Mr Jeng

This was definitely a master piece. I hope people will
know why we have decided not to support  the APRC.

Keep it up.

Sanusi Owens


--- Musa Jeng <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > The
Highjacking of our Coup D’etat
>
> Event though the July 1994 coup was an illegal
> removal of a
> democratically elected government, it was a
> necessity if we were to save
> our country from the clutches of mismanagement,
> rampant corruption and
> poverty. The coup created an opportunity to improve
> on our democratic
> values, creation of an independent justice system,
> eradication of the
> “Mansa Mentality”, improvement on living standards
> and infrastructure
> development and to effectively strengthen the power
> of the other arms of
> government-the National Assembly and the Justice
> system.  Some how, the
> Baba Jobes and the Fatou Jahumpas, to name a few,
> that have become a
> symbol to the new power structure highjack our coup
> and have threatened
> the very essence of the whole coup.
>
>
>
>  The coup d’etat was the people’s coup, from
> Permanent Secretaries to
> Managing Directors of different businesses, there
> was unanimity that
> change was necessary and that Gambia needed a new
> beginning. The AFPRC
> were singing the song that people wanted to hear. It
> was time for
> change, accountability, the end to corruption, the
> end to political
> patronage, the eradication of the  “Mansa"
> mentality, and the beginning
> of transparency and a new political order. We were
> tired of few powerful
> people who have dominated the political scene for
> the past thirty years,
> and the game of musical chairs orchestrated by one
> man. Ultimately it
> was this power structure that needed to be
> shattered. The AFPRC, a new
> wind has blown into the Gambia, and to some of us
> the MESSIAH has
> arrived. The colored photos of our new heroes’
> splash on the front page
> of the Observer were a reassurance that a new day
> has begun. The
> rhetoric was equally reassuring, that the power
> structure of the former
> is buried, and it is indeed what led to our thirty
> years of stagnancy.
> Not many of us needed convincing, and our concern
> was that the
> indomitable Jawara era was not going to just
> withered away quietly, and
> with prayers and support our coup d’etat became a
> real mark of History.
>
> From the beginning mistakes were been made, and in
> the early phase of
> the coup, these mistakes were easily characterized
> as youthful
> indiscretion, inexperience, and undoubtedly the
> enormity of the
> responsibility. Some of the good things that stood
> out in the early
> phase of the coup were the fact that power lied
> within the council, and
> that one person did not have monopoly on making
> decisions. This was
> important because it was a total departure from the
> old ways that the
> power structure revolved around one person.
> Unfortunately, this
> opportunity did not last that long, the good
> intention of creating a new
> political order was running into new realities, and
> the very council
> that power had lied was in disarray. The
> vice-chairman found himself at
> Mile 2 and there he still resides; another died
> while still in custody,
> and the other two still partners but their power
> have been drowned out
> and remained to be in the mercy of our anointed
> Mansa.
>
> Now our coup have been high jack by the Baba Jobe’s,
> and can any serious
> Gambian tell me that Baba Jobe is a real asset to
> the very essence that
> brought about this coup. Does any serious person
> believe that the Baba
> Jobes are going to carve and create a political
> environment that will
> help in our development effort? Why and how did a
> person like him
> highjack our coup and our country? In addition, what
> about the new
> business leaders, they were suppose to be different
> and the bedrock of
> our new economy. The only thing different are the
> faces of the people.
> They have continued to perpectuate the Mafia
> syndrome that our once good
> driven Chairman liked to attack. Of course, our
> Chairman, who has become
> the “Mansa” and has replaced himself with everything
> that, was Jawara
> and more. Our Chairman that hated all form of
> praises and the Mansa
> treatment, which he continuously attacked, now
> shroud himself in it. An
> impotent and irrelevant National Assembly replaced
> the irrelevant House
> of Parliament of yester year. Yes, our coup has
> definitely brought about
> new players in the decision making terrain,
> infrastructure development
> of some sort, but also traded out most civil
> liberties that we had.
>
> We have waited for thirty years for a change of
> government that will set
> our country in a new direction. The creation of a
> new, stable and viable
> political order; the creation of an Presidency that
> will work with a
> power and relevant National assembly, and who the
> President would see as
> partners and together they will work on issues of
> national interest.
> This would be capped with an independent Judiciary
> that no single
> individual can exert influence, and the civil
> liberties of every Gambian
> would always be protected. Our coup was suppose to
> bring us term limits,
> that would do away with having one person to be our
> leader for over
> thirty years, a professional cabinet that can
> independently function
> without the pressure of one individual, and an end
> to one party
> political domination. I t is very sad that the power
> players of today,
> under President Yaya Jammeh have stolen our coup and
> handed it over to
> the same players, only with different faces. We are
> still patiently
> waiting to get back the very essence that led to our
> Coup D’etat, that
> is the creation of a new political order.
>
> Musa Jeng
>
>
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