The Lie of Going Back Home to Help Develop Gambia!!

And so you sat there thinking. I can always go back home to Gambia, you thought to yourself. Life in the USA is not what it used to be. Things have fallen apart a bit and a few of your friends have already left and are now ministers or directors in The Gambia. doing very well for themselves. The last time you visited them in Gambia, you had the time of your life. Its hard to start all over in the USA, your job is not what it used to be, your wife stresses the hell out of you on a daily basis, things just ain't what they used to be. But all this can change when you go to Gambia. You used to associate with the Gambian opposition a long time ago but once you got your papers approved, you have since mellowed and stopped criticizing Yaya. Things are not all rosy in The Gambia but at least the boys are trying you came to realize. With a little contribution from patriots like yourself, you can realize Yaya’s dream of turning Gambia into the Singapore of Africa. The Banka Mannehs and Falai Baldehs raining insults on Sabally are just jealous of the man. Who is living better than Sabally in Gambia today ? Gambia can be a nice place to live if you have good money coming in. And it is easy to make it there – hell- look at the vice chancellor of the university. He is the epitome of living large. And all he got is some PHD from some university somewhere. At least you got your degree from the reputable Sterling Institute online. Amadou Janneh also lived large and so did Tamsir Jasseh and Sidat Jobe and Sana Sabally and countless others. They only left Gambia because they messed up and Yaya had to get rid of them. But unlike them, you are sincere in your quest to go back home and help turn home into Singapore. You have the expertise and two of your friends have already assured you of Yaya’s audience once you land in Gambia. Decision made. Gambia it shall be!! The thought of all the young ladies you have been conversing with over viber and skype forced a saliva to go down your throat!! Sunday beach, attaya with your vous, the various night clubs, the concerts... Cant wait!! Gambia it is. 

You arrive in Gambia and all is well. You get to live in a nice bungalow furnished with all the modern amenities. You drive a spanking new SUV and get toasted around town as the good son that came back home to help develop our beloved nation. But the signs of the times do not bode well for you at times. There is just too much infighting and jealousy going around. Everyone is a snitch and you know that some of the people around you are not happy that just because you came from America with some degrees you acquired online should not make you minister material. You wheel and deal your way around town. All along, you know that your day of reckoning will eventually come. So you try to kiss up to Yaya even more in a quest to avoid the inevitable. The harder you lust for Yaya's love, the more immune you become to the reality of the injustices around you. You see freedom where slavery abound. You see plenty where none exists. You see smiles when others cry. You see development where decay rules. You see enemies where friends abound and vice-versa. You live in fear, yet you parade yourself as a patriot and develop a siege mentality of us -Yaya's people- against the Gambians that sully the name of our dear president and our beloved country. But deep down, you can feel the tension, but life feels too good to abandon. You knowingly take your chances. You become fearful. You acquire two other passports once you realize that you are not being invited to certain state functions in which you once occupied front row seats. You have not received any direct communication from Yaya in a while. Your fear doubles.. You try harder. You attack Gambians in the Diaspora and anything that resembles an opposition to Yaya. 

You have never farmed a day in your life; but you volunteer to farm on Yaya's land and you angle yourself to be seen on GRTS with the biggest smile on your face. You become angry and worried that despite your efforts, Yaya has been ignoring you of late!! Then you look around and voila, you got your answer now!! Your enemies are the ones fighting you. It must be Mr. Njie or Mrs. Sankareh who has been spreading calumnies about you. They are envious of your position and they want to get you fired. You become jittery, fearful of your friends; suspecting your family members and weary of your colleagues. You consult with your marabous scattered around Gambia, Senegal, Guinea and Mali.. They confirm your fears that someone is out to destroy you in the eyes of your benefactor Yaya. They ask you to give out some charities give you some potions to pour around the premises of your job and that all shall be well. You feel better but you still sleep with one eye open, just like that Haruna claims he does. You disperse your documents among trusted family members and you ask someone you trust to keep your other passport in case you have to hurriedly leave Gambia. You want to quit your job because you know your day of reckoning is coming, it is in the wind, the signs are there. You can feel the noose tightening. But you know you cannot quit your job. You must never go back to the USA as a failed insurance salesman. You took an oath before the devil and made a deal with him - blood in, blood out. You realize your predicament, your impending doom!! You withdraw from friends and colleagues; you frequent the mosque and start fasting on Mondays and Fridays. You pray harder. Every knock on your door startles you, are they coming for me, you panicked. Is today my day ? You begin to reach out to some friends in America and England in anticipation of your move overseas. You pray harder and ask for forgiveness from Yaya. 

