represented the Gambian people at the Kaaba. It was a
difficult task because it consumed a great deal of time and I learned a lot
about Saudi society and the African residence in Arabia. I wrote many
reports for  the embassies and the stories of Gambian pilgrims are
immortalized in those texts.

       Similarly, that assignment gave me the opportunity to cover the
Gambian students. Many of the prominent imams and Arabic-speaking  Gambians
and Senegalese who studied in the Arab countries, particularly Egypt and
Saudi Arabia were known to me. We handled their cases and I tried
extensively in the region. Many of my scholarly articles about the Middle
East and Islam benefitted  from that past.

Freedom Newspaper: How do you get the Ambassador job during Jawara's
government? Was it  by merit or political patronage?

 Dr. S Nyang: I was not a political appointee. I was recruited as a civil
servant and I left my job as director of African Studies at Howard
University in 1975 for Arabia. I deeply appreciated that assignment.  But
because of my interest in academic life I left three years later to resume
my teaching position at Howard University.

      There were some jealousies among certain Gambians at the time. The
politicians were apprehensive. Some thought I was going to be a political
adviser from the U.S. There were many rumors. Some civil servants could not
deal with the promotion some of us got because of our advanced degrees and
foreign appointments.

Freedom Newspaper: What led to your removal from Saudi? Did you resigned or
were you fired?

Dr. S Nyang: I left the civil service because I found  myself developing new
interests in academic world and the changing nature of the bureaucracy.

 Freedom Newspaper: Do you regret serving President Jawara's government? If
no, why?

 Dr. S Nyang: I do not regret servicing in the Jawara regime. I was a civil
servant and I believe I did my best for them at the time. I father was the
Post Master and the Chief Wireless Operator of the Upper  River Division in
Basse in the early 1950's. I had a good time growing up in Basse in those
days prior to my relocation to Banjul to attend Muhamedan School and the St.
Augustine's Secondary School in Banjul.

        My service in Saudi Arabia was like my father's service in the
provinces. In fact, there is an interesting historical parallel between my
boyhood days in Basse and my subsequent posting in  Jeddah. When I was a
little boy in Banjul in the late fifties, my dad took leave and went to
Mecca to perform the hajj in 1957/58. Almost twenty years later, he would
come back to Jeddah to stay with me on his way to Mecca. His visit and my
growth and maturity allowed me the opportunity to compare and contrast his
narratives about Jeddah wen I was young and his appreciation of changes that
had taken place in the place he visited two decades earlier. It never dawn
on him that one day his son would be running things at their embassy in
Arabia. Thank God for that
opportunity.

Freedom Newspaper: As a former diplomat, how would you view the
Jammeh/Jawara foreign policies? Is it okay for Gambia to befriend Iran?

 Dr.S  Nyang: Gambian foreign policy under Jawara and Jammeh are similar in
many ways but certain historical circumstances have worked differently for
President Jammeh. Let me identify the differences between the  two
administrations. Under Jammeh the Gambia government has established
diplomatic relations with Cuba while at the same time maintaining relations
with Taiwan. Thisow I view the Jammeh initiatives with respect to Cuba,
Taiwan, Iran and others.

        With respect to similarities between Jawara and Jammeh I see it most
obvious in Senegalese-Gambian relations. Both leaders have taken for granted
the uniqueness of the Gambian political reality and their policies are not
different in any  serious ways. Both believe in Gambian nationalism and have
exploited local, regional and international means to support and reinforce
this feeling. The establishment of a television station by Jammeh is the
most significant. In the long term the ethnic loyalties between the various
ethnic groups in the two countries would become nationalized. What I am
saying is that the Gambian Wolof, Jola. Mandinka or Fula would
psycho-historically transform into a Gambianized  identity. And mass media
is most likely going to have the same effect as the literary traditions of
the other established nations. Indeed cyber technology and literary
traditions have played an important part in  the more established and
longstanding European situation. Pan Africanists who wanted a union of the
two countries early in the post independence era would be disappointed by
the coagulation of nationalist spirit in this part of the continent. I
advise to those African nationalists is for them to take a look at the
European experience. Africans must come  together in the long term for their
own interest and for the advancement of their piece of real estate on  the
planet. Perhaps history wishes to melt the diverse ethnic groups in this
small land into a Gambian so that after a radical transformation they would
enter an African community of independent African states.  Time will tell on
these matters.

Freedom Newspaper:Gambia  being the host of the African centre and the
African Commission, yet there are alleged human rights abuses in the
country. Any comments?

