Ebou Jallow.
I agree that the quest for power for the sake of power by African
politicians is and continues to be our doom, and indeed where the nation and people have
needed the politicians to set aside their petty egos to save the day, these
egos and quests for power by any means has always gotten in the way, prooving
the acccusation true every time. Instead, save for a very few, the annals of
African politics are unfortunately not the place where men and women of honour
resign from political positions as a gesture of good faith when the occasion
calls for it. Moral convictions and the willingness to make sacrifices to
protect them cannot be worn on and off like jewelry only when it suits one. The
people notice although our politicians assume that ignorance is the order of
the day and their best asset.
However, where in your mind does Yaya Jammeh fit into this picture of power
hungry African politicians who will do anything to get and stay in power? He
certainly does not rank among honourable men because honourable men do not make
brutality and repression their tools for success in their quests.
Here is a man who seized power claiming he was out to eliminate corruption
and would relinquish it to a civilian government after a specified period of
time, and that he would not leave the army for politics.
Here is a man who then reneged on this promise and has since ran for office
twice and "won", and is set out on a course to remain president for as long as
he can,and is ready to do whatever it takes to od that, and the evidence of
this is there for all to see.
He has set an agenda of violence, murder and mayhem upon his countrymen and
put fear in the hearts of Gambians all for the sake of assuring that he remains
in power, and there seems to be an array of Gamboans willing to participate
in this ugly quest for temporary personal gain even at teh expense of
tarnishing their images forever.
He thinks he is a king when Gambians have not elected him king, and he finds
all kinds of excuses to throw bogus charges at his opponents so he can
incarcerate them, kill them, or do whatever is necessary to buy himself time and get
them out of the picture.
Yaya Jammeh claims that Gambians in the Diaspora are responsible for Gambia's
woes because our outdry and accusations against his regime are the reasons
why investors and donors stay out of Gambia.
This is another ample evidence that he and his government have absolutely no
understanding of World politics and economics and what criteria governments,
donor agencies and the investors who are the citizens of these countries base
their decisions to work with any government upon.
The APRC regime has a simplistic view of the World, and it bespeaks of their
utter lack of competence to lead our country, and yet, they will never have
the courage and honour to admit this and step down it seems.
They are hardly the stuff that courageous and honourable men and women are
made of.
In a democracy, those who understand the process do not try to eliminate
their opponents by attempting to get rid if them with all sorts of excuses.
Therefore, Yaya Jammeh and the APRC regime do not understand the Democratic
process, and among African leaders who seek and attempt to maintain Power by
any means necessary, they rank number one for us Gambians and they are also
contributing to achieving that on the international scene. They are the ones
responsible for the economic doom that has visited our country, but they will never
admit it. They will continue to find excuses to lay the blame elsewhere when
they are the ones whose actions spell their eventual doom.The World is not
interested in dealing with or supporting repression and it is bad for business as
well as for the reputations of those who support repressive regimes.
Please do have the courage to label all culprits if you are going to label
anyone.
I have a theory about this senseless quest for power by our politicians so
that it becomes more inportant than taking care of the people's business and
interests which should be the main reason for being a politician, and relegates
the purpose for becoming a politician in the first place to the back bench.
I think it is povety, deprivation and the lack of opportunity that is
prevalent in Africa, and which in turn is a result of the corruption of politics, so
it is a vicious circle.
Politics has become the avenue to "get rich quick" because we see politicians
become wealthy overnight with their pockets stuffed full of the people's
money which they are entrusted with, so that this evil has actually been accepted
as nomal.
Our youth have no opportunities, no jobs, no chance for higher education
unless they struggel to get it themselves which most of the time involves all
sorts of personal struggles and untold suffering.
There are no opportunities for enterpreneurs to get teh funds they need to
start businesses and no assistance of any sort to ensure their success.
There is much hopelessness and dejection and so people are not shocked by
corruption in politics anymore and infact, there is instead a scramble to join
the game to "get your share". And yet, we expect our rights and interests to be
protected when we are the enablers of those who subjugate us.