Then one day, at a meeting you decided to show up to, even though you were not invited, Yaya smiles at you. He makes your day. Your marabous were right. All shall be well they promised. And now all is well. Yaya must have appreciated your industry. You showed up to a meeting that you were not invited and managed to contribute brilliant ideas that were applauded by all and sundry. Even Yaya applauded you even though he didn’t appear to be listening to you, as he was busy on his mobile phone talking to Alima about some American girls that decided to show up unannounced. But that is Yaya for you. He knows and hears everything even when we think he can’t hear or see us. But that smile of his made your day. It was a good day. You leave work early to go unwind and celebrate the knowledge that you are in Yaya’s good books. 

You call up the young lady you met at Trust Bank and ask her out to dinner. She obliges you. You will pray the prayers you missed after your date. It’s on again. Life is good. You enjoy your dinner and come back home with gifts for your two wives. You send your driver home earlier than usual. And then the knock comes. Two guys in dark oversized glasses ask you to come with them to the station for questioning. You ask to make a few phone calls and they refuse your request. Your wives gather around you wailing. They didn't have to ask. They all knew what it meant. You try to calm them down despite the look of hopelessness on your face. The NIA guys take you to the station and ask you to wait. You ask what you have done wrong and they tell you to just sit tight and wait. That they just want to ask about a few things and if everything goes well, you will be on your way home. All shall be well. And you wait. And wait. And wait. It’s been three days; surely they can't keep you beyond 72 hours without a charge. That’s what the constitution says. But it’s been three days and still you wait. Then they ask you some questions on a land deal you helped someone with. You never knew the damn land belonged to Yaya. Your cut was a measly 100,000 Dalasis. They also ask you about some per diems you approved for yourself denying Mr Nyang. You didnt know that Mr Nyang is an Uncle to Alima, Yaya's other wife. They asked you about  the story building you are constructing in Kololi. The beautiful house next door belongs to Ansumana Jammeh and he was not too pleased that your building was shaping to look better than his. You ask for a lawyer, they insist you must answer their questions first. You write a statement and they put you in a cell. 

You hear from no one the rest of the night. In the morning, they come and move you to Mile Two. You see familiar faces there. But you can't remember any of those people because you have honestly forgotten they even existed. You see a guy that seems to command some respect, you learn that it is Lang Tombong Tamba, yes the mighty Lang Tombong Tamba. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Lang the untouchable. Lang the very nice guy. Lang the snitch you thought. You think about the young lady both of you dated at the same time and you remember the joy you felt when you learned that Lang was arrested for being unpatriotic. You remember how she became yours thereafter. You had always told her how close you were to Yaya than all these fools parading themselves on TV but she never believed you. You lied to her that you already knew that Lang was going down but you could not say anything as it was a secret of the highest order.
 
