Thanx for sharing Karim. Classic Saidy-Khan. Intelligent, honest, and an  
all-around good human being. The guy is coherent and always precise and to the  
point. Gotta love him.
 
Masoud. MQJGomezDT. Darbo. Al Mu'Umin.
 
 
In a message dated 1/26/2008 6:08:39 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

On Sam Sarr, Ethnic  Nationalism, and the Quest for a Gambian Nation 

By Saul  Saidy-Khan 
Pa Nderry,

Please allow me  space to add to the debate started by Sam Sarr. I truth, I 
was going to send  this to Sankareh, but I notice he's becoming personally 
involved, so I'd be  grateful if you could put this out for me. Time allowing, 
I'll finish up my  conclusion in Part Two.
Thanks in advance.
.........................................................
Ironically, on reading Samsudeen Sarr's "analyses", I have the same feelings  
he had about Suntu Touray's initial response. I'm totally confounded, and I'm 
 not sure where to begin. The utter disregard for established historical 
facts  shown by Sam is really shocking. Not to talk about obvious ethnic bias, 
given  the man wants to be taken as an impartial commentator slamming  tribalism. 
 

First, unlike Sam, it matters not to me  whether his first respondent's real 
name is Suntu Touray or Haddy Juum. We  have read many online postings in the 
past under names like "Ebou Colley,"  "Egu S.", "Kujabi" etc, on different 
websites, yet many of us know these are  mere pseudonyms that Sam might know 
something about. So what's the fascination  with the name "Suntu" –even if it is 
another assumed name? As we willingly  played the fool, and took "Ebou Colley" 
at face value, so is the approach many  readers adopt towards online bylines. 
The name is less relevant than what is  said! And going by the dictates of 
natural justice, how can someone notorious  for hiding behind assumed names, 
condemn someone else for doing so? Anyhow,  I'm inclined to believe that Sam 
latched unto this irrelevance in an attempt  to skirt the substance of what Touray 
wrote, while unnecessarily denigrating  the fellow. After re-reading the man's 
posting, I cannot for the life in me  figure out why Sam thinks
this man is any sort of bad representative of  people who would identify with 
the Mandinka.  

If I  understood anything from what Touray wrote, it was to raise the flag 
for Sam  to say that "there is another side to the story that you're is trying 
to make  us believe." For which reason, I agree with Suntu whole-heartedly! 
Suntu  Touray, at no point said or suggested that "nothing could be done about  
tribalism." Rather, the man was cautioning against the MONO-view that Sam has  
taken on the subject. From what Sam has written, you'll have to concede and  
conclude: Poor, Poor Wolof people! Look how Mandinka people have been treating  
them! IF what Sam wrote is true, and complete. 

However, the  version of Gambia's political history that Sam Sarr is peddling 
is neither  accurate nor original. It is a five-decade old Branding of 
Mandinka people as  irredeemably tribalist by orientation, and therefore less than 
patriotic  relative to others. We are constantly bombarded with the notion that 
all  Mandinka politicians do is to use ethnicity, NOT ideas, to get into 
office.  What is left unsaid is the implication that politicians from other ethnic 
 groups in The Gambia use OTHER THAN ETHNICITY to get elected. And the story  
line continues that while in office, all these Mandinka politicos do is look  
after only their kind. Never mind, the reality of three decades of  
Mandinka-led governments in The Gambia makes a canard of these allegations!  But these 
are what we hear. 

I say the false branding of  Mandinka people is not original because world 
history is replete with  examples. In present day America, the Far Right, 
through relentless  demagoguery of Liberals over time, has turned the term "Liberal" 
into a dirty  word. They have been so effective that even well-known Liberal 
politicians  recoil when asked if they are Liberal. Many even try to qualify 
what type of  Liberal they are! (Read John Kerry in the 2004 Prez Campaign.) 
Ironically,  almost all the people that we revere or celebrate around the world 
(prophets  Mohamed and Jesus Christ, Buddha, Nelson Mandela, Mohandas Gandhi, 
Mother  Teresa, ML King, Nkrumah, Sankara, etc) were all unabashed Liberals! 
American  Liberals had wrongly assumed that ordinary people would be able to 
see through  the falsity that the Rush Limbaughs and Sean Hannitys are peddling 
about them.  They were wrong! The Liberals' mistake is to let the Far Right 
define them,  such that people don't know who Liberals actually
are, and what they stand  for; they only know what the Limbaughs feed them 
about Liberals.  It was  only when Liberals woke up to this fact and started 
fighting back with Air  America and similar media that they've been able to 
repair some of the damage  that the Far Right demagogues have inflicted on their 
image. As is the case  with American Liberals, so has it been with Mandinka 
people in The Gambia. So  be warned! Human beings believe what they often hear –
unchallenged. Sad, but  true. 

It is precisely because of this fact that letting the  version of Gambian 
history being peddled by the Sam Sarrs stand unchallenged  would be to help 
Hogwash History germinate. Wolof Nationalists like Sam Sarr  (bear with me and this 
will become clear,) have through the decades used a  combination of 
One-liners, Half-truths, and at times outright concoctions  (often in coded-language) 
to brand, label, and stigmatized Mandinka people in  every conceivable way as 
The Gambia's problem. You hear them say things like:  "It (Tribalism) is not 
going to work any more…;" "We know what happened  before...;" "You know them 
(the Mandinka)"; "They (the Mandinka) are  power-hungry. Me I don't care about 
power…" So on, so on. But are these true,  or the whole truth?  