 Dr. S Nyang:  The Gambia secured this privileged position in the history of
human rights development in Africa largely because of the image President
Jawara had in the late seventies and early eighties. We must  remember that
Gambia, Mauritius and Botswana were listed then as the only democracies in
Africa. Small and easily identifiable the Gambia won that status as a place
safe for democracy. Real or imagined, this  view of the Gambia has put the
Gambia in a problematic position. In order for its leaders to gain the
recognition of the pro-democratic forces around the world, they must
replicate publicly what they articulate privately about democracy. This is a
tall order and President Jammeh has been playing the ping-pong game with his
local and foreign opponents. The acid test for him is to demonstrate in the
coming months and years that he is secure and the Gambian electorate is now
sufficient convinced the viability of these institutions. The institutions
he helps to create now will have a future and the Gambian people will see
the germination of the seeds of democracy only when political opposition is
a reality. You do not invent opposition, but you do deny them the power of
self- articulation.

        Institutions take time to develop and neither Jawara nor Jammeh will
be around when scholars  and commentators on democracy in Africa
convincingly pronounce the Gambia a working and surviving democracy. The
main challenge for President Jammeh is to demonstrate commitment to the
process and let history takes its course. Through compromise and bargaining
he stands a chance. Any love affair with violence and intimidation would
fail because of changing times in domestic and international affairs.
Globalization and the increased sophistication of human beings around the
world have conspired to make  democracy the best form of government ala
Winston Churchill.

Freedom Newspaper:What is your view about having a university without
intellectual indepndence?

 Dr.S Nyang: It is a remarkable achievement for Gambia to have its own
institution of higher learning. I have advocated for this since the nineteen
seventies. Dr.Tijan Sallah at the World Bank made a strong case to  the
Jawara regime when Dr. Jebez Ayo Langley was Secretary General of the Civil
Service. The late Ayo Langley confirmed this fact when he served as a
professor in my department at Howard University.Nothing was done by the
Jawara regime. There were  certain considerations that militated against
such a decision. Financing such an enterprise was primary in Jawara's mind.
Since Gambians have become accustomed to seeking higher education in foreign
lands, it never  occurred to the leaders in education in the country to
dream the impossibility. A Gambian University? There was Yundum College for
teachers during the colonial days and the independent government managed to
carry that burden. Indeed, some Gambians have argued over the years that
Gambians could finance their higher education if they could simply develop a
global diplomacy which maximizes the benevolence of both the bigger and the
more advanced countries that commit themselves to a yearly scholarship
programs for Gambians. The large number of Gambian graduates of American
colleges and universities since Ousman Sallah pioneered the way in 1960 for
hundreds if not  thousands of Gambians inspired that point of view.

  Now that we have a university, the President and his colleagues must
develop the institutional support locally and externally to make it a
reality. I believe the people running the  University, are currently engaged
in building relations with sister colleges and universities around the
world. .

Freedom Newspaper: The Gambian being a secular state, what is your view of
having a mosque at the state house?

 Dr. Nyang:: This question has been raised by a number of people. One
Gambian scholar, Dr. Modou Darboe, recently made reference to it in a
seminal paper on Islam and Politics in the Gambia. Other scholars who  are
writing in the field of religion and social change in Africa have also
touched on this matter. I do not know the rationale for this decision at the
time. One can argue that it was both political and strategic in  the sense
that the new President was concerned about his popularity with the local and
international Muslims. There were even false allegations that he was a
crypto Christian. Through such a measure the question of personal security
was addressed  realistically if prayers were to take place close to home.
His decision to bring church and state (mosque and state) at State House
certainly won the hearts of conservative Muslims around the country. It was
open  the circle of friendship and cooperation in the Middle East,
especially in Saudi Arabia and Iran. However, it raised the alarm bells
among the Christian minorities and others committed to a society where no
religion  dominates the state.

           As an advocate of democratic principles in Africa, I think it is
dangerous and unwise for Africans to allow religious differences to be
reflected in state affairs. Africans  should study the five types of
church/state relations in the world and develop their own variety. The
dominant paradigms are USA, France, Britain, Former Soviet Union and Iran.
The way in which church and
state interact under these political dispensations, is known to political
leaders around the world. Many states have modeled themselves after one of
the other of the five listed above. Gambians too must learn from  history
and develop their own arrangement. President Jawara's legacy is different
from Jammeh's. Jawara stayed clear from any confusion, although he had the
opportunity to do so because of his involvement with  the inner activities
of the Organization of Islamic Conference.

Freedom Newspaper: What's your view about Gambian literature?