In your cell, you sit down all alone, wondering if anyone knows where you are and if they will come to your rescue. You still have no idea what you may have done wrong. After all, all your marabous did say all shall be well. It’s been seven days already, and as they come to get you out of your cell again, you feel a bit of relief, at the hope that they must have realized the mistake they made and you are about to be freed and Yaya himself will be apologizing to you for the incredible mistake they made in arresting you. The seven day theory. After all, you left a good life in America to come and work for your country. Granted, your insurance career stalled a bit in America but you could have pursued other opportunities in other countries to start over. But for the love of your country, you came back home to work. Omar did the same thing and so did Alieu. In fact, it was Omar who encouraged you to make the move. He was enjoying life in The Gambia at the time. Now he is a refugee in Senegal trying to go anywhere but Gambia. The prison Guard takes you to a meeting place and you hear footsteps approaching. But it was not Yaya there to apologize; it’s your first wife visiting. She starts wailing at seeing the pathetic state you are in. You are still in the clothes you went out to dinner with the young lady friend of yours from Trust Bank. You ask your wife to be calm. You ask her to take care of the kids and to inform Musa that you were arrested and being held incommunicado and beyond the mandated 72 hours. This must all be a mistake, you reasoned !

Yes, the same Musa. He was your childhood friend but you had to cut your ties with him because he loves to write nonsense about Yaya and your beloved Gambia. Musa was doing all right in Gambia as a teacher and moonlighting as a journalist but he wanted to speak about government issues that were none of his business. He was arrested twice but he won’t relent. After the fourth arrest and after being held for two months without trial, he had to leave Gambia at the behest of his family for whom he is the sole breadwinner. You had told Musa to calm the rhetoric down. He didn't listen. You knew that Musa was being fed lies by the opposition and bad elements in the Diaspora to misrepresent the reality in The Gambia. Somehow, he found himself in England and is still writing bad things about Yaya and Gambia. But you know Musa to be a good person and you know too that despite anything you may have done, Musa will fight for you!! Not because of who you are or your friendship, but because Musa believes in that so-called notion of right and wrong. You ask your wife to make sure your case gets international attention. You ask her to reach out to that loudmouth Pa Nderry, ooohhh..that Pa Nderry Mbaye.. Gosh how you hate that Nderry's guts. But you can bet your life his headlines will scream Breaking News... Heck the man is a celebrity now you hear !

But you know you need him now and so you ask your wife to plead with Nderry to announce the breaking news of your arrest. You also ask her to reach out to Demba Baldeh. He is the reasonable and sympathetic type; he will be sympathetic to your cause, even if he condemns you for it, you assure her. And don't forget about the good folks at Echo and Kibaro. That Suntu who thinks he knows it all and keeps running his mouth about your beloved president. Make sure it gets mentioned on Maafanta, Gambia Echo and American Street News you demand. Get Matthew to write a beautiful prose on your situation. Those so-called journalists that built their career on the back of your beloved Yaya. They think they are above the world with their false sense of what is right and what is wrong. You remember manhandling all of them on the Gambia L and the Mighty Post. They all know the might of your pen. They avoided debating you online ! In fact, you showed Yaya some of those writings and you still remember the fatherly pride he felt, written all over his face. Yaya is only five years older than you but hell everyone calls him Pabi or Oga and so you defer to him as a father as well. The week after you shared your writings defending him, you were given your job, a brand new SUV, a house and all the perks that come with being a "big man" in Gambia. Auld Lang Syne !! Good days those were. You ask your wife to pray and ask her for forgiveness and for her to remain steadfast. You assure her that this too shall pass. All shall be well. Your visitation time is up and as you are being ushered back into your cell, you see the guard looking at your wife. With a smile, he tells you how beautiful your wife is !! That many women use Hessal and it does not look good them but that your wife's Hessal compliments her very well. When he saw you tear up, he assures you all shall be well. He tells you he will gladly take any message you may have for your family but that since he does not want to risk his job, he can only speak to your wife on the phone. He asks for her phone number. Begrudgingly, you oblige. You know your wife well, you thought to yourself. Despite all the nonsense you have perpetrated over the years, you know she was not the type to fool around on you!! Or so you hoped. 

