Saul, thanks for the fantastic job you are doing with Rep. Ford. Your
perseverance is commendable. I was secretly praying that we do not lose
sight of that battle now that we have other atrocious issues on our
proverbial plate. I am very happy to learn that you are hard at work.
Continue the great job you are doing. At this stage we are doing what is
within our powers to do. The rest of the onus (as you said) lies on the
Fords of this world. We laid out all the facts to them. It is up to them to
dig into their consciences and see whether they are siding with good or
evil. Ford is/was a preacher. He knows Evil when he sees it. What he does
with that information is another thing.

When he goes to church, I hope he remembers the children Yaya and his forces
butchered in broad daylight and are now denying justice to. There are no
guarantees that this meeting will even take place. Yaya's days are numbered.
If people like Ford cannot see that and continue to mortgage their souls to
the Devil, they do so at their own peril. Like Hamjatta said, this people do
not even begin to understand what faith really is. Would a sane man risk
displeasing God and humanity in order to please a Viagra-gulping eunuch like
Yaya? Either these people do not believe in God or they are not with their
faculties.

What does Ford mean by saying that Yaya is not going to use him and his
organization? Yaya has already abused him. Is this not the same man that
gave a statement to the Gambian press praising Yaya's 'leadership' qualities
and saying that their organization is going to 'honor' Yaya? Is this not the
same man that is treating a low-life like Yaya as a genuine statesman? These
people make me want to puke. To downplay the significance of hosting this
meeting in Gambia, is downright dishonest. How did Ford help the poor people
of Nigeria by feting Abacha? Do me a favor and next time you speak to this
man, please ask him about the fiasco they created in Bermuda in 1998 where
they had one of their prominent organizers going around and collecting
questionable 'loans' from people; sounds more like bribes to me. Let no one
convince us that these types of collaborations are good for our people. This
is all a ploy to legitimize the illegal regime we have back home. I wonder
how the good Reverend feels having his holidays to the sun being paid by
Gambian taxpayers that cannot be guaranteed one square meal a day.

Thanks again Saul for your contributions.
KB


>From: saul khan <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: On Johnny Ford, Joe Joof, Pap Cheyassin Secka and Dr. Abbas Bundu
>Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 19:31:24 -0000
>
>All,
>
>I have spoken to Rep. Ford three times in as many days. I have to say that
>those who expressed scepticism about my approach to him are probably right.
>The gentleman is beginning to really annoy me. He kept telling me that our
>concerns "are noted" and that "they (WCM) won't be used by the (APRC)
>govt,"
>but when I pointed out to him that holding the meeting in The Gambia would
>be a psychological victory for the govt -a coup de grace, so to speak, he
>ignores that. Also his secretary (I believe at his behest) was playing
>silly
>games with me.
>
>First, she told me they never received the email I sent last Friday. That I
>should send it again. I did that through my private account and got (an
>electronic) receipt that the mail was delivered while I was still on the
>line with the lady. But when I asked her if they've received the re-send,
>she answered in the negative. When I pointed out to her that they have IN
>FACT received the mail as I have the delivery confirmation, she started
>saying that maybe their system was the problem. That she can't find the
>mail. It was then that Rep. Ford came on the line to tell me that they were
>having a "system problem," and I should fax in the docs. I did. The fax #
>he
>gave me is: 334-727-4010.
>
>I told the gentleman that I simply fail to see how HE doesn't understand
>how
>holding the meeting in Banjul and having Yaya Jammeh address them, won't be
>a victory for that rogue govt? Even the UN - I told him, is considering
>sanctions against this bunch of crooks -as we speak. That their criminality
>now goes beyond the geographical realm and boundary of tiny Gambia. The
>Brother muttered something un-intelligible, and started patronizing me:
>
>"don't worry about a thing. We're not gonna do anything untoward down
>there.
>We know the Jammeh types, and we won't be used by them. All we want to do
>is
>help The Gambia. We've voted last October to go there this coming June.
>We'll be there during the Roots Homecoming festival. You see I'm not really
>the main man in the WCM. Our prez is John xxx, mayor of Saginaw (MI.) Rest
>assured that I'll forward the materials you've supplied me to the board.