The corrupt array of governments we have all over the continent have no
interest and no plans to uplift the people economically or otherwise because it
is easier to exploit people when they are poor and ignorant of their
rights.Poor people are too busy trying to get the next meal and put a roof over the
heads of their children, and survive deseases in an enviroment of limited or no
access to even average medical care.
They are vulnerable and afraid, and it the perfect targets.
Instead, these dispicable, currupt leaders blame the people for their
failures like Yaya Jammeh does.
They hire and fire people at random because they are ignorant enough to think
that there must be some expertise that these political stooge appointments
they make every so many months have that will repair the looted economy
overnight. It is scary to think that there is not even the level of intelligence to
understand the simple theory of cause and effect.
Namley that if you steal, mis-manage and neglect the economy and the
implementation of the tools for improving the economic and social conditions of the
people, and instead focus on the crime against the people of utilizing the
state's funds to build wealth for yourself and your partners in crime, and to
implement all sorts of devious tactics to stay in power, this will eventually
manifest itself, and no amount of quick fixes, blames, brutality and
grandstanding will work.
For the average African political power then becomes a means of achieving
wealth even though that wealth is not yours. Case in point, Yaya Jammeh who in
his speech accuses Gambians he appoints to office as only seeking wealth when he
has stood before the same Gambians and declared that he and his offspring,
and even his grand children will never be poor. I think he forgot that he was
not a wealthy man when he overthrew the Jawara government only a few years ago
and we know the official salary for the Gambian Presidency. He set the example
for what he is accusing the people of.
Jammeh'squest for everlasting power is the reason he has implemented a reign
of terror on Gambians and treats Gambia like his personal property. It is the
reason he finds every excuse to eliminate his opponents by whatever means he
can muster.
It is likewise the reason he ignores the laws of the Gambia and the
constitution, changing them at his will with the help of his political stooge
appointees who have no idea about the professional pride that comes with having
knowledge in ones field of expertise and implementing that knowledge for the good of
the nation, and having the freedom and lack of inteference in doing your
work.
And all the while, the people suffer.
Jabou Joh
In a message dated 10/3/03 11:46:31 PM Central Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
>
> “Lord forgive them for they know not what they do…” Amen.
>
> Waa Juwara is no Nelson Mandela, and he can never become another Martin
> L. King, Jr. during his natural life. He is another hustler cum
> troublemaker, period. Au contraire, Mandela, King, and Ghandi are
> moral gaints: they are compassionate, they understand the power of
> forgiveness, and the infallibility of love. They all championed a
> moral cause to testify the sanctity of a God given right to mankind.
> Waa on the other hand is struggling for his God forsaken egomaniac
> political ambitions for power. I said this before, a political
> resistance without a moral guidance is a nuisance, and Jammeh will slam-
> dunk all these petty hustlers into the dudgeon one after the other, day
> in day out. Ever wonder why the opposition can never apotheosize
> beyond blowing hot baloney…? It is because they believe in nothing,
> and they can never act on anything. Their individual hearts and minds
> are in complete dissonance; their egos can outlast Everest yet their
> collective will is like King Canute- it can never withstand the test of
> time. The facts speak for themselves: Why is Daboe still a party
> leader after two unsuccessful attempts in a presidential race…? This
> will never happen in any democratic civil society unless things turn
> out to be a "one-big-man show" like Jawara's PPP. Yet still Darboe and
> the "opposition" have the audacity to parrot about presidential term
> limits. What has he (Darboe) done so far to clear the fog of
> impropriety clouding his own party’s funds before even talking
> about “Saving a Damn Fund”. Why was PDOIS campaigning the 1996
> Constitution whilst all the other opposition parties were banned, and
> Waa Juwara amongst others felt terribly betrayed?
> Hubris, is the forbidden fruit that shall choke them all till doomsday…
> as long as they dance to the Mephistopheles’ of the “Gambia Diaspora”
> yearning for a savior. Waa wants to be the sacrificial lamb, we shall
> see.
>
> Ebou
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