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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