But for the "forcing the opposition to form an alliance" part, I am in 
total agreement with Fatou's sentiments and anxieties. Haruna.

Is Yaya Jammeh Our Perfect President?
by Fatou Jaw Manneh








Methinks so.
Well the saying goes that a leader is a reflection of its people and 
that cannot be more accurate than in the Gambia.
Yaya Jammeh is the chosen leader of the Gambian people and it’s high 
time that Gambians in the Diaspora get to
grips with that. Don’t mind the disappearances, the arrests and the 
dead. Actually the more people disappear, the
more ‘patriotic’ Gambians become.
For  the frightening reports from back home, well ,what are we going to 
do about it.? If Gambians on the ground are
not ready to take matters into their own hands, who are we to question 
the status Quo?

The same Gambians giving us these scary reports back home are the same 
people, who will do whatever it takes to
get jobs from Jammeh. Whether it be  giving in a neighbor or an uncle, 
if it will throw a few crumbs on their way, go for it
please. Does the name Sheik ring a bell?

Gambian journalists should be commended for saying it as it is. The 
whole world truly knows who “the rotten ones are".
Looking back, no wonder, the slave trade flourished in the Gambia, not 
only because we had a port for it, but because
we don’t wiggle ourselves out of terrible situations. We wait for 
others to come help us. Bakary will sell Lamin to a slave
trader John Williams, hoping the trade will cede before they get to 
him. Am sure they used to pride themselves in
throwing their uncles into the net than saving them. In this APRC era, 
it is called Patriotism, am not sure about the
terms in those days. (Lamin Dee Toubabala, Allahlay Nyingfo), Give 
lamin to the white man; it is God’s will. It is no
different now so we better come to terms with it.

In 2007, when I got arrested from the airport in Banjul and detained at 
the NIA headquarters for 6 days, little did I know
the epiphany that awaits me. I was so upset that fear was completely 
out of the equation. I thought well, if there is going
to be any showdown, here it comes. Before the pickup truck turned into 
the NIA gates, I PRAYED TO God to give my
Mum and my two sons all the strength necessary to carry on should 
incase anything happens to me. And I vowed that,
if this is my final day on earth, so be it but am not going to shed a 
tear in this NIA compound.
The heat, mosquitoes, dirty bathrooms and endless interrogations began. 
Each of their questions was answered direct
and to the point and to the best of my knowledge. Then the circus court 
case started and it took one year and six
months.

Well, if you think, Yaya Jammeh is gross and cruel, come meet some of 
his subjects, among the Gambian masses. Don’
t get me wrong here,  a lot of Gambians  I believe harbor the same 
disdain about Gambia’s problems but the bottom-
line is, WHO IS GOING TO BELL THE CAT? I appreciated all the “you are a 
hero”, “God brought you here for a
reason”, and the ninety names of Allah verses brought to me on a 
continuous basis but I would have preferred if we all
carry a hammer and sword with Allah’s ninety names when Chief Manneh 
was abducted, when the witch hunters came
for our grandparents and uncles, when Deyda Hydara was shot dead and 
when the GPU 8 got arrested.I hate violence
but do we have to sit  still whilst our loved ones are individually 
picked, smeared, jailed or dissappear and never to
come back?

I cannot thank more, ordinary Gambians whom I’ve never met come to give 
some encouragement with all the prayers.
But you don’t fight a dictatorship, behind corridors with God’s name 
tucked under your shirt.
IF you believe that there is no god but God,and that  there is no 
ultimate power but God's, you don’t go beg the king
for your brother’s disappearance, or pleading to the witch hunters for 
mercy? No one individual has power more or
over  the other. The ultimate power is with God and we can do a whole 
lot of good for our neighbors and friends if we
as Gambians believe in God and help ourselves. Believing in God is not 
just going to the mosque, memorizing the
ninety nine names of Allah and trekking to Touba. It is about having 
faith and fearing no other human being that is out
there to harm you. Down with the hypocrites calling themselves Muslims. 
Down with the haters, the cruel and the
unpredictable, the greedy and the selfish!!