Allow me to give Sam credit for  breaking with their tradition to state 
clearly what he truly feels about  Mandinka people. Often, outside of their Choirs, 
Wolof Nationalists employ  Coded Language to spread their anti-Mandinka 
sermon. The Coding is deliberate:  to avoid being held responsible for what they 
say. If you challenge them, they  play the victim, and claim they meant 
something else by what they said. Sam,  at least has saved us that toothache. But true 
to tradition, he couldn't help  himself when it comes to another Wolof 
Nationalist hallmark – Transference.  Note how Sam tries to portray Suntu Touray as 
the tribalist when in fact,  unlike him, the man did NOT SAY ANYTHING 
derogatory about Wolof people!   In Sam's Wolof Nationalist mentality, all the 
negative things he just happens  to recall about a people call Mandinka, has nothing 
to do with his inner  feelings, it was to condemn generic tribalism like is 
happening in Kenya. But  Suntu Touray's response? Ooooh No, that
is motivated by Tribal bigotry!  Classic Wolof Nationalist trickery. Somehow, 
we are to believe the stories Sam  Sarr made up about Mandinka people as 
sincere, but we are to condemn Suntu  Touray who cautioned him to be cognizant of 
an alternative view. It is  noteworthy that as usual, some people have fallen 
for this trick.  

But in order not to jump the gun, lets take a multi-faceted  look at this 
Notorious "Mandinka anti-Wolof campaign" that Sam is using as a  ruse to unload 
his pent-up prejudice against the Mandinka. Let's start by  putting things in 
perspective: 


Sam is  talking about an election campaign that happened forty-eight (48) 
years  ago!   
As most still do, almost ALL Gambians voted  along sectional lines in that 
election. (The over-whelming majority of Wolof  people voted for the THREE Wolof 
candidates that ran; and the over-whelming  majority of Mandinka people voted 
for the one Mandinka candidate who  ran.)   
The Gambia has had dozens of elections  since.   
Close to 80% of Gambians today were not  even alive at the time. 


Having made these clear,  let's look at Sam's allegations, and please allow 
me to quote Sam himself  extensively. He said: "However, it was not until the 
PPP in their quest for  independence from the British started spreading the 
inaccurate political  message that the Wolof had stolen their country, Gambia, 
and kept them under  suppression for centuries that I began to realize the filth 
behind tribalism.  As far as some of them were concerned, colonialism with 
all its degradation  had nothing to do with the "Toubabs" in charge for over 
three hundred years  but everything to do with Wolof hegemony." 

This is very  interesting. In essence, Sam is giving us the impression that 
he saw and  experienced these things first-hand during that period! This 
notorious  campaign happened between 1959 and 1960. The first thing that struck me 
is  simple: How old is Sam Sarr that he understood things around him in 
1959-1960,  and more specifically, the meaning of what Mandinka (PPP) were saying 
about  Wolof people on the campaign trail? I ask this question because Sam has 
told  us that he didn't begin to realize the "filth behind tribalism" until the 
PPP  came along and started blaming Wolof people for Mandinka misfortune, 
while  giving a pass to the Toubab. Going by his words, Sam had to have been not 
only  alive at the time, he had to have been matured enough to understand what 
the  Mandinka PPP politicians were saying, which was the only way he could 
have  "realized" that the polity –which was hitherto pristine, was suddenly being 
 defiled with "filth!" I remember seeing Sam Sarr in military
uniform many  times in the '80s. If Sam Sarr was alive at all in 1959-1960, 
he must have  been very young by my reckoning. In that case, Sam was the genius 
infant who  not only understood what adults were saying, but who also 
understood the  implication of their words as well. Quite remarkable!  

If  Sam Sarr is fighting his parents' and grandparents' battles, which I 
believe  to be the case (because I know Sam Sarr was NEVER part of the audience 
when  the PPP first campaigned against Banjul Wolof parties,) why not be honest  
about this basic starting point? As children, we all have an innate instinct  
to fight for our parents. My own father passed on a year ago, and there are  
many things I'd do for him. But fight a dead fifty years old issue for him?  
What's the point? 

Like Sam, I believe in putting everything on  the table to discuss what ails 
our society with honesty. Only then can we  forge ahead to higher heights as a 
collective – in my view. But when we start  such discussions couched in 
misrepresentation (to be very generous here,) and  obvious prejudice, what possible 
good could ever come out of such  initiatives?    

Sam began by couching his language in  an aesthetic Pan African façade, but 
his language is classic Wolof  Nationalistic: it's rabidly anti-Mandinka, and 
latently dishonest to the core!  They say however much lipstick you slap on a 
pig, it's still a pig! Sam  discounted the relevance of ethnicity very well 
(for good measure,) but  repeatedly, he went to extraordinary lengths to paint a 
single group –the  Mandinka, in an ugly light. I actually have the creepy 
feeling that Sam Sarr  is a disciple of the renowned Psychologist Maslow and his 
Theory on  Conditioning because each time Sam mentioned a particular Mandinka, 
or  Mandinka people in his original piece, it was with reference to something  
negative.  

To begin with, of all the "minor" problems that  Sam could recall from his 
childhood on the streets of Serekunda, it is the  seldom (his own description) 
confrontation between Mandinka girls and their  Wolof counterparts over Female 
Circumcision. It hasn't escaped notice that Sam  feels it necessary to remind 
us that he is referring to the much loaded, and  controversial TOUBAB-ASCRIBED 
term "genital mutilation of females." For the  record, this is a practice 
that was picked up from Middle Easterners in  medieval times (during the reign of 
the first real Islamic ruler of the Mali  Empire in the case of Manden 
people, Mansa Kankan Musa.) The practice remains  common among Africans that had 
significant contact with Arabs – the Manden,  the Fulani, the Somali, the 
Amharic, as well as Swahili speakers in East  Africa. A true Pan Africanist would 
call the practice what its African  practitioners call it: Female Circumcision. 
(I'm not debating the medical  merits or demerits of the
practice. That's simply beside the point.)   However, for someone who started 
off slamming Africans' blanket acceptance of  everything Toubab, Sam's Goal 
Post-shifting leaves some of us scratching our  heads about his true agenda. 
But then again, Sam's real agenda was never far  off the surface.  