>I'm
>totally taken aback about what you've sent me. I had no idea all this is
>going on. We're really non-political. When we went to Gabon, the mayor was
>running for prez without our knowledge. We had to clear that up with the
>prez so he doesn't hold anything against us. What we like to do is help
>cities and municipalities. were currently on the verge of training 700
>mayors from Nigeria. That's what we do. so..."
>
>I almost blurted out Bullshit! But because I'm at work, I can't afford that
>luxury. So I told the man to do me a favor and read ALL the material I've
>sent him and will send him later this week. If after reading these
>materials, he still thinks he'll "help" the Gambia by associating with a
>band of common criminals, then most Gambians' opinion of his movement will
>be in the same light as the Jammeh govt, I told him.
>
>But tentatively, this is where I stand: I'm withdrawing my reservations
>about us sending Rep. Ford tons of email/material on the rogue regime back
>home. Based on my conversations with the gentleman today and the past two
>days, and my short chat with his secretary minutes ago, I'm beginning to
>have serious doubts about the man's sincerity. At the very least, he isn't
>as naive as he led me on when we initially spoke. The vibes I'm getting
>from
>Tuskegee seem to indicate to me that my reliance on Mr. Ford's good faith
>may be misplaced. So if for nothing else, I don't want to be conned by the
>Brother's sweet talk. As far as I'm concern, the onus (for sincerity and a
>desire to see justice done,) are on him. I'm simply a lot less optimistic
>about him than I was last Friday.
>
>I've managed to fax him an assortment of articles in the G-L archives: two
>of Ebrima's "My message to all Gambians", arson attack on Radio One, the
>murder of school children, the recent murder of three un-armed Gambians at
>border posts. This afternoon, I'll comb the G-L archives and
>"allafrica.com"'s to print and fax Mr. Ford some of the "colorful" things
>that his good friend, the drooling, gypsy-looking, parrot-headed mayor of
>Banjul, Samba Faal's party is doing to the Gambia. We'll see what effect
>this will have.
>
>In any case, if we're not getting anywhere with Mr. Ford, all is not lost
>yet. Other participants like the NAACP will be put on notice. I've left a
>message for Saleh Booker, the Executive Director of the Africa Policy Info
>Center to call me, so I can broach the subject with him. I believe Saleh
>can
>help make many of these organizations listen. He's got credibility on
>African issues. We'll just have to hope for the best...
>
>On Joseph Joof
>
>I believe it was Dec 1986 that I first saw Joe Joof in court with a friend.
>I was in the Sixth Form then, and we were browsing through the
>miscellaneous
>ware that petty merchants had on display along Wellington Street. When we
>got to The Court House, we went in to listen to proceedings (the case
>didn't
>matter.) I've always believed that you can tell a lot about a society by
>the
>type of cases that make it to court. Also, some of the most humurous events
>take place in courts. Thus the reason for my choice of past time.
>
>When we entered the first court room, guess who we saw in the dock? M.C.
>Cham! At the time, MC was a Cabinet Minister. The guy grilling him, who I
>didn't recognize at all was Joe Joof- young, and handsome. Justice Wallace
>Grante was presiding. We thought we were in for some fun. It wasn't every
>day that one sees a Cabinet member in the dock. So we quickly sat down.
>
>From the exchange, we established that MC had "hit" Joe's car near the BJL
>Post Office and left the scene without waiting for the cops. Joe called a
>police officer to arrest Cham, but the officer won't budge. (He called the
>officer as a witness.) He presented some receipts showing that he had paid
>a
>hundred plus Dalasi to repair his car. He was seeking compensation. MC Cham
>(represented by Ousainu Dabo) for his part, kept saying that the case
>wasn't
>about his car "tapping" Joof's car. He insisted it was personal and
>political. MC said that he had a problem with Joe's brother, and he
>believes
>that has something to do with the case. Joe of course dismissed those
>allegations because he's a "professional man." I clearly remember this
>case,
>'cause Joe was the youngest Gambian lawyer I had seen in action up to that
>point, and he had a good command of the English language. My favorite line
>in their exchange was when Joe trying to dismiss Cham's allegations looked
>at Grante, and said -icily- words to the effect that the gentleman's
>petulance was the reason why they were going through "all this
>dilly-dally."