At night, you hear footsteps and your name being called. Maybe this time, you are going free, you thought. You see Salimina, he of NIA fame. You are friends with him. He was with two other mean-looking guys, one with a brown oversized coat (a la Sankanu) too broad for his frail shoulders. They should have definitely allowed Sankanu to share his god-given talent with Gambians. Instead, the true hustlers saw through him and chased him out of town. But if you know Sankanu well, he will be back. He will angle himself for another opportunity again. Wait till Fatou Camara gets released. The sound of keys dangling on some idiot guard's waist woke you from your thoughts on Sankanu and Fatou Camara. They opened your door and asked you to come out. You had a half-smile on your face because it felt good seeing Salimina. You use to campeh with Salimina in Fajikunda and grew up in the same neighborhood and upon coming back from the USA, you still hang out with him regularly. But Salimina was not even looking at you today. He avoided eye contact and once you get close enough, he assures you that all shall be well, but that you must understand that he has a job to do because he has a family to feed. Before you can ask him what that meant, he asks his two mean looking buddies to go with you. The one in the oversized coat seemed very eager. Later, you were told he is from Casamance but one of Yaya's most trusted aides. 

You woke up in a tiny cell drenched in sweat. Your ribs felt as if they were competing to come out of you. You realize that your lips are swollen and your head is pounding. You tried to move your leg but that too was not cooperating. You realize you had lost consciousness. The last thing you remember was one of those mean-looking dudes slapping you and putting a plastic bag over your head. That sounded like the same thing Ba kawsu complained of. At the time, when you discreetly listened to Freedom with your headphones securely plugged in your bedroom with all the doors locked, you thought Ba Kawsu was lying. You also heard that Baba Leigh was tortured as well and so many other claims of torture. But you had always discounted their tales. You chalk it up to naysayers determined to sully the good name of your beloved president and smiling coast. But your case is true, you are actually being tortured !  You wonder if there is anyone left to believe that you are being tortured!! How you wish people would fight for your cause. But it seems as if no one even cares. You can hear laughter from an adjacent room. You hear one of them recount how he kicked you in your groin area. He must have bursted your balls he laughs. They called him Badjie, same last name as yours!! How could he do that, you wonder. But wait till you get out of here alive, Yaya must hear of this ! You will make sure the whole world knows about the barbarity of the Gambia NIA. You will tell the world your story. In fact, you will lead a struggle to topple this demon Yaya if he condones this barbarity. But he cannot know of your ordeal, you conflicted. How could he have allowed this to happen to you? You served him, and served him well. You gave your all; you did everything for him as an obedient son. How could he pay you back so? 

On your last visit, you were informed by your wife that they have gathered some elders to go and plead with Yaya but they are still haggling over the price with Imam Kah. Imam Jobe said he only leaves his house for 10,000 Dalasis retainer fee and he charges 10 Dalasis per mile from his house to Kanilai. Depending on the mood of Yaya, he charges 100 Dalasis per hour in convincing Yaya to let one go free. The Bishop said he was embarrassed by Yaya the last time he showed up to plead for Njogou Bah and so this time, he is feigning sick. You also learned that your brother Lamin, who has always been against Yaya has softened his stance since your detention. He has spoken out in the media and asked for calm through this trying times and patience to get you free and back to your family. It felt amazing that Lamin, whom you don't get along with, and who has been steadfast in his opposition to everything Yaya has suddenly changed tune. It was refreshing. 

The pain you feel is becoming unbearable, you lie down on your back and slowly drift off to sleep. You are awakened by cold water all over you and welcomed with laughter emanating from that Badjie fellow and some other different evil-looking folks. One of them asks you if you know Ma Nyima in Tallinding. Of course you do, you dated her for about a year and you had to break if off when she became pregnant. Thank God you made her get rid of the baby! He tells you that Ma Nyima is his sister with a sinister looking smile on his face... You put your head down in shame and in anticipation of what is coming.. It is another impending torture session. And you still don't know what crime you may have committed besides helping someone get some land and some per diems you extended to yourself. How were to know that that land belongs to Yaya ?? How were you to know that Mr Nyang, who you had to cut out of the perdiems was Yaya's in law and he was aggrieved. The things you did are normal in Gambia. Those are things that everyone does ! How can they arrest you for something that everyone does ?? So much for coming back home to help develop your dear nation! 

Alagie 

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