His story went downhill from the  aforementioned point. He dwelled on a 
Mandinka onslaught against a Wolof  Hegemony, but the mere concept of a "Wolof 
hegemony" in The Gambia in 1960 is  a figment of the imagination of Wolof ethnic 
chauvinists. Period! It simply  did not exist! Why then would anyone campaign 
against a non-existent entity?  In 1960, the dominant group among Africans in 
Gambia was the so-called Akus.  And no, not all of these are descendants of 
repatriated slaves. One of the  first West African people to voluntarily take to 
the Toubabs are the Yoruba of  Southern Nigeria. Not only did they flock to 
Western schools early, they even  had college graduates in the 1890s! To this 
day, people from Abeokuta and  Ibadan remain some of the most educated Africans 
anywhere. Some of those  educated Yoruba people followed Europeans around West 
Africa including to The  Gambia. Look for names like Tunde, Bola, Femi, etc 
(Ola-Tunde, Ade-Bola,  Oba-Femi) among the so-called Akus of the
Gambia, and you can connect the  dots. (Don't be fooled by The Western Last 
Names. It's by "choice." The Fantes  did the same in Ghana.) These were the 
people who had what you might term a  "hegemony" in The Gambia in 1960. They had 
such a hold on the social scene  that many Wolof people including that most 
famous of all Gambian Wolof –  Pierre Njie, joined them. Yet, we continue to 
hear of these stories that the  main theme of the PPP Mandinka "political scam 
artists" was to overthrow   "Wolof hegemony." Which one?   

Also, Contrary to the  false impression we often get, Pierre Njie was in 
fact, another Jawara:   provincial roots; educated in Banjul; abandoned his 
religion in order to  assimilate into what was seen as the cream of Colonial Gambia, 
until it became  expedient to revert to those same roots. Like the Spanish 
say: Ayos Mismo.  They're all the same! Sam asked the question: "How was Jawara 
who came to  Banjul as a child, got raised and educated there, converted to 
Christianity  and married an Aku Christian woman got chosen as the PPP leader 
when the main  target of the party was to burst the Banjul clique?" We shall get 
to what  pushed the PPP founders to settle for Jawara, but for now, let's 
note the  similarity between Pierre Njie and Jawara. Pierre was a Saloum Saloum. 
Unlike  his brothers (Sheriff, etc)  he converted to Christianity, and married 
an  Aku woman, etc. Some of Pierre Njie's children like daughter Mary Langley 
 (former Establishment Secretary,) live their lives as Aku, not
Wolof. Just  like Jawara's first four children do. So why did the Banjul 
Wolof choose  Pierre Njie of all the people they could? So why is Sam Sarr 
interpreting the  experience of the two men differently? Why not raise the same 
question about  Pierre Njie as he did about Jawara? Sam is supposed to be an 
ethno-blind  commentator. Or am I assuming wrong? 

On that 1959-1960  campaign, was there anything  unique about the way the PPP 
Mandinka  campaigned? In other words, were they the only people who injected 
ethnicity  or sectionalism into their politics at the time? The answer to this 
question  is an emphatic No! Sam has been kind enough to let us in on the 
fact that his  own parents were supporters of Jahumpa and his Muslim Congress, 
and not Pierre  Njie "because he's Christian." If we are to be honest with each 
other, Sam's  own people voted with "their hearts, and not their heads" as he 
labeled Suntu  Touray's reaction. In other words, they were guided by emotion 
instead of  reason. Pierre Njie's religion had absolutely nothing to do with 
his ability  or lack thereof to run our country. So why was that a factor at 
all in the  choice that Sam's people made? If Sam has any problems with his 
parents'  political choice, he hasn't said so. But evidently, he is less 
understanding  about the majority Mandinka who voted the same way! LIKE
EVERYBODY ELSE,  they voted with "their hearts, and not their heads." They 
DID NOT BUCK ANY  TREND. So why single them out for criticism? 

On I.M. Garba  Jahumpa especially, Gambian history would record that he was 
the one who  formally injected sectionalism, or ethnicity into Gambian 
politics! This is a  serious charge, so allow me to elaborate. 

You see, between 1943  and 1959 (before PPP joined the political scene,) 
roughly 95% of all Aku  speaking people in Banjul were Christian, and the same 
proportion of Wolof  speakers were Muslim. The so-called Aku were by far the more 
educated locals.  Now if you want to dislodge an Aku from elective office, 
you have a choice of  going after him as an "Aku candidate," (with clear ethnic 
undertones,) or as a  Christian (with subtle ethnic undertones, even if an 
overt religious one.  "Aku" was synonymous with Christian.) Jahumpa settled for 
the more subtle  option, a characteristic that has now become a tradition among 
Ethnic  Nationalists in The Gambia. They never say anything direct; they only 
talk in  codes! Anyhow, regardless of Jahumpa's tactics, the effect of what 
he did was  the same. By deftly injecting this Sectionalist wedge between 
Banjul people,  Jahumpa was able to achieve what he sought, which was to get 
himself elected  into office at the expense of more qualified Aku
speakers. In fact, that  divisive tactic of hiding behind religion to 
sideline the more educated Aku  speakers was so effective that the man that PDOIS 
folks keep telling us is the  Father of Gambian Politics – Edward Francis Small, 
was crushed at the polls!  This was well before the PPP was even formed.  

PDOIS  people never tire of reminding us of the patriotism and issue-driven 
politics  of late Mr. Small. So why was this patriotic, and decent man 
defeated? More  importantly, was the agenda of the candidate who defeated EF Small 
more  progressive? Not according to PDOIS, or Jabis Langley, or one Mr. Dacosta, 
all  of who have written extensively about early Gambian politics. The main  
difference between PDOIS and the other writers is that the latter two  
emphasize that "before the advent of the provincial-born, Banjul-educated  Dawda 
Jawara, no Banjul politician (including EF Small,) championed the cause  of the 
disenfranchised rural majority." They both advise that we see EF Small  in that 
context. Where their opinions of Mr. Small converge is that relative  to all 
the other politicians, he was the one candidate who saw himself as a  Gambian 
first. It is for that reason that they all agree that he deserves to  be seen as 
the Father of Gambian politics. 

