Disregard this mail please. It simply is an edited version of one posted days ago. That one contained legions of typos and other errors.

Momodou



Tomaa, 

I think you are expecting too much if you suppose that the good doctor Saine would surprise you by responding to your questions. I can hardly imagine that he owes you anything. In times like these, the Gambian condition would produce all kinds of ingenuous noon-day politricksters advancing all kinds of "logical" and rational arguments in support of one nominee or another. Blatant propaganda techniques would even be used to make us all believe that there is certainty where there should be much doubt; that outcomes of processes are crystal even when these are still contentious at best. If one repeats sufficiently enough that "OJ is selected", every other possible candidate becomes more of a spoiler rather than an equally electable contender. It gets even easier if you have a jumpy "jottalist" always screaming in disfavour of some other contender: "Oh, Mr. Darboe, why do you have to consult with your people? Ooh, why cannot you just accept OJ? Naa, Mr. Darboe why are you sending your lieutenants to the meetings, and why don't you succumb to public pressure? Ooh, Mr. Darboe you are spoling the party"! From very early on, without any concrete reasons whatsoever, Pa Nderry Mbai has been consistently and disingenously representing Ousainou Darboe on this list as the man who should not be flagbearer. 

The problem, however with supporters of OJ is that they have no respectable argument for not selecting Ousainou Darboe. That he had several chances against Jammeh in the past? Well, who has not? OJ? Sidia? Have they all forgotten that OJ and whatever remained of the PPP where all solidly behind Darboe and the UDP in managing the rickety coalition against the APRC in 2001? Is the UDP anything more than an amalgam of old rivals from the PPP, NCP and GPP? Where was Ousainou Darboe while OJ was serving as minister in PPP governments? Well, carefully building his career as a lawyer, unperturbed by the excesses and shortcomings of the PPP government. Folks, there is no ideological difference whatsoever between the two. 

Tomaa, like yourself, I would choose none of the two here for any reason other than acting on a belief about what choice I think would best serve the interest of NADD and the democratic opposition to the APRC. Even as a liberal Mr. Darboe strikes me as a man who is more comfortable with the kind of confrontation in a court room rather than leading a mass demonstration against injustcie. But my personal opinion about him is just that much irrelevant. This is the man who many thousands of Gambians, wisely or foolishly, voted for overwhelmingly in the past two elections. 

And here lies the trouble with Dr. Saine's thinking: The nomination of flagbearer is about power, about identities, and therefore memories. In as much as we all cherish and respect the contents of the MOU, identities of politicians cannot just be simply hidden under a thick coat of varnish. Because the political parties that constitute NADD are still existing, any entry into negotiations by the leaders is charged with the relative electoral strengths of their said parties. It is simply futile to insist that MOU democracy means they should leave their shoes, their identities (that brought them there in the first place), and their memories at the door. It simply does not work that way; and I suspect that the current impasse is revovling around the issue of Darboe suporting someone else's candidature. His calculation is simple: his political career will likely come to an end if someone else is selected. 

On memory: how just and how democratic will the selection of a flagbearer be to the scores of thousands of suporters of lawyer Darboe should in case the exec. comm. chooses differently? That is a question I think we need to ask ourselves, especially given that we cannot easily rule out Mr. Jammeh and his propaganda arsenal. 

Cheers, 

sidibeh 


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