Musa Jeng:
This is a very thoughtful and instructive essay. I pray that those to whom it was addressed pay heed.
Abdoulaye,
No justice, no peace!
Jammeh Must Go!
Musa Jeng wrote:
> As the opportunity for an Alliance started to look like a reality, hope
> for a new Gambia towards a constitutional democracy was becoming a
> reality. But for the past 7 days, I have been woken up from that
> beautiful dream. The story of Ralph Nader, the Green Party liberal
> candidate who denied us the Presidency, is going to be a replay come
> October 2001 in the Gambia. God forbid!
>
> This of course can be avoided, but it is going to take political
> maturity, sense of fairness, political realism and a viable political
> strategy. A political Alliance can still be put together, but for that
> to happen the protagonists need to focus on how to effectively bring
> about that reality. The political reality is that the only way a new
> Gambia can be created come October 2001 is through the formation of an
> Opposition Alliance. It is also a political reality that the October
> 2001 election is not a referendum of who should be the next President,
> but a referendum on dictatorship or constitutional democracy. An
> Alliance victory will bring about a new Gambia on a new path to law and
> order, and justice for all. I would like to take this opportunity to
> talk to the protagonists in this unfolding drama, Mr. Sidia Jatta, Mr.
> Ousainou Darboe, Mr. Hamat Bah and Mr.S.M. Dibba.
>
> SM.Dibba,
>
> Gambia politics has always been your life, and you have contributed and
> dedicated all your life to it, and it would be very unfair to question
> your commitment and your believe, or to even doubt that you have what it
> takes to lead the Alliance. You are a political heavy weight and whether
> you become President or not, you will always be regarded as someone who
> has contributed immensely to the political landscape of this country.
> Gambian History cannot be written without you being one of the main
> characters. Gambia is at a crossroad, and we need a formidable
> Opposition Alliance to bring about constitutional democracy that we have
> never had. And for that to happen we need to elect a candidate that have
> been active recently for the past seven years, and also with a very good
> chance of electability. It is not about whom is more qualify; it is
> about the safe strategy to win come October 2001. The Alliance cannot
> win without you, but now is not the time to settle old scores because
> ultimately the country you always loved will pay a heavy price. When
> your epithet is written you will not want to be remembered as the person
> that contributed to Gambia becoming a pariah nation like Sierra Leone or
> Liberia? Gambia under Jammeh for another five years is too much of a
> risk to take. The Jammeh take over was something most of us supported,
> but that Jammeh revolution we all yearned for is long gone and we are
> stuck on a dangerous path.
>
> Mr. Darboe,
>
> Even though, I always believed that Gambia could only move forward with
> a real future after the APRC era, I have always had my scepticism with
> the UDP party. I was one of the victims with the held view that UDP is
> the party of the disgruntled PPP people who are very much interested in
> coming back for the big payback. Gambia cannot go back to the PPP yeste
> year, and as the new slogan from the –L, Gambia needs to go forward.
> After I met you personally in Atlanta, I came to know Darboe the Man,
> who is driven by his commitment to Justice. The bottom line is, you are
> definitely the best person who can lead the Alliance to victory. It is
> also a political reality that the PPP party can play a major role in
> contributing to this victory. But strategically, you cannot embrace the
> PPP party at the expense of all the other parties; even the perception
> of it can bring about the old rivalries that you personally have nothing
> to do with it. Mr. Darboe, now is the time to lead. You go and sit down
> with each of the players and look them right in the eye and tell them
> why you think you are the best person to lead the Alliance, and what it
> would actually mean for their individual party platforms and proposals.
> You personally need to remove all these so-called handlers with lots of
> political baggage and engage SM Dibba, PDOIS, and NRP. Sir, if you
> cannot convince these three people, please tell me how do you expect to
> convince a million electorate. Sir, now is the time to take charge, and
> avoid perceptions that can be strategically disadvantageous.
>
> PDOIS
>
> This is my party, and I have no illusion that PDOIS is not fighting for
> the leadership slot. They are interested in message, substance, and what
> Mr.Sallah calls the enlightening and empowering of the people. Meeting
> Mr.Sallah this summer in Washington DC “Up and Close” gave me an
> opportunity to see the Man, the message, and that was what I attempted
> to put forward when I wrote the piece to the –L couple of months ago. I
> found it very troubling when I read some of the unfair attacks Hamjatta
> likes to level against Halifa, and inasmuch as I agree with Hamjatta’s
> ultimate suggestion for a united Alliance, he is dead wrong in his
> characterization of Halifa and PDOIS. But PDOIS needs to be very careful
> with this one, although PDOIS has a true message, but perception can be
> very powerful and can ultimately become the truth. PDOIS cannot be seen
> as the Party that was not only soft on Jammeh for the last seven years
> but also contributed to their re-election. It is a fact that a PDOIS
> party platform cannot be implemented in a Jammeh administration, but can
> definitely have a chance in the next Administration. I have also read
> PDOIS’s latest proposal for the Opposition Alliance, and it can be a
> starting point, although I have a problem with the idea of bringing a
> new person to lead the Alliance. Mr.Sallah, I sat with you at the back
> of an SUV for over an hour, and some of this drama unfolding was touched
> on. Whatever reservation you have with the proposed Alliance, and I am
> absolutely sure it is not a fight for a PDOIS person to be on the
> leadership slot, but pragmatism should be paramount. At this juncture it
> makes sense for Darboe to lead because he is the best candidate that has
> a chance to win with the support of all the other political partys. This
> is at least a safe bet for the creation of a constitutional democracy
> for a new Gambia. It is a reality in the Gambia that any aware and
> honest Gambian knows that, our party, PDOIS is the true party with the
> message, the honesty, the commitment that can ultimately bring about the
> Gambia that all our neighbors in the sub-region will emulate. But at
> this critical juncture, our effort should be directed to the removal of
> the APRC government. Whatever needs to be done to make happen should be
> the crux of all the strategy.
>
> Gentlemen, Gambia needs you now than ever, and now are not the time to
> straddle. Let us as quickly find a common ground that is at least
> acceptable to all for the formation of the Opposition Alliance. Let us
> do that for the sake of the children that lost their lives in the April
> 10 massacre.
>
> Musa Jeng
>
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