But from the  foregoing, it is obvious that sectionalism, tribalism, or 
ethnicity (choose  whatever name you want,) was part and parcel of The Gambia's 
political scene  before Protectorate (PPP Mandinka) people even came along! Yet, 
we continue to  read about, and hear of allegations and insinuations from the 
Sam Sarrs about  how the PPP people used "filthy" tribalism to dislodge the 
Wolof (from power  they never had) as if the PPP folks had intruded on the scene 
and introduced  something new. Fact: Banjul people were already DIVIDED ALONG 
SECTIONAL LINES  BEFORE the PPP was formed. If the PPP people did anything at 
all, it was to do  to the Banjul Wolof what they did to the Akus - thanks to 
their relative  numerical strength. Nothing more! The Aku moved on when 
reality hit. But Wolof  Nationalists seem to be stuck in a time warp. This is 2008 
for goodness sake!  

Why are Wolof Nationalists still bitching about a forty-eight  years old 
election? It does give a whole new meaning to the term "sore losers"  -doesn't it? 
When will this sulking end? What are they after? An election  happened half a 
century ago. Why not get over it? Isn't it about time that we  concentrate on 
more pressing things – like, say Gambian politics in 2008? Our  politics 
still remains primordial and dominated by complete frauds and idiots  of all 
shades. There is absolutely nothing exceptional about Mandinka  politicos. If 
through some magic, you remove ALL the "Mandinka political scam  artists" from The 
Gambia's political scene today, you'll still have a mess in  your hands 
because the rest of what you'll be left with are no better. So why  are we being 
dragged back to 1960 when our house is on fire in 2008? Do the  Sam Sarrs follow 
what goes on at The Gambia's parliament? Why not pursue an  agenda that will 
segue our politics to the next level? 

Lest I  forget, let me hasten to note here that a distinction needs to be 
made between  PPP politicians and PPP founders. PPP politicians like Jawara were 
in fact  Carpet Baggers. They are "Monkey Work, Baboon Chop" characters like 
the GNA  Military Boys call such people. Jawara did not sweat at all to get the 
top  position. In fact, he was even unwilling to sacrifice the loss of his 
salary,  for which reason, the Founders PAID him a salary to lead them. In 
essence, he  was handed a finished product on a gold platter. Was he the wrong man 
to lead  these people? Of course, he was – in my view. 

On the other  hand, the PPP Founders were a motley crew of Country, mainly 
Mandinka-speaking  illiterate old men who were driven by the desire to have 
their voices heard in  the affairs of the country in 1959. At all cost! Their 
story is akin to a  David v. Goliath scenario. The odds were prohibitively against 
them. Now, what  was eating away at these old men? The answer to this 
question is what Wolof  Nationalists NEVER acknowledge, nor want to hear anyone else 
say! But let's  set aside the affliction call Political Correctness and cite 
some of the  complaints Country people (some STILL ALIVE) had against Banjul 
Wolof  especially. 

Sam quotes Prez Eisenhower's son about his father's  opinion of what he saw 
in Banjul in 1943. Sam should do more research because  Ike went further than 
what Sam noted. Ike's summation of Banjul and The Gambia  in 1943 was one word: 
"a Hellhole!" That harsh reality notwithstanding, the  residents of this 
Island which was "ceded" (using Colonial terminology,) to  the British in the 
early 19thc by a MANDINKA Seyfo, were rabidly xenophobic,  and tribalist to the 
core. Prof. Adu Boahen describes the Ashanti King Obiri  Yeaboah as a "martial 
ardor… who enjoyed blood sports." In the same vein, many  Banjul Wolof in that 
period had a very twisted sense of humor: they enjoyed  Humiliation Sports. 
Despite their own unflattering lives, they openly poured  scorn on people from 
the hinterland. Some people still alive remember walking  down streets in 
Banjul in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, and getting  jeered, heckled, 
and taunted with words like "Santong Ko!"; "Nko!"; "Go back  to
the farm!"; etc.  

Santong KO, especially only means  "someone from the countryside," in 
Mandinka. But it was said as if it is on a  par with "thief", "murderer," "rapist," 
or something dirty like that. In  essence, country people were routinely 
demeaned and denigrated. But worse than  that treatment, one needs not go far to 
find old men who remember some country  person dying in Banjul at that time, and 
being unable to find help among the  local Muslim population to give the 
deceased a decent farewell. This, despite  the fact that the majority Wolof 
speakers in Banjul were Muslim as well!  Sanjally Bojang talked about this in his 
chat with Foroyaa before he died. As  he remembered it, so does my late 
grandfather, and two other old men I know  still alive. Add to this the open 
discrimination they underwent in finding  employment, and you get a picture of what 
drove various Mandinka groups under  the leadership of people  like Sanjally 
Bojang, and Pa Keita to shove  aside their differences to form a
coalition in order to matter in the  post-Colonial period. They were simply 
terrified by the prospects of mainly  Wolof-speaking Banjulians taking over 
from the Toubabs – given their (the  Founders) experience at the hands of  those 
people.  

Now people who have been harassed, bullied, or treated these ugly ways for a  
protracted period could be forgiven for being irrational in looking for 
anyone  who fits the bill (settling for a transplant like Jawara because of his  
Barajally roots.) Who among us could, in good conscience fault them for their  
fears? Are these mainly Mandinka-speaking people justified in assuming the  
worst of the Banjul Wolof? What would Sam Sarr and his types have done in  their 
shoes? More importantly, how does Sam's complaints about Mandinkas  compare to 
what his people did to Country people OVER several DECADES? When  some of us 
mention what was done to Country people in Banjul, we are condemned  as bitter 
and hateful. But the Sam Sarrs never relent in their fabricated  tales about 
what "Mandinka people did to Wolofs in 1960." And this is used as  
justification for why they're kissing up to Yaya Jammeh today. In their mind,  they're 
"Paying Back what Mandinka people did to them." Never mind,  the
truth about what actually happened, or the "others" in our country. How  can 
we ever become a nation with an outlook on things? It's 2008, yet some are  
still fighting their parents' 1960 battle! 