>I loved it.
>
>Fast forward to yesterday 1/30/2001. When I heard about Joe Joof taking
>over
>from the pompous, unctuous and ineffably ungrateful Pap Cheyassin Secka, I
>flashed back to that court drama with MC Cham. Could it be that like his
>predecessor, Joof is bent on avenging some personal slights that he felt at
>the hands of the ancien PPP regime.
>
>You see, what many of us fail to grasp is the extent to which some people
>will go to pursue petty agendas. In fact, I believe with all my heart that
>MOST of the fools surrounding Yaya Jammeh are motivated by a desire to
>avenge some slight against some member of the former PPP regime.
>Ironically,
>almost to the last one, they owe their education and relatively well-off
>status to the PPP. Pap Cheyassin is on record for saying that he'll get
>certain people for locking him up -even as he proudly now admits that he in
>fact took part in the Kukoi rampage. Through such blind vendetta, gratitude
>becomes a casualty to a mixture of ego and fury. Imagine Pap Cheyassin
>lining up cars outside the Supreme Court promising all and sundry that
>those
>cars would be his erstwhile benefactor Ousainu Dabo and co's last ride to
>their new abode for decades to come: Mile Two prisons! But, to his credit,
>Pap The Peacock Che, was open about his desire. What the hell is Joe
>Joof's?
>Going after the MC Chams? Ousainu Dabo and co? Rescinding the order
>rejecting the Coroner and Commission reports? Surely the Brother isn't
>telling himself that most lame and cowardly of the phoney patriots' anthem:
>"I'm serving the nation." If you are, I am the prophet Muhamed! This is
>another phoney ass who's agenda will become obvious as time goes by. To MC
>Cham and co: Get ready for Joe Joof! Don't give him the satisfaction.
>
>On Pap Che, I have to give it to Ebrima's man on the ground, Kebba Dampha
>and Joe Sambou. Joe particularly could upstage Dionne Warwick and her
>"Psychic Friends Network" if he so desires. Some of our predictions are
>happening so fast that it's scary. I guess Prez For Life, as dumb as he is,
>now knows that it's only a matter of months. Like the great Amadu Kabir
>taught us: good will triumph over evil.
>
>On Dr. Abass Bundu
>I'm not terribly surprised that he has found a niche for himself in Gambia.
>He's one of the most dis-credited African professionals of all times! This
>man had the nerve to side with the RUF and Johnny Koroma against the Kabbah
>govt and decent Sierra-Leonians. Many of his countrymen are still livid
>about his hypocrisy and ingratitude. He lived in the DC area for a while a
>few years ago, and he had to leave. The reason? Sierra-Leonians in the area
>were aware of his presence, and were organizing a "fitting reception" for
>him. Believe me, they would have beaten the living daylights out of this
>fellow had they laid hands on him. So he bolted. A lawyer friend of mine
>from there who was part of the "organizing commitee" told me the story a
>years ago. I had no idea he was headed to the Gambia. Wait till I tell him
>this one.
>
>It's testimony to the APRC's criminality that crooks of all kinds and
>stripes all over our sub-region have now made the Gambia their first port
>of
>call when they land in trouble in their native countries. From the "Manna
>from the sky," lawyer's wife-stealling Babanding Suso, through Liberian
>diamond fencers, to "For-Hire" cold blooded child killers from Zichuinghor,
>the "smiling Coast" has degenerated into the "Crooks Smile Here Coast"
>haven. Who said a nation cannot go through the travails of the fictional
>Solomon Grundy in six years? (Remember the Pri. School rhyme? Solomon
>Grundy
>born on Mon; Christened on Tue; Married on Wed; Took ill on Thu; Got worse
>on Fri; Died on Sat; Buried on Sun.) Only these Solomon Grundys (the silent
>and suffering Gambian majority) will have the last laugh. If we disagree
>about everything else, that's one statement, you and your underlings can
>take to the bank Alh, Dr., Lt Col, Can't List It All Jammeh!
>
>There goes my lunch break!
>
>Saul.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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