It is interesting to see all the reaction to the return of Jawara to
Gambian Politics. Reading closely to what Jabou, Sanusi, Amadou Janneh
and my good friend Joe only reinforced how all of us would like to see a
clean start with new people and ideas in order to move forward. I also
understand your fears and suspicions that there are disgruntled PPP
supporters who are only interested in high jacking the collective will
of our fight against the Jammeh Misrule, in order to reinstate the
yester- year politics of Jawara. Gentlemen, politics like everything
else in life is about timing, making tactical moves that realistically
works,  and most importantly wisely choosing your fights.

We can wait till after the October election and Jammeh has been declared
the winner, to engage with the usual argument of what went wrong, or
what was the most effective strategy to explore. The issue about the
come back kid of Jawara is not a debate of his thirty years Presidency,
and definitely not a yearned to return to the Jawara era. Can we all ask
our selves this question, what brought about decree 89? Was Jammeh
really interested in punishing the corrupt politicians, or was it a
tactical move to make sure he is not confronted with any serious
opposition. It is a political reality, fairly or unfairly that if
elections were held in the Gambia between President Jammeh, and
ex-President Jawara, in a level playing field Jawara will definitely win
by a landslide. This is a political truism and has nothing to do with
whether Jawara was a good leader or not, in fact, most of us were
excited with the over throw of the Jawara regime because of Jawara’s
thirty year misrule. The issue is what works. If your hatred for, or
opposition to Jawara, and you have every right in the world to feel like
that base on his past performance, but the bottom line at this juncture
is what works. What political formula out there that can bring an end to
an NIA run government, to a new government that can bring the Gambia
closer to a constitutional democracy. Please sentiment and emotion aside
tell me realistically how we can bring and end to the Jammeh misrule.

On a personal note, I would have like to see a PDOIS government because
it is the only party that I believed is committed to the ideals of
democracy, development of our country and to the protection of the lives
of every Gambian. But I am also not stupid or naive because come October
there will not be a PDOIS government. Therefore, what is out there that
can at least create an environment that can bring about the issues and
programs that PDOIS subscribe to.  In addition, the most realistic
formula that can guarantee an Opposition victory is the formation of an
Alliance Party with everybody on board including at the fore front
ex-President Jawara, ex-Opposition leader S.M Dibba, Andrews Camara,
Pdois’s Sidia Jatta, Hamat Bah and UDP’ Ousainou Darboe. The goal of the
Alliance is very simple, to bring an end to the Jammeh rule and create
an environment of a Constitutional democratic Gambia, a stable Gambia, a
Gambia of Justice Law and order and where the lives and rights of every
Gambian is protected. Also for tactical reasons, this Alliance can make
their deals behind the scenes, and choose the best person that can
guarantee a victory, and in this case, the logical person is Ousainou
Darboe.  Personally, I wish I could have said Sidia Jatta, but that will
not be true.

Gentlemen, remember Jammeh's worst fear is to run against such a force,
and if I can say the Opposition’s  record has absolutely nothing to do
with it, it is the political reality. Most of these ex-Politicians have
invested political capital and whether we like them or not they are
political heavy weights that will continue to impact the direction of
our country.

Musa Jeng


Haruna Darbo wrote:

>
>
> DITTO Musa, Dampha et al.
>
> Haruna - SONS OF AFRIKA>From: Musa Jeng
> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: Re: Jawara --- Come-back Kid?
> >Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 23:48:15 -0400
> >
> >Unseating an incumbent Government in Africa can be a very difficult
> ordeal. Obviously, there
> >are hosts of reasons, one in particular is what Ndey Jobarteh
> referred in her posting, the politics of
> >Patronage. The electorate making what they consider as a wise
> decision, ridding with a winning horse, which
> >is usually the party with the media, the government, the development
> programs, the arbiter of law and order
> >and all the other perceived benefits that come with it. There is also
> another important phenomena, especially
> >in Africa, people’s emotional and psychological inclination of who
> should be the leader. This person is seen
> >as a messiah, who is somehow ordained to govern, a personality
> cult-like, and to go against that force is
> >seen as going against the will of God, or nature, take your pick.
> >
> >Unfortunately, seven years of misrule has given Yaya Jammeh, like any
> other African despot these
> >aforementioned advantages. And with all the political strategizing
> and punditry about the October Election,
> >the wild card that can make all the difference is in Mr.Dampha’s
> piece, the return of Jawara. For starters, I
> >am not a supporter of Jawara, and my analysis is purely an opinion
> that I strongly believe can help in the
> >unseating of President Jammeh, which I am frustratingly looking
> forward to. President Jawara is one
> >individual who was once seen as a messiah, a winning horse and was
> seen as ordained by some force to govern.
> >This is one individual who can still connect with the Gambian
> electorate. He has effectively done it for
> >thirty years, and this is something not to underestimate. For a
> moment forget about pros and cons of his
> >thirty-year rule, what he has done wrong or right, and focus only on
> the political chessboard. I consider
> >myself a fairly sophisticated follower of Gambian politics,
> politically speaking, and also not a supporter of
> >President Jawara. Two years ago, I had an opportunity to attend a
> rally conference in Atlanta, in fact I
> >reported to the GL about that meeting. I went into that conference
> with my anti-Jawara sentiments and left
> >that meeting, not a born again Jawara supporter, but at least
> respected his argument. I am totally convinced
> >that the man has what it takes to connect with the Gambian people. As
> Dampha indicated, he is one person that
> >can vindicate the PPP Government, or at least defend his record.
> Jawara is one person that can be very
> >effective in finally challenging the APRC government from Banjul to
> Koina, not as a leader of the Opposition,
> >but as one of the leaders of the Alliance party to unseat Jammeh’s
> misrule. Gambians will come out in droves
> >to listen to the ex- President and this will give him an opportunity
> to tell his side of the story. I
> >personally believe that this is one wild card that would be
> politically suicidal for the opposition not to
> >play. Oh! I know of the counter argument, a political has been, been
> their for thirty years, corruption,
> >political cammatose and all the other yada yada yada, and I have
> personally made that case before and can
> >still make them, but not in this vein, and still look what the
> alternative is. At this crossroad of our
> >country’s political, economical and survival in every aspect, I
> honestly believe that the ex-President can
> >play a vital role in making it possible for the Opposition to win
> come October 2001
> >
> >Mr.Dampha, in his piece mentioned security and safety of the
> ex-President, and to that I will say,
> >Mr.President, you owe that much to the Gambian people, and this is
> one move worth risking your own life. And
> >if you if you fail to take this opportunity and go back to the Gambia
> and fight for your believes, you will
> >never forgive yourself. Remember that the Gambian people are yet to
> hear your own defense from the horse’s
> >mouth, and win or loose that is worth all the risks in the world.
> Frankly, Gambia belongs to all of us, and
> >who governs should be peacefully decided by the people, and no single
> individual should have a monopoly on
> >this, and maybe it is time for Jammeh and everyone else to know that
> this country belongs to all of us.
> >Finally, my political instincts tells me this election is still for
> Jammeh to win, but with the Jawara twist
> >under the leadership of Ousainou Darboe, the Opposition can win by a
> land slide, and for that to happen, it
> >should be all out war for the future of our country.
> >
> >Musa Jeng
> >
> >
> >
> >Dampha Kebba wrote:
> >
> > > News from the BBC that Jawara might go to Gambia in time for the
> October
> > > Election, is a welcomed one. Here is a chance for the man to
> vindicate
> > > himself. Power was unlawfully usurped from him by a bunch of
> bandits seven
> > > years ago. These low-lives should NOT prevent him from going back
> to the
> > > country he worked for for the better part of his productive life.
> There are
> > > still many people in the country that love the ex-president. Those
> people
> > > should come together with the current Opposition and give the
> elder
> > > statesman a hero’s welcome.
> > >
> > > These bandits currently running our country have nothing over
> Jawara.
> > > According to the White Paper that was supposed to impose a ban on
> Jawara’s
> > > political activities, the only corruption this government is
> accusing Jawara
> > > of, is the transfer of Jawara’s life savings from the then
> Meridien Bank
> > > after the president left the country. Nothing was said about crude
> oil or
> > > other corrupt activities these bandits were talking about in order
> to
> > > justify hijacking our country.
> > >
> > > The Opposition on the ground should set up a tight security
> apparatus for
> > > the former president. The international community should be
> lobbied to hold
> > > Yaya responsible for the safety and welfare of Jawara if he
> decides to
> > > return to the country. If anything happens to him, Yaya should pay
> with his
> > > own life. I am confident that nothing will happen to Jawara, just
> like
> > > nothing happened to other Decree 89 politicians. The cowards now
> know that
> > > they will be held accountable for their actions. It has began to
> dawn on
> > > them that this party is over. Pretty soon, they will be hoist in
> courts to
> > > account for their crimes. They know that.
> > >
> > > I respectfully counsel the current Opposition leaders to engage OJ
> and other
> > > PPP members in the country and encourage them to convince Jawara
> to come
> > > back home and return to political life. The Opposition can work
> with the PPP
> > > militants and the diplomats in the country to ensure Jawara’s
> safety. Once
> > > he is in the country, the Opposition should provide him with a
> stellar
> > > security detail and encourage him to tour the country and campaign
> for the
> > > presidential candidate the current Opposition is going to field in
> the
> > > coming election. Who best to defend the PPP record and discredit
> these APRC
> > > bandits than Jawara himself? Jawara owe it to the Gambian people
> to explain
> > > how well his government was doing before these bandits stepped in
> to render
> > > the country backward and end up making the Gambian people poorer
> than they
> > > were seven years ago. Jawara should explain what he would have
> done if he
> > > was the president the last seven years with millions of dollars of
> debt and
> > > aid money coming into the country. In short, Jawara should tackle
> APRC if
> > > they want to run on the PPP record, while the current Opposition
> focus on
> > > their plan for the country and Yaya’s mishandling of the country
> the past
> > > seven years.
> > >
> > > History will treat Jawara kindly if he returns to the country and
> selflessly
> > > helps to get rid of Yaya. But his return should be premised on an
> adequate
> > > security apparatus to be put in place by an Opposition Alliance.
> The current
> > > Opposition should field a presidential candidate as soon as
> possible and ask
> > > for the support of the Decree 89 politicians. One of the promises
> the next
> > > president might want to give the Decree 89 politicians is that the
> age limit
> > > for presidential candidates will be eradicated. With the
> imposition of term
> > > limits, we do NOT need this upper age limit. That is one
> concession that
> > > might be attractive to the Decree 89 politicians that Yaya CANNOT
> give them.
> > > There are many more which I trust our leaders on the ground will
> negotiate
> > > on as soon as possible in their quest to form an Opposition
> Alliance between
> > > Decree 89 politicians and the current Opposition.
> > >
> > > Finally, I hope the current Opposition sees Jawara’s impending
> return as a
> > > positive thing for the Opposition. Let the man come and defend his
> record
> > > and vindicate himself. The current Opposition should give him all
> the
> > > support he needs in order to help the next presidential candidate
> defeat
> > > Yaya.
> > > KB
> > >
> > > _________________________________________________________________
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> > >
> > >
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