To underscore the  plight of country people in those days, it is helpful to 
recall that when a  senior British Colonial Official came visiting – in 1958 I 
believe it was,  ABSOLUTELY NONE of the Wolof political leaders of Banjul 
bothered to seek the  representation of country people to get their input. The 
official came and  went without hearing anything from the majority of Gambian 
people. Country  people felt dejected and voiceless. This is a point that both 
Langley and  Dacosta note in their writings. Unlike some people, the two men 
show  integrity. In any case, why should anyone be surprised that these same 
group  of old mainly-Mandinka men rejected the overtures made by some Banjul  
politicians to lead them a year later (in 1959,) when it became clear to the  
Banjulians that they stood no chance against the majority rural dwellers? The  old 
Country men did what any rational person would have done: ignore the  Banjul 
politicians' attempt as insincere and self-serving. Who can
blame  them?  

So when Suntu Touray raises the flag of caution,  some of us recall these 
stories, among many others. I won't even go into what  some of the Banjul Wolof 
merchants in particular were doing to farmers –  Mandinka, Fula, Jola, even 
Fana Fana, in those days. You see Sam, we didn't  start off right. A lot of dirty 
things happened, and CONTINUE to happen, in  that country. And I know with 
absolute certainty that Colony Wolofs are NOT  the victims in most cases! Nine 
out of ten times, they were the ones doing the  victimizing. I don't believe 
that the sins of the fathers should be visited on  the children, which is why I 
don't understand why the Sam Sarrs keep bringing  up this 1959-1960 campaign, 
most of the major participants in which are all  DEAD! Ironically, the man 
that Sam's own parents supported flipped around,  folded his party, and joined 
the same filthy Mandinka political scam artists  after he lost to them at the 
polls! What does that say about Jahumpa?   

What I find very irritating about Sam's Wolof Nationalist types  is the 
haughty attitude that they somehow have a monopoly on the truth about  Gambian 
history. You see, just because others don't whine and raise hell  doesn't mean 
there is only one culprit in Gambia's socio-political scene.  There never has 
been. Banjul Wolofs themselves were routinely bullied by Akus  before others got 
to the scene. Even in school, they caught hell from some  Aku-speaking 
teachers. However, that attitude proved to be infectious, because  the Banjul Wolofs 
turned around and treated other Gambians that followed them  in worse ways!  
So in truth, the majority of the Mandinka, Fulani, Jola,  Manjago, etc were 
more often than not at the receiving end of Colony Wolof  bullying, not the other 
way around. Yet, it is the Wolof Nationalist who are  always crying victim! 
Victim of whom? 

This is the gist of what  Mr. Touray was trying to alert Sam about. Instead, 
he just trashed the man.  Touray even cited an example that ANY HONEST 
expatriate Gambian can attest to  about the scene at the Christening ceremony he 
presided over in London  recently. What Touray said is NOT an isolated case at 
all, neither is it  restricted to Christenings. You see that same scenario at 
meetings, at Parks,  etc. Yet Sam dismissed this as a fig leaf propagated by 
anti-Wolof Mandinka  people to convince others that "Wolofs are unwilling to speak 
Mandinka." Is  Sam Sarr one of those Wolof who does not want to speak 
Mandinka intentionally?  Only Sam can say. But are there any Wolof like that? 
Absolutely! Not only do  some of us know Wolof like that, we are even friends with 
some of them!  

There is something very insulting, and patronizing about Sam's  posture that 
suggests that he knows how every Wolof behaves. Sam Sarr knows  himself, and 
how he thinks and behaves. Unless if Sam is Dr. TJ Eckleburg (as  in The Great 
Gatsby,) how in the world would he know how every other Wolof  behave? Or more 
pertinently, how would he know what Suntu Touray's experience  is? Sam Sarr 
encountered Dr. Modou Manneh briefly and diagnosed him as  tribalist because he 
THINKS the man was unhappy with him speaking in a  non-Mandinka language to 
him. Fair enough. Why is it impossible for Suntu  Touray, or any other person 
to have had a similar experience with a Wolof  person? This kind of twisted 
logic is what ticks some of us off about Wolof  Nationalists: Wolof people who 
cannot speak other Gambian languages or  dialects just happen to have NO NEED to 
learn these (going by Sam's  explanation which itself betrays a Colonial 
Mentality,) but Gambians who  cannot speak Wolof are somehow
tribalist because Wolof is the Lingua Franca  (we are constantly reminded.) 
But says who?  

This Wolof  Nationalistic tendency of assigning themselves the role of Rule 
Maker, or  Definers in Gambian society remains one of the stumbling blocks in 
the quest  to create a Gambian nation. Things are not what they are unless they 
say so;  someone is tribalist because they say so (without bothering to 
proffer any  convincing evidence); something doesn't exist unless they say it does; 
 whatever they're involved in is "national", but anything they don't control 
is  "tribalist;"  etc. this is not only symptomatic of their inflated sense  
of their importance in Gambian society, it betrays a very ignorant, and  
arrogant mindset. Where does this temerity come from?  

