Prince, I'm surprised that it is only now that you realised that: "One thing
I understood from all those who spoke was that NO African despot can last a
day in Government without the assistance of the well-educated people". This
has been the case unfortunately since time immemorial and is not restricted
to African despots only. Remember Dr. Mengele of Germany? It is precisely
for this reason that I prefer dialogue to animosity. Extremeism from any
quarter only breeds more extremism from the other side. Allow me to quote
that great Israeli General, Moshe Dayan, who said "If you want to make peace
, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.

It is very unfortunate, but a fact of life that those in power almost always
want to perpetuate themselves, whilst those marginalised tend to always want
to reverse roles with those in power. The lesson to learn from this is that
those wanting to usurp power from those who have it, with the detrmination
to do so at any cost, only encourages the other to put in place represive
counter measures. Those of you living abroad may take things for granted,
but those of us here understand the consequencies of unrest or civil strive
within this small country of ours. This should give you a clearer idea of my
stance on the current political debate.

You wrote:

"The role of the Civil Servant, be it Junior or Senior, is very crucial in
every government, but when it is motivated by greed and self-centeredness
then it becomes an unforgivable crime. Jobe is telling Gambia-L and the rest
of the world that he is an unashamed Opportunist, whose personal desires
out-weigh the Gambia's and the people's interest. He is here serving and
supporting the Yaya Jammeh's demonic government with the "option" that when
Jammeh is replaced he will still be able to keep his position".

This cannot be further from the truth. I have had other opportunities which
I rejected simply because it took me away from home usually for long
periods. As a civil servant, my loyalty is to the state and not to the APRC
or Yahya Jammeh as an individual. As Cleopatra would have said "My desire to
please Jammeh is very slight; neither do I care if he is black or white".

You again wrote:

"Jobe has nothing to say about the massacre of innocent children on April 10
& 11, 2000, nor against the Human Rights record of the regime, as long as,
roads are built and arches are erected. The Projects of the APRC are more
important to dwell on than killing the students. Jobe went to the extent of
even calling our concerns the event  as "continuously harping". It is people
like Kebba Jobe who go around saying that the 10 & 11 April was "God's
Will"".

This is definitely NOT TRUE. I have said before that I deeply deplore the
tragic events of April 2000, but went on to say that I disagree with those
who believe that reconciliation is not possible unless all those implicated
in the commission of enquiry report on the event (which incidentally
includes some students) are prosecuted at any cost. I fully share Mhatma
Ghandi's view that an eye for eye only ends up making the whole blind.

You wrote:

"To the University-educated Kebba Jobe, "Good Governance" is not all that
relevant to the lives of the Gambian people. Read This:"

"My defence of the APRC projects does not mean that I condone what happened
on April 10 & 11 nor does it mean that I condone the human rigts record of
the regime. My views on those issues are very clear. That does not, in
anyway, make a hypocrite. I have the right to view every act of this
government as I see fit and would not dare try deny anybody else that same
right. The issues that affect the lives of the Gambian people is not only
limited to good governance".

Brother, you are spot on.

"The main difference between Kebba Jobe and people like me is that, he
believes in "Truth and Reconciliation" while I will not settle for anything
less than "Truth and Retribution". I strongly believe  that "Reconciliation"
should be left to the South Africans. It is very likely that in his young
days, Kebba Jobe was one of those with accolades of "Revolutionary",
"Radical" and "Forthright" in everything they did. One remarkable behavior
of Kebba Jobe is his nonchalant manner of retorting to those who "attack"
him. A behavior more akin to those in "high" places. This sort of behavior
we could remember from the now disgraced Dr. Saja Taal.", you wrote.

I am glad that atleast you did not admonish me for holding a different view
on that matter, which I may hasten to add is also shared by a good number of
people. I don't however get the connection with Dr. Saja Taal.

Have a nice day & bye 4Now, KB Jobe.

     ==========================================================
"There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see,
yet small enough to solve"

                  (MIKE LEAVITT)
     ===========================================================



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