Thank you OJ for keeping alive the swindle of the century. We should not rest until we reach to a logical conclusion of this theft. We are also not going to cuddle any thug and unlike other farces in Africa, Gambians are not going to cut any deal with anyone, Jammeh included. We will follow the money and no place is far for us to reclaim our moneys. Our country is poorer because of these grand thefts, per diem schemes, and other collusions with the corrupt and greedy class of our society. Please read on. "Oil Saga, a National Disgrace" The Independent (Banjul) July 4, 2003 Posted to the web July 7, 2003 S.b. Camara & Lamin Njie Banjul The National Co-coordinator of the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) is obdurately refusing to let the latest Gambia-Nigeria crude oil saga die a natural death in oblivion by describing it as a profound national disgrace of Jammeh's own making. Jammeh's perpetual silence over the issue was a loud and echoing gesture which points to the indictment of his government, which the PPP diehard accused of embezzling over half a billion dalasis belonging to the nation. OJ told The Independent shortly before departing for the United States for the "Meet the Diaspora summit" this week, that government silence would not lull Gambians into forgetting that the latest crude oil saga is one of the most capriciously corrupt and disgraceful practices that The Gambia has ever witnessed in the annals of her history as an independent nation. He said "this national disgrace" could not have come at a more untimely period "when seriously deteriorating economic trauma, amidst fluctuating prices of commodities, the continuous depreciation of the dalasi against major currencies are having a suffocating stranglehold on poor, ordinary and helpless Gambians". He inquired what would have been more patriotic than allowing the proceeds from such a transaction to trickle down to the country's poor who he claimed have been betrayed by Yahya Jammeh's government, whose officials feather their own nests more than the nation's. "I think The Gambian nation was bound to benefit a lot from the Nigerian government's gesture but for the nefarious intentions of a few, this was prevented from coming to pass", OJ charged. "The explanation by the presidential spokesperson trying to vindicate the regime is pockmarked with flaws. It failed to give any clear indication as to where and who benefited from the sum intended for the Gambian nation. Although the statement conceded to the fact that such deal had taken place between the governments of Nigeria and The Gambia and that it has been handled by senior government officials on behalf of our government, the disgrace born by the fact that such an important agreement was deliberately hidden from the public is of national proportion. It is one such disgrace for which Jammeh and his regime will be held accountable when he is no longer there" O.J pointed out. He said it was not only inadequate but also represented an insult to the intellects of Gambians, adding that "in civilised democracies, where there exist such doubts or misinformation, when a government is accused of stealing or embezzlements, it is the responsibility of that government to have one of its executive members to come up and strongly prove otherwise". "Why was it possible for such an agreement to take place without Gambians being informed. Why was it that a gesture of such high magnitude from the Nigerians wasn't even mentioned in the budget speech of the Finance and Economic Affairs minister. Why is it that such an agreement between two sovereign states have make room for the involvement of businessmen to represent our government. Where was the president or the Finance SoS when this deal was being reached. These are some of the pertinent questions Gambians are asking themselves," he said. OJ is convinced that The Gambia as a nation could have befitted from the Nigerian offer if its proceeds were injected into the economy and bail it from what he described as perpetual doldrums. "The Nigerians gave us the offer expecting to deal with a responsible government - a government that is sensitive to the plights of its people, a government that is aware of its responsibilities and obligations as they were being misled to believe " OJ remarked. _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~