Christ George, Your defense of Ousainou Darboe is robust and your indication that Mr Mbai needs to be fair in his reporting is fair enough. However, you ended up falling into the same pit that you are seemingly trying to pull Mr Mbai from in his reportage. Christ George, I cannot agree with you more that it is certainly not justifiable to drop the clanger on anybodies head, "as if ... [the person] is a criminal or treacherous...." I must however add that it does not matter whether that person is Ousainou Darboe or HalifaI Sallah or anybody else, the same rule must apply!! Like many readers, I have also been following the writings and speeches of Halifa for about twenty years now. My first "discovery" of Halifa was through a booklet he published in the 80’s in defense of the sovereignty of The Gambia during the Senegambian Confederation. With all the fanfare about Senegambianess on both sides of the Senegalo-Gambian border at the time, Halifa analyzed both the economic and political implications of the Confederation, especially on The Gambia where our sovereignty was been trampled under foot as the permanent Head of the Confederation, Abdou Joof, the then President of Senegal, had authority to declare a state of emergency in Republican Gambia. The consequent expositions on the Confederation then and after the formation of PDOIS as a really expensive white-elephant for the struggling Senegalo-Gambian economies to maintain, immensely contributed to Confederation's early, unilateral and unprofessional demise. It was many years later that I met Halifa in person, although I have read a myriad of his writings and those of his colleagues, Sam and Sidia, and have attended many of their rallies and listened to many of Halifa's speeches in symposia and other occasions. In all his writings that I have read and his speeches that I have listened to, Halifa has Never, and I repeat Never, said or given the impression that he knows everything. I will be glad to learn from you, Christ George, where and when Halifa had indicated or had given the impression that he knows everything. With all the intellectual prowess that Halifa commands, I neither noticed any arrogance when I first met him, nor in my subsequent meetings with him. One of the main characteristics of a humble person is her/his ability to give all people due attention despite their social standing. For instance, after my first meeting with Halifa I never expected him to greet me by name the second time I met with him, that is more than a year after our first meeting. This shows that his heart beats in unison with the heart beats of all the people he meets; to re-phrase his own words. Again, Christ George, I will be happy to learn from you, and I am sure other readers will also, if you could exhume instances where Halifa has demonstrated arrogance of one type of another. Halifa always maintains that knowledge is the property of humankind. This is where those people who are out to mystify knowledge differ with him. Halifa always maintains that human beings should strife to make knowledge their own. Since he practices what he preaches, some people who have specialized in only a small area of the gigantic reservoir of human knowledge cannot understand how another individual could know so much about other fields in which that person has not specialized in during his/her sojourn in the four corners of academia. For President Jammeh, he will go to the extent of saying that Halifa does not have a Masters Degree; in short and for sure, these are not his High School days …. Like any other profession, there is nothing mysterious about the legal profession. One can for instance see the height of the attempt to mystify the legal profession when one lawyer told Halifa, during their (i.e. Halifa's and Sidia's) trial after the coup, that he, Halifa, should not quote the constitution because he is not a lawyer. As always, this is a man who can never be put in a corner. In short, the legal profession is another collection of human knowledge which has been constructed for human consumption, not only for legal practitioners but for all human beings who make it a duty to consume what they can, given their time and circumstances. It is certainly no sign of arrogance if a person, whether Halifa or another individual, shows confidence of how much s/he has mustered any field; actually this is the basis of human civilization, the fact that human beings have the unrestrained capacity to gain knowledge. I therefore see no arrogance or know-it-all tendencies in Halifa deciding to defend himself. Given the profound professional that Ousainou Darboe is, I am sure that he will realize that Halifa's decision to defend himself will give him, Ousainou, more time to concentrate on defending two people instead of three. Ousainou knows his field very well and would not to be distracted by either Mr Mbai or Mr George. For instance, one renowned Magistrate in The Gambia, who was a part-time lecturer in one course that I did, always emphasized the enormous respect that he has for Ousainou Darboe. According to the Magistrate, Ousainou has committed almost all the required legal texts to memory and he does not have to make reference to legal literature in court, things just flow from his brains; and that he, the Magistrate, has to brace himself some more, whenever Osuainou is appearing in his court in defense of someone. This is the type of respect that Ousainou enjoys in the legal profession given his competences, and he knows it. Halifa's decision to defend himself is not for reasons of competence or incompetence, or humiliation of Ousianou, but in consideration of other factors as he indicated in his recent interview with FOROYAA. Unfortunately, some people who are out to discover division will always find division, whether real or imagined. Halifa has defended himself before and he can, should and will defend himself again. The irony of it all is that it is the people who should be on trial who are actually the ones pressing unwarranted charges against OJ, Hamat and Halifa. History has it that during the transition to the Second Republic, Halifa and Sidia where tried for working day and night to restore the sovereignty of The Gambian people after their sovereignty was seized in broad day light by Yaya Jammeh and Co. in kaki attire. Against all odds, the sovereignty of the people was ultimately and duly restored. Now that the same