If  Sam Sarr has an issue with Mandinka people, which I think he does, he 
should  be honest enough to lay it out squarely without hiding behind some dead 
issue  like this 1959-1960 campaign. I say this because Sam went to elaborate 
lengths  to portray a non-existent Mandinka tribal cabal during the PPP era. In 
my  view, Lamin Saho bungled the Radio Gambia News Reading sequence issue. 
What's  the point in conducting a Census if the results are not used for 
formulating  Public Policy? The largest Gambian ethnic group is Mandinka, followed by 
 Fulani, though you wouldn't know that from Sam's discussion, or many things  
Gambian. That, because the Fulani, by nature have made themselves the Lapdogs 
 of either Mandinka or Wolof people. I know something about this because my 
own  family are Fulani who migrated from Futa about two hundred years ago. They 
 settled among Mandinka people, who they taught, and converted into Islam. 
They  called these Mandinka people "Talubeh" and the Manden called
them "Saidy" –  thus the prefix to my family name. Anyhow, when Foday Kabah 
came along on his  conquests around 1890, my people quickly abandoned most 
things Fulani to  appease him. We never fully went back to our roots since. And my 
Fulani  friends from Guinea tell me things that make me wonder whether 
kow-towing is  in our genes. 

In my view, Gambian News should be announced  according to size of ethnic 
population – Fulani before Wolof any time! Lamin  Saho did a half-hearted job, 
and provided fodder for frustrated Wolof  Nationalists who were at the time 
looking for anything they could latch on, to  show how "anti-Wolof" Mandinka 
people are. This should have been a routine  Radio Schedule change. Why in the 
world is that a cause for a National crisis?  Was it tribally-insensitive? 
Apparently. But is there more to it than that?  You tell me. (This was the 1980s, and 
after Banjul Sankapra  ML Saho  resigned his appointment as Health Minister 
in 1982 (he supposedly campaigned  on the belief that he would be promoted to 
Veep,) there was no Banjul Wolof in  the cabinet. Thus, Wolof Nationalists were 
seething with rage for much of the  1980s.)) Otherwise, Dr. Lamin Saho never 
ran for national office; he ran  against his blood cousin Sheriff Dibba in 
heavily Mandinka Lower Badibu. (The  two men share the same
maternal grandfather from what I understand.) Saho  was defeated the first 
time he ran in 1977, before eventually winning twice in  a row. How tribalism 
has helped him in his political career, I cannot fathom.  And for Jawara not 
stepping in, that's the man's Signature Attitude. Let's  take a look at a 
parallel case. 

In 1984, the GNA was  inaugurated. I don't know if Sam was at the Reception 
they held in Faraja. But  a very senior cabinet member who was, told me a story 
that is very revealing  of Jawara's personality. Lloyd Evans, former IG of 
Police and Establishment  Secretary, pulled this gentleman and Jawara aside, and 
laid it out (in Wolof):  "You see these boys? They are Shy-shy! We cannot 
trust them for a minute. You  HAVE TO get involved in their appointments and 
promotions. Make sure only  people you trust handle certain sensitive 
positions..." The gentleman quotes  Mr. Evans as saying bluntly. But what did Jawara do? 
He let Ndow Njie run the  show. Sam was a senior officer in the army. He can 
tell us who the officers of  the army were before another blunt fellow came by 
(Gen. Dada from Nigeria,)  who told Jawara point blank –in not so many words, 
that he is ignoring the  Army Officer Composition to his own peril. According 
to who? Someone who was  in the thick of things! Anyone who knew
the GNA's Officer Structure can  tell you that had Jawara placed someone like 
Turo Jawneh (his relative,) at  the head of the army, he'd probably die in 
office, or leave at his own  volition.  

But my point is, even in this critical area,  keeping a tap on which could 
have prevented the tragedy that ultimately  consumed his regime, Jawara pulled 
back and let the Line Managers use their  discretion. Sam Sarr knows the 
process of how Army Officers got their  promotions under Jawara, and how they do so 
now under Yaya Jammeh. So why then  is Sam trying to blame Jawara for not 
interfering in what was really a very  silly matter like a Radio News Schedule? 
The answer is simple:  Sam Sarr  wants us to read tribal bias in Jawara's 
failure to reverse Dr. Saho's  decision when in fact, Jawara behaved the same way 
when Ndow Njie was stuffing  the higher echelon of the GNA with a mainly 
Wolof-Aku cast, which fact was one  of the main ingredients of the 1994 coup! The 
junior officers and soldiers of  the GNA didn't have any respect for the 
soldierly qualities of their superiors  -thanks to nepotism. History shall record that 
the 1994 coup was as much an  internal revolt by junior
officers and soldiers AGAINST THEIR SENIOR  Officers, as it was against the 
politicians that led the country! But watch  Sam blame the success of the coup 
on Nigerians. Nigeria's own first coup was  carried out by relatively junior 
officers based in Kaduna in 1966. Within  days, ALL the leaders of the coup 
were in jail, replaced by their seniors -  Gen. Ironsi, Ojukwu, and others.  But 
it was the responsibility of  foreigners to stop the Gambia's 1994 coup. What 
claptrap! The question is: why  were GNA soldiers unwilling to listen to 
Captains, Majors, and Lt. Colonels  instead of following the Sub-Lt.s they fell 
behind? 

Sam's  desperation to paint a Mandinka anti-Wolof cabal, betrays his 
deep-seated  anti-Mandinka prejudice. Perhaps, we can't blame Sam because he must have 
been  fed such sentiments from early in his life. My evidence? Sam is getting 
really  worked up about a fifty years old election campaign he NEVER took 
part in  himself! Where is his passion coming from if he wasn't fed such 
prejudice  early in his life? And Sam has promised to defile another young mind – his  
son's! How does feeding his son half-truths help the boy understand Gambian  
history? Demonstrably, Sam's own version of our history is one-tracked and  
bereft of any context.  Yet, this is the one he is vowing to teach his  little 
boy! Shouldn't truth matter in how we teach our children? No wonder  lying has 
become acceptable to so many of us. 

On Dr. Manneh,  again, it's more fumes than substance. Sam indicated that 
someone had told  him  that the man is irascible, yet he sallied forth with the 
allegation  that Manneh's dirty looks at him were due to him speaking "… in a 
language  different from Mandinka" to Manneh. How did Sam Sarr deduce that 
conclusion  from Manneh's looks? A more probable explanation –given what people 
told Sam,  might be that the man is a pain in the behind. A rude fellow. Why 
discount  that in favor of tribal prejudice? Did Sam notice Manneh being all 
smiles to  those speaking Mandinka to him at the same time? But then again, Sam is 
on a  mission, and no incident is trivial enough for his purpose.    