In as much as disgusting Jammeh’s policies are, how about the judges 
and lawyers who ignore the law in favor of
Jammeh. How about the Gambian people who instead of getting up to 
defend their brothers and neighbors, resort to
reporting them, or forming a delegation to either thank Jammeh, for a 
stupid mistake or beg him for mercy. Over and
over and over again. We create the monster in Jammeh, clapping for him 
anytime he fires, detains and jail our fellow
Gambians.Creating an excuse for him anytime he pounced on someone.When 
shall it end?

I was living in America, bombarding  Jammeh for all the atrocities and 
thinking Gambians are just mere victims not
knowing that that Gambians themselves are their own enemies. The APRC 
establishment champions and celebrates
cruelty.It is a cartel of mischievous and cruel Gambians that will stop 
at nothing in extending harm to their fellow men.  It
has layers of powers and clubs and individuals all with power in their 
hands and unleashing it as they see fit on their
fellow Gambians. No wonder if they are dumped out of the cartel, they 
fear for their lives because then their safety is
not guaranteed from any individual within the APRC, who can harm one, 
for your car, your house, your wife or if you
dare share a girlfriend or a SHE eying on ones husband. So it is left 
to  Gambians to stand up against brutality,
injustice, disrespect and humiliation.

There is an unending tale as to who did what to whom and why, each 
reason, bogus and trivial beyond comprehension.
The terror starts from the top and trickles down to the cleaner at the 
NIA. It is common knowledge for Directors to have
or know people at the NIA that have to be constantly watching their 
back, in case some Patheh within the unknown
APRC hierarchy decides to smear them.

Watching Gambians go about their funny and mischievous ways have 
baffled me throughout my stay, not to mention
the labeling and name calling that was attributed to me, so they can 
excuse themselves, in their heads of my
predicament. I was angry at my own ignorance of my country folks and 
the way we coordinate our affairs.
Gambians  have abused the word patriotism, again and again  just so 
they are spared Jammeh’s rod and can use it as
an excuse too, to blindly follow him.

When I refuse to run and all their tricks fail for me to drop the case 
by asking  to beg or  offering to row me out of
Banjul, they clearly declared war on me, just so they can break me down 
and get rid of my court problem. Some family
members and some friends whom I’ve revered as my heroes, all turned 
against me. They began to spread news that I
am mad, I’ve lost it and they will shamelessly come to verify whether 
am indeed coocoo.
All well taken but if our  grandfathers, grandmothers and neighbors are 
snatched and forced to drink concoctions that
can be fatal, and Gambians openly thank Jammeh for cleaning the 
communities of witches. Don’t you think something
is wrong with us too and not just Jammeh?

What am trying to say is that Gambians, will give all their sons and 
daughters and neighbors to the lion, rather than
collectively find a way to get rid of it. Just in the name of being 
scared. They want to have it both ways. Give some fake
support to Jammeh to the fullest because he will not tolerate anything 
less, whilst they cry to us for help. Not realizing
that the Diaspora Gambians have no standing army and are also as 
fragmented and not a collective force to be able
to effect any change on the ground.We can only compliment  their 
efforts.

Whilst some of my colleagues argue that there is no strong opposition 
on the ground, i beg to differ. Gambians have to
rise up, trash the opposition if necessary, or force them to form and 
alliance. The power of the people lies not in the
hands of Jammeh or the opposition leaders but with ordinary gambians. I 
just read a strong commentary from a cool
brother on the power of the people and what ordinary people when united 
can achieve but alas.Without action,the only
revolution that is going to be celebrated might just be the so called 
July 22nd revolution.

Gambians had a chance for a revolution  when NADD was formed, when our 
grandmothers and fathers were
individually collected and forced to drink the somewhat fatal 
“kubeyJarra”. When our own sons and daughters got shot.
when Deyda  Hydara got shot, When chief Ebrima Manneh disappeared.When 
Kanyiba Kanyi disappeared. These
incidents were all a call for a revolution.  Gambians in the diaspora 
cannot abandon what they do to go back home for
a reveolution.We can only compliment and help. But our fellow gambians  
at home would rather be humiliated , fired
ten times over  and then hired back than do anything to the contrary to 
gain their liberty.

So the debacle is here to stay unless we get up and sacrifice,  protect 
our dignity,and demand our liberty. Freedom is
never dished out. It is earned.

Fatou Jaw Manneh
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"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in 
which we really stop to look fear in the face...
we must do that which we think we cannot".

—Eleanor Roosevelt

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