sovereignty is being tainted through all forms of enactments, childish tantrums, immature tirades and pronouncements in an endless attempt to vest the sovereignty of The Gambian people on a "king in the making", NADD is trying day and night to ensure that the true sovereignty of the Gambian people is safeguarded; and that the Mansa concept is given the burial that it deserves in the annals of the history of The Gambia, charges have been proffered against the true defenders of the freedom and prosperity of the people. Those who should be on the box are currently sitting on and riding crystals of silver. In conclusion, tainting or attempting to pit the leaders for the true independence and sovereignty of The Gambia against one other is indeed counter productive. Contributions to enhance their work and factual criticisms which go hand in hand with suggestions for improvement is actually what is needed at this juncture of the history of our beloveth Gambia to ultimately ensure that the country has the leadership that it deserves. When most nations are developing truly democratic structures not only to enlarge the liberty of their people but also to enhance dignity and prosperity, the leadership in The Gambia is manufacturing more chains against the liberty of the people and more fetters against their social, political and economic well being. History is recording all events, which will be re-casted and put in their proper contexts when true maturity prevails in the leadership of our country and the true liberators are identified from the real deceivers. Abdoulie Jawo With due respect, I am disappointed that a person like you who is expected to have all the reasoning and sense of objectivity is writing so unfairly about the Lawyer Darboe. If you have little liking for the man, please so some sense of objectivity in your criticism. But the biased and unjustifiable manner in which you dropped the clanger on his head as if he is a criminal or treacherous, is just not expected from a just journalist of high calibre like you. The issue of his withdrawal from representing Halifa is very apparent. He had represented all of them and later, during the course of the case, Halifa Sallah, for one reason or the other, decided that he would like to instead represent himself. We all know that Halifa does this out of arrogance and ill-comportment thinking that he knows everything in this world, forgetting that even if he knows the constitution, he is not a lawyer and that law is a profession that requires professionals to handle it. You clearly know what I am talking about as you know that Halifa's main aim was to humiliate Darboe by looking low on him as a lawyer. Halifa knew vividly well that even though he blindly represented himself, if his other colleagues were granted bail he would automatically be granted bail as he has the same case at hand with them and therefore, the arguements in that case were the same. So he was just interested in self-aggrandisement and to meet his political interests and desires for cheap popularity which was not indeed fair to the lawyer who of course, still, indirectly represented Halifa by arguing the case for the others. [log in to unmask] wrote: Christ George, I agree with you that Mr Mbai needs to be careful in his reporting of events in The Gambia. Patriotism demand reporting events in a manner that woulud not result in chaos and anarchy and also the desire of all citizens should be to promote peace and development in the Gambia. That being said, Mr Mbai is definitely rendering a noble service to Gambia, both at home and abroad, by reporting events for all to know. I receive almost all the information about the current political climate in the Gambia from Mr. Mbai. A healthy majority of his reports are verifiable and are proven to be true. Keep up the good job. My advice to Mr. Mbai is for him to try reporting just the facts without suffing the news articles with too much personal opion. On the issue of NAAD and the current developments surrounding the selection of Flagbearer is a very serious problem. It need urgent attention for resolution. Since the formation of NAAD, almost one year ago, there has been many rumours without a proper clarifications from the executives. This is not good at all. Democracy is all about openness. Secrecy bring about doubts and uncertainnities. NAAD will not withstand doubts and uncertainities in the minds of Gambia. The current government is so closed that nobody can predict what next. This is too bad. I suggest NAAD to create an official web site that would dissiminate information about the only hope for Gambia. A well-kept web site would dispell all rumours about NAAD, as a result, reduce uncertainities. On the issue of Flagbearer, I think it should entirely be based on who is more likely to properly impliment the rectification programmes that warranted the formation of NAAD. The person most be seen to be competent and knowledgeable in the anatomy of human societies. So he/she would be able to enforce all the provisions in the Memorandum of Association to effect lasting change in the manner of governancein the Gambia. The rectification programme is aim at returning the government to the citizens who owns it in the first place. This process is expected to give birth to a government for and by the people that will gurantee the human rights of all gambians irrespective of tribe, political affiliation. In order words, NAAD's goal is to empewer the peoples of the Gambia to be able to participate fully in determining our destiny. It can be related from History that men always want more power for themselves at the detriment of the masses. Therefore the Flagbearer of NAAD must be someone who has demonstrated a passion for such an unpresidented change in the Gambia. The only person who comes mind any time I think about this noble duty is Halifa Sallah. He has been in public domain for the past several years and his message and actions have been consistent towards such a goal. His works over the years have enlightened many gambians. They have resulted in fundamental changes in gambian society. I am convinced beyong all doubts that Halifa is capable of presiding over a government of rectification. He would be willing to leave power at the end of the first five years. Other NAAD members would be very useful in this endeavours. Lawyer Darboe is a very respected law scholar with years of experience