Dr. Manneh used to contest a Jokadu district, not a Badibu one.  His district 
is one of the most eclectic ones in rural Gambia. Sam should  research the 
ethnic makeup of Manneh's constituency.  If I recall right,  Dr. Manneh actually 
won that seat as an Independent candidate after he was  kicked out of the 
PPP. Somehow, some people in that district –non Mandinka,  must have liked what 
he was doing for them.  

On Dr. Manneh  and Dr. Saho's qualifications, and the insinuation that unlike 
one Haidara  Ceesay, an impostor who was booted out of the Gambia College 
Staff, (while  Drs. Saho and Manneh were given a pass because they're Mandinka 
people,) I can  only talk about I know for a fact. In 1987, I was getting ready 
to leave the  Sixth Form. I was with an uncle at the Quadrangle when we bumped 
into a friend  of his named Kebba Dampha (NOT online KD,) a Mandinka fellow. 
This man is from  Saihou Sabally's area (who as Finance Minister at the time 
championed his  cause from what I understand.) That Kebba Dampha has lived in 
London for a  very long time. At the time, he claimed to have earned a Masters 
Degree in  something. Mr. Dampha was appointed "The Administrator Designate" 
at the  Central Bank of The Gambia. Kebba Dampha was fired faster than you can 
count  "one - two" when his verification came back negative! He had the 
backing of  Saihou Sabally, yet he was fired! Does Sam Sarr mean to
tell us that the  Mandinka cabal didn't realize this Kebba Dampha is Mandinka 
when they fired  him? I've heard people raise doubts about Manneh and Saho's 
qualifications.  But the insinuation that they got away with fraud because 
they're Mandinka is  orphaned by the facts in similar cases. Unlike others, they 
chose to run for  political office instead of the Civil Service. My feeling is 
the  Civil  Service was better equipped at ferreting out impostors than the 
PPP Party  machinery was. Many of their MPs didn't have much education, so it 
is easy for  an impostor (IF that's what Manneh and Saho are,) to blend in 
without much  trouble.  

Sam's take on Sheriff Dibba, and why he quit the  PPP and formed his "tribal" 
party is also unsupported by the facts. Lets quote  Sam directly: "Dibba a 
Mandinka who was among the founders of the PPP when the  party was called the 
People's Protectorate Party had later broken away when it  became the People's 
Progressive Party and formed his own tribal party, the  NCP, on the premise 
that Jawara was not Mandinka enough and had betrayed his  people to the Wolof. 
There was no truth in it but the gullible fell for it as  usual." 

First, the PPP never competed an election under  Protectorate People's Party. 
Jawara prevailed on the founders in Basse to  change the party name to 
People's Progressive Party before the 1960 elections.  Sheriff Dibba remained a 
member of the PPP top tier (held posts of VP, various  cabinet posts, as well as 
Ambassador to EU) until mid-1975 when HE WAS FIRED  by Jawara! Dibba DID NOT 
resign voluntarily. And the NCP was not formed until  late 1975. As such, Sam's 
version of events is another concoction being spread  by his Wolof Nationalist 
types to stigmatize Mandinka people. The allegation  that Dibba  "…formed his 
own tribal party, the NCP, on the premise that  Jawara was not Mandinka 
enough and had betrayed his people to the Wolof" is a  complete fable! Classic 
revisionism!  

Having read his  postings several times, I keep wondering why Sam Sarr is 
going to such extent  to portray what never was? It defies commonsense. Mandinka 
folks had a  rock-solid grip on Gambian governments for thirty years. They 
could have  discriminated against Wolof people any way they wanted. There was 
absolutely  nothing the Wolof could have done about it! But did they? 

It's  because of the paucity of time that, some of us have not delved into 
the  composition of the various PPP governments from 1962 to 1994. But clearly,  
there is need for this - a look at every position from Divisional 
Commissioner  to Secretary General: who held the positions; for how long; what their  
ethnicity is, etc. Perhaps that will finally do for us what commonsense has  
failed to do: stop the unending fifty years-old Whisper Campaign of calumny  that 
some Ethnic Nationalists have been waging to distort what essentially is  
Gambian history. As OJ once told me, Colony Wolof ought to "tone down their  
criticism of the PPP because of what we did for them." He was talking about a  
people who constitute less than 10% of the Gambia's population, yet  constituted 
the majority of ALL IMPORTANT positions in the various PPP  governments.  Yet, 
some continue to cry victim. Victims of Mandinka  tribalists. Sometimes, one 
can't help but feel sick at what one hears, or  reads. A little
gratitude would be in order. If truth be told, Mandinka  people helped Colony 
Wolof tremendously. What the Sam Sarrs call a "Wolof  hegemony" was allowed 
to flourish during the PPP era, NOT BEFORE. Before the  PPP era, Aku speakers 
were fully in charge. It was in fact the "tribalist" PPP  Mandinka folks who 
put Colony Wolof on top! This was one area where Jawara  should be extolled. 