 Dr. S Nyang: Gambian literature is beginning to take roots and the society
and state together could enhance its capacity to influence the lives of
younger generations of Gambians in the public school system. When we were
growing up in the last days of colonial rule in the Gambia we went to
missionary schools and the dominant books of literature were Western
imports. A number of us can still quote extensive passages from William
Shakespeare and others. Until the Heinemann books featuring Western African
writers such as Chinua Achebe and Lenrie Peters were available, Gambians had
no window of their own to the gateways of World
Literature. Lenrie, for too long became the only cultural oasis where
thirsty Gambians could run for water of inspiration. Some years later
younger minds such as Tijan Sallah took up the baton in this relay race to
make additional runs for the Gambians. Certainly creative Gambians such as
Charles Jaw, Swaebou Conateh, Hassum Ceesay and many from my generation or
old emerged in the field of poetry and short stories. Many of these writers
are now known to readers of essays on Gambian literature, published in the
Internet. They have registered their presence on the Gambian cultural
landscape. My recent reading of studies on Gambian literature has given be
much hope.  There is a local Gambian saying that our people are the best of
imitators. As they say in Wollof, roi donna. If this saying is true and
Gambians actually act on it, chances in the next decades the number of
Gambian writers in English, Arabic and the local languages would lay the
foundations for a Gambian renaissance. Not only are they going to imitate
but they will inherit the legacies of other benefiting human cultures.

         This is a positive development and the older leaders of culture in
the country should take the initiative to found an organization on Arts and
Letters of the Gambia. I believe an effort to  establish such a body was
made some years ago. I am not hearing anything about that anymore. Some of
us in the Diaspora would be willing to give ideas and monies to sustain this
venture. Annual meetings of the people  of culture can take place in the
country every year. Here the musicians with their guitar and drums will
share space with their colleagues who wield their pens and their computers
to advance the frontiers of  Gambian, African and global cultures.

Freedom Newspaper:Have you ever had a bad experience in Nigeria in the past?
If yes, what happened?

 Dr. S Nyang: I have been to Nigeria several times. I went there during
FESTAC 1976 as a member of the Gambian delegation. At that time Honorable
M.C . Cham was our Minister of Education and I wrote a paper on the
Abrahamic Religion and Africa. This would later develop into my book on
Islam, Christianity and African Identity (1984) published in the United
States of America. That  experience was very successful and no incident of
significance took place. Similarly, after I went back to the US from my
posting as a Gambian diplomat in Arabia, I went back to Nigeria as a scholar
invited by  the Department of International Relations at the University of
Ife (now called Obafemi Awolowo University). This visit was health and
productive. It was the era of War on Indiscipline (WAI) during the term of
Muhammad Buhari. Nigerians were forced to obey  road signs and to form
queues.

    The third trip to Nigeria was under the auspices of Ibadan University.
As a guest of their department on Islam and Arab I gave a lead paper on
Islam, Terrorism and Development. It was a successful conference and the
lectures I gave elsewhere were well received. There was no problem in this
case.

        My fourth visit was troublesome. During this visit I came face to
face  with what Nigerians called complications and complexities of 419.
Because I had spent much of the funds I brought with me to Nigeria, I found
myself in a position that was too dangerous for a foreigner, especially
someone for the Western countries. Unable  to access funds through your
credit card because of the dangers therein, and caught in the difficulties
created by 419 scam, friends at home who can come to your financial rescue
became apprehensive about Nigerian deceptions and scams. When I tried to get
funds from certain persons known to me, I sensed a feeling of doubt and
uncertain. So deep is the notoriety of Nigerian scams that one suffers
simply because of one's condition inside the country. Fortunately, I had two
reliable and trusting friends. One was an Arab American from Tennessee and
the other was an Iranian American. Both are long standing friends and they
know me well over twenty years. With  their assistance and cooperation, I
survived this Nigerian trauma and arrived home safely.

    The lessons I learned is that fear and deceit are among the most
dangerous boobie traps in social relationships and Africans, particularly
Nigerians, should work very hard to widen the circle of trust and deepen
their cultural education programs to make the best of their cultural values
multiply. May the Good Lord answer our prayers. I wish you well. Keep the
faith and good luck.

 The editor can be reached at the following
addresses:[log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask] If you know
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breakfast news by reading Freedom. We have good stuffs  every morning. At
Freedom, we mean business.

Posted on Friday, July 20, 2007 (Archive on Friday, August 31, 2007)
Posted by PNMBAI  Contributed by PNMBAI
Return <http://freedomnewspaper.com/Homepage/tabid/36/Default.aspx>

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