as one of the best lawyers in the land. Darboe, therefore, could lead the consititional, and legal review commission as the Secretary of State for Justice. Am very sure Mr. Darboe would be very effective at this department by reviewing the 1997 constitution and laws of the gambian to identify problem areas that affect the check and balance in the system. Hamat Bah would be suitable to lead the department of state for Tourism and Culture to study the system in order the improve on the sector. Omar Jallow would be great at Agriculture Department Sedia Jatta at the Mnistry of Educatio. Waa Juwara would be suitable at the Ministry of Local Government. Some one might say that Halifa does not command much support as Darboe or any other executive member and that the leader with much support would be desirable to be flagbearer. I disagree with the later. The essence of the coliation is to build a united front against Jammeh because the provision of the 1997 constitution that require second round voting was removed from the Constitution. So that Jammeh can stay in power as long as it may take. Therefore whoever the coliation select as flag bearer would command the support of all opposition supporters irrespective of opposition parties. I hope that NAAD executives and gambians in general would not see this as belittling anyone. This is my honest judgement in this matter. -----Original Message----- From: panderry mbai To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Sat, 24 Dec 2005 00:09:30 +0000 Subject: Readers Sound off on the NADD Leadership Controversy OPINION Readers Sound off on the NADD Leadership Controversy Letters --------------------------------- December 23, 2005 With due respectDear Mr. M'bai, With due respect, I am disappointed that a person like you who is expected to have all the reasoning and sense of objectivity is writing so unfairly about the Lawyer Darboe. If you have little liking for the man, please so some sense of objectivity in your criticism. But the biased and unjustifiable manner in which you dropped the clanger on his head as if he is a criminal or treacherous, is just not expected from a just journalist of high calibre like you. The issue of his withdrawal from representing Halifa is very apparent. He had represented all of them and later, during the course of the case, Halifa Sallah, for one reason or the other, decided that he would like to instead represent himself. We all know that Halifa does this out of arrogance and ill-comportment thinking that he knows everything in this world, forgetting that even if he knows the constitution, he is not a lawyer and that law is a profession that requires professionals to handle it. You clearly know what I am talking about as you know that Halifa's main aim was to humiliate Darboe by looking low on him as a lawyer. Halifa knew vividly well that even though he blindly represented himself, if his other colleagues were granted bail he would automatically be granted bail as he has the same case at hand with them and therefore, the arguements in that case were the same. So he was just interested in self-aggrandisement and to meet his political interests and desires for cheap popularity which was not indeed fair to the lawyer who of course, still, indirectly represented Halifa by arguing the case for the others. So you don't expect Darboe, who was representing all of them without even being paid a penny, to insist in representing Halifa who had declared that he did not want to be represented. On the issue of leadership, I don't know what is exactly happening in Nadd but one thing I know is that Lawyer Darboe of course is that right person to lead it. Pardon me but it was as baseless as the sky, when you said the issue of one having strong support does not matter at this moment. It of course maters. If the members of Nadd are really interested in the country, let them allow the man to lead because he deserves it by virtue of his majority. BARU --------------------------------- NADD leadershipAye, What am I hearing? We have predicted a leadership crisis in NADD earlier this year but the NADD leadership quickly described it as mere rumours. Now that the full truth is emerging, was the NADD leadership simply lying or telling the truth? While some senior executives in NADD like Halifa, Hamat and OJ are sincerely devising modalities to bring an end to Jammeh's tyrannical rule, others are busy behind frustrating their effort. As removing an incumbent is not easy, the NADD leadership must put the issue of leadership in the dust bin and seek a good approach to achieve their common goal. About Pa Nderry, while many argue that you are the most patriotic Gambian, am yet to be convince. Patriotism does not mean hiding behind journalism to assassinate people's character based on false rumours. You cannot rely on false rumours to write garbage stories on The Gambia. I sometimes panick when I read your stories only to be told when I call home life is going on as usual charaterised by peace, progress and prosperity. Like one journalism professor said: Journalists must be sensitive to people's feelings. Put yourself in the position of people whose activities or welfare you are reporting to the public. We must not be damaging the entire fabric of our society due to our own selfish desires. Seeking for asylum should not warrant us to wreck our country. I don't like President Jammeh, but am glad with the numerous development projects that have taken place in The Gambia since 1994.I laugh when Pa Nderry talks about the wealth of Jammeh. Can he tell me which current leader is poor like him. Absolutely not for even President Bush is ten times richer than he was before assuming power. My dear countrymen, we should be very realistic in our dealings and carve our country into a modern democratic country. Christ George, Chi Jaama Go To Top --------------------------------- Copyright © 2004 AllGambian.Net. All Rights Reserved. --------------------------------- --------------------------------- To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre. ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html 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] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check Out the new free AIM(R) Mail -- 2 GB of storage and industry-leading spam and email virus protection. DeleteReplyForwardSpamMove... 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