If I had the time, I'd move from the  empirical to the semi-professional by 
taking a two-prong Cost-Benefit approach  to the issue of what The Gambia as a 
country lost as a result of Colony Wolof  defeat in 1960, and what Wolofs as a 
group lost from same election. Since this  is unquantifiable, we can simply 
rely on publicly verifiable data. But since I  lack the time, I'd just 
summarize it thus: had the Banjul Wolof won in 1960,  they'd have put their own 
"qualified people" in most important positions in  government; had they won, they'd 
have created institutions like The Gambia  Commercial & Development Bank, 
Gambia National Trading Corp, Gambia  Utilities Corp, Gambia Public Works 
Department, Gambia Ports Authority,  Central Bank of the Gambia; Gambia Cooperative 
Union,  etc, etc. Guess  what? The horrible Mandinka tribalist people call PPP 
did exactly what Pierre  Njie, or JC Fye, or Garba Jahumpa would have done! ALL 
the new institutions  were headed by mainly Wolof-speaking
Banjul people!  Every single one  of them!  So where is the Tribalism beef? 
Methinks, this is a great deal  for any people who  lost an election.  You got 
everything else you  would have had you won. Isn't that consolation enough? Is 
there any concession  Mandinka people can make to Wolof Nationalists that 
would assuage their  resentment? What's this hatred about? Must you have people 
wrapped around your  fingers to feel relevant? I have no doubt in my mind that 
this Mandinka hatred  has to do with the fact that, they're the only people in 
The Gambia who  consistently stand up to Wolof Nationalists.  

It is  noteworthy that almost every single one of the new institutions I 
cited was  run into the ground. Nobody paid any real price for these crimes. I'm 
sure in  Jawara's thinking, pursuing them would have amounted to a "Mandinka 
anti-Wolof  hegemony" crusade. Whatever his thinking, he backed off that route. 
Our  country suffered tremendously because of what those Banjul people did. 
But my  bad, this is an Off-Limit topic. The Sam Sarr's have no complaints about 
 Jawara letting Banjul Wolof crooks bleed us dry, but they're mighty miffed  
that Dr. Lamin Saho changed a silly Radio News Lineup. I was wondering what to 
 make of Sam's recommendation of Isatou Njie as Yaya Jammeh's replacement 
until  I read this latest outrage. That woman who passed along Yaya Jammeh's 
Order To  Shoot little kids is somehow good enough to rule the Gambia, but Dr. 
Saho and  Manneh are "filthy scam artists." If this is not a classic case of 
using  ethnicity as an instrument of bully, and coercion, I don't
know what is:  "they hate us, and are criticizing us because we're Wolof", 
"they won't vote  for us we're Wolof", etc, etc. No Baba, "they" criticize 
certain Wolofs  because of their incompetence (which they try to hide behind their 
ethnicity);  "they" hate certain Wolofs because of their Beneatha attitude 
(like in A  Raisin In The Sun; )  and "they" don't vote for certain Wolofs 
candidates  because they're worse than the alternatives! How about a little growing 
up?  

So enough of this Western Artist-style neurotic,  self-analytical, and 
narcissistic behavior: "Mandinka people turned against  Jawara because they hate 
Wolof;" "Sheriff Dibba broke away because he hates  Wolof;" "they don't speak 
Wolof because they hate Wolof people;" etc. There is  something incredibly 
prepubescent about this mindset. It makes George Bush  look like a genius. Who said 
Mandinka lives revolve around Wolof hatred? What  is to gain from that? The 
one thing that we can all agree on about the last  forty years is that the two 
groups of people who cannot stay away from each  other in The Gambia are 
Mandinka men and Wolof women. Some hatred it must be.  

And finally, on this persistent allegation that Mandinka  politicians were 
telling the "Mandinka masses" anti-Wolof puff on their  campaigns, please let's 
stop being Drum Majors for ignorance! Unlike any other  Gambian party, the PPP 
is a Bottom-Up party. It was FORMED BY THE MASSES who  went shopping for 
leaders! I discussed what pushed them to form their party.  Does it therefore make 
any sense that, these "masses" needed to be told why  not to vote for Wolof 
candidates who didn't care about them before they formed  their own party? 
Banjul Wolof had an ugly reputation that caught up with them  in 1960 – period! 
But instead of admitting that, we hear of this insulting,  and patronizing 
allegation from bold Story Tellers that the "Mandinka masses  were told by 'scam 
artists' that …" – as if that mattered at all in the scheme  of things. If the 
Mandinka candidates didn't utter a single word at all,  they'd have been voted 
in because of the alternative.  

Did  the Wolof candidates use similar language against the PPP? Let's assume 
that  they didn't. Yet Banjul Wolof people voted overwhelmingly for them! Why 
should  the behavior of other voters be interpreted any differently: Wolof 
voters  voted for their own WITHOUT being told WHO NOT to vote for, but somehow  
Mandinka voters only voted for theirs because THEY WERE fed "tribal filth" by  
the PPP. The mendacity of some people! The "Mandinka masses" that some people 
 heap scorn on, defied their own then-powerful Mandinka Chiefs (who ALL  
supported Wolof Pierre Njie, something we don't hear from the Sam Sarrs,) to  vote 
for the PPP! But guess who else voted on ethnic lines? Colony Wolof  people! 
So what's the problem? Why are some singling out one segment for  condemnation 
in what was a classic Sectional election? 


Another ridiculous story that is frequently peddled is the story that PPP  
politicians told their supporters that they'll "take Wolof and Aku peoples'  
storey buildings" away to give them. This is part of the reason why it is  common 
to see Wolof Nationalists walking around haughtily with an air of  
superiority because of such asinine ideas in their heads. I was in Banjul in  February 
2007. Forget 1960. Excepting  government buildings, there are  still far less 
than 200 storey buildings in the whole of Banjul! In February  2007, the 
majority of the people who live in the Banjul I saw live in  PLASTERED KIRINTING 
houses! So where are the storey buildings that the  hundreds of thousands of PPP 
supporters were supposed to have been promised in  1960? It's one thing to 
hear some nitwit senselessly repeat this kind of fable  at some Attaya Vous, it's 
quite another to read such garbage from so-called  educated people. And this 
story is told as if it is a caricature of the PPP  leadership
when in fact, all it does is reveal the incredible obtuseness of  the people 
who continue to spread such improbable tales. How can the PPP  leaders take 
from Banjul Wolof and Aku what they don't have? Did a particular  PPP politician 
say something like that? Maybe. But was that a the major theme  it's made out 
to be?  No!






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