Ladies and gentlemen, the A(F)PRC, Yahya Jammeh and whatever constitutes
the Kanilai Empire, those monsters devouring civilization in our country,
are in the throes of moral, social and humanitarian decay. This is not a
wish, dream or a prediction, but a conclusion drawn from a broad look at
the trends of the last eight and a half years, which, if we do not take the
right steps, can continue on into the next decade. What has happened around
us in our corner of the world, nation states collapsing, citizens rising up
against government monsters, can and is almost destined to happen in our
beloved Gambia.
Our predicament may not always be obvious, because the directions of
history can, sometimes, be obscure in times like these. We have become
accustomed to the slow pace of change and to the gloomy status quo, as if
these are normal facets of life. So it's essential to take a step forward,
the better step, to be in a better position to fight what is impending on
us as a people.
I will be beating on a dead horse - while playing prophet of doom - if I
were to compare our present situation to fifteen/twenty years ago, and
twenty years in the future. It has been eight and a half years since the A
(F)PRC came into our lives with their flamboyant rhetoric and Herculean
dreams of transforming our country into a paradise overnight, based on a
wild ruffian’s central plan of managing our country, and eventually making
a terrible mess of it.
The A(F)PRC government has mismanaged our economy on a scale we have not
seen since the inception of the First Republic, but the effects are
contrary to everything Keynesian theory would predict. Political
corruption, social deprivation, real and imagined, has become a mainstay of
A(F)PRC politics. The war on poverty - and most every other war these
skunks ever embarked on - failed to live up to its promise. The backlash
has begun, but not without a serious implication to the future of our
country.
In retrospect, it is easy to see that the really important forces for
social change were not the “soldiers with a difference.” The really
important figures behind any change are we, the ordinary citizens to be led
by a band of intellectuals who are sincere, honest and ready to stand up
against all odds. Those who will be consistent in their quest and continue
to challenge the system for better social and economic management at its
very root. These will be the most important players, the economists, the
doctor, the accountant, the teacher, the driver, the farmer and the student
who will dare to repudiate, denounce the ineptitude of the government, and
join hands to reconstruct the social fabrics of freedom and economic
independence.
A heavy price may have to be paid. But it a choice that have to be made
consciously, and indeed joyously; we will have to choose the path of long-
term prosperity over short-term benefits. There is no point in pretending
that a change in the status quo can occur without the players mentioned
above and the risks involved. But we must meet the enemy on its own ground,
which is the core of the ineptitude that has befallen us.
We should not renege or make any apology for our desire to bring about
change for a better Gambia. If it were our desire to seek status as an end
in itself, we would approach matters very differently. And if our desire
were merely to fit in, we wouldn't be here. But we are, because we share a
vision, possibly radical now, but guaranteed to be mainstream tomorrow:
namely to bring about a society where private life is held at a premium,
and where no autocrat, kleptocrat or despot, democratically elected or not,
is allowed to run roughshod over the private pursuit of prosperity and
security.
We must seek, all of us, a society where politics means enforcement of the
rule of law, where economic development is left to those who own and
control real resources, and where owners can use their property without
violent interference by parasites who neither produce nor create, but live
off those who do so, without their consent.
We owe it to every single Gambian, male, female, young and old to do
everything for the strengthening of these endeavors for a change towards
social, political and economic prosperity. We must be partners in a
revolutionary intellectual movement, and in the price to pay for the stance
that we must take in these hard times for the Gambia. But we must be
confident - for ourselves, for our families, for our fellow Gambians, and
for the future of our country that what we are doing is right.
I believe we can turn things around for our dear Gambia. It is within our
reach. Let us not give in to the evil despot and his bandwagon, but proceed
ever more boldly against them and whatever they stand for.
-BambaLaye
==============================================
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
====================================================
"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have
acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence
of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible
for evil to triumph."
-Halle Selassie I
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
