By Da One
You openly admitted to reining in on Henry Gomez to dictate to his party delegates to vote for Adama Barrow in the coalition primary elections. You undoubtedly dictated to your party delegates to vote for him, too. To put it mildly, that’s a travesty of a democratic process devoid of fairness and free choice. Was it not dislodging the same political decadence you joined the coalition of the willing that eventually effect regime change? Your most recent actions, however, are a contradiction to the ideals you claim to stand for. Goddamn it, the time is now to keep you dishonest and power-hungry politicians under scrutiny. From now on, it shouldn’t be any different. Hear me out fellow Gambians.
Mai, you claimed Yahya Jammeh has looted the Central Bank of The Gambia to a tune of fifty million dollars. This happened whilst you and Adama Barrow were held up in Senegal. A political impasse raged on and the country was just minutes from a civil war that would have seen Gambian citizens slaughter each other on the basis of ethnicity and political affiliation. Instead of dosing the tension with words of maturity and foresight you went on a verbal adventure, just like Fatoumatta Tambajang did, and add fuel to an impending inferno. You even “fired,” on national television, someone you neither hired nor pay a damn wage. That was the height of irresponsibility and hyper whimsicality as a “leader.”
Then you questionably (like all other political party leaders) became a minister, a minister of interior. Under your charge was all internal security matters conferred. Before Haruna Jatta was gunned down in Kanilai, I wrote an open letter addressed to you, warning about the consequences of ignoring a potential trouble spot and suggested a five-point working solutions designed to avert conflict. Neither you nor anyone in authority responded leading to a loss of life and an indelibly tinging a stain on Gambia’s new international image. Customary to your whimsical temperament, you went on a verbal tirade again to lie and condemn unarmed peaceful demonstrators. You claimed the demonstrators were armed with guns, which turned out to be a verifiable falsehood.
I can’t understand the reason, with a such a baggage, you once again went on a verbal rampage to condemn Gambians for exercising their God-given rights to criticize the government that is not providing for their needs and aspirations to live dignified lives in peace and tranquility. Gambians have changed their attitude towards politics. They are talking and engaging with issues that matter to them. They are working very hard to sustain their families through trade and service, under a very hostile economic climate. Could we say the same about you the political leadership of the country? Aren’t you riding on their backs all the while complaining about the uncomfortable ride on their backs?
What is expected of you as an employee of the Gambian tax payer is to influence the decisions of the president as the “special adviser.” Your job is to advice the president on sensitive and strategic matters that require tact and technique. These range from domestic affairs to international diplomatic maneuverings.
Scapegoating people who toil day and night to pay you a salary is arrogant and unwise. Your arrow as a politician should be pointed at yourself and your comrades of the blood sucking bourgeoise class who are only good in enriching themselves at the expense of the masses. The still-in-darkness-shrouded deal with the dubious SEMLEC company cannot be so easily forgotten. Gullibility is out of the door; the moment of swift reckoning is here.
The attitudinal change you and your ilk constantly hit with the brutal stick of blame shifting is a dead one. It will not wake up, because its none existent. Gambians, home and abroad, are some of the most hard-working people in the world.
Go to the farrosto see our mothers and sisters toil from dusk to dawn as if they are powered by the mere air they breathe. Try to catch an early morning van drive to the capital Banjul and see how our youth try to scale trucks to make it to the ports complex. They carry bags of rice and sugar on their bare backs from the opening of the gates till darkness crept in. By doing the most backbreaking works, they still can’t feed a family of five, pay rent and school fees. The economy is structured to provide only for a few. You belong to the few, who ride in air-conditioned four-wheel drives to and from work. May I remind you that your privileges are paid for by those you are attacking with your condescending words. Pull back a bit and show some restraint. Consider that a brotherly advice.
You can’t tell the people when to engage in politics in any of its forms. Politics is an everyday business, and the aftermath of elections does not in any way mean the end of political participation. It’s like time itself, it keeps on rolling and happening no matter what. I will suggest you encourage Gambians to be even more engaging and scrutinizing of their political leaders and not to go to sleep because you think the political season is over.
In conclusion, I would like to remind you my fellow Gambian brothers and sisters in no uncertain terms. Gambian leaders from the attainment of independence have come with different strategies to perpetuate themselves in power, pilfer massive amounts of money from our coffers and place their families in strategic positions, both public and private, to secure a future of luxuries whilst the vast majority of the population wallow in abject poverty and ignorance from cradle to grave. Stop them in their evil adventures.