By Tumbul Trawally, Seattle, USA
One thing we have all learned from the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) is how effectively Yahya Jammeh lethally used Tribalism and Money to sow discord within Gambian Society. First, he recruited every able bodied, willing boy from the Fonis, into the Security Forces. After consolidating his power in the army, he got rid of his partners in the AFPRC, one by one. That is how we ended up with a “General Saul Badgie”! There were more “Generals” with the surname name “Badgie” in the Army than there were people with the same surname in Sibanor. Second, to facilitate the robbing of government coffers, Yahya Jammeh placed cronies in strategic positions, heading parastatals. There were more Managing Directors with the surname “Sanyang” than there were people with the same surname in Sintett. Obviously, my intimation is a hyperbole, but it underscores Yahya Jammeh’s disregard for education, qualification, or experience. This was a cynical ploy to defraud The Gambia Government, through his cadre of loyalists, most of whom were from the Fonis. Even in under-developed countries, the title of “General” comes with a minimum amount of education and military training. You don’t just bestow titles, without merit. His message to them: Jolas did not get a fair shake during the Jawara era; it is time to play catchup. Nothing is further from the truth! The Jolas, just like the other rural residents, were slow to embrace western education.
Sir Dawda was blind to tribal labels; he saw every citizen as a Gambian, first and foremost. After the PPP came to power, in 1962, some of his closest associates called for a “Mandinkanisation” of the Civil Service. Prominent among them was a former Vice President. Sir Dawda rejected that idea! His answer to his critics: let the Mandingoes send their children to school. He understood the dangerous precedent it would have set as it would have constituted a gross violation of the rights of those who would, otherwise, have become fired civil servants.
The Mandingoes heeded his advice and sent their children to school. While my grandfather and father’s generation ceded western education, and the ensuing jobs that come with it, to the residents of Banjul and the urban areas, who were disproportionately Wollof, my generation did not. The increase in enrollment of the rural kids engendered diversity, competition, and a larger educated and productive workforce.
The Creoles (Akus) were the first group of educated Gambians, most of whom came from Sierra Leone, to serve as clerks in the Colonial Administration; followed by the Wollofs of Banjul and the urban areas. The Wollofs arrived in Banjul, in large numbers, in 1885, following the defeat of Saidy Matty Bah by the French and their local allies. Saidy Matty Bah was the paternal grandfather of longtime Imam of Banjul, Alhagie Momodou Lamin Bah.
As residents of Banjul, the Wollofs had no choice, but to send their children to school. It was out of necessity—there are no farmlands in Banjul, unlike Saloum. All Muslim societies were very skeptical of the white man and his religion. That partly explains the slow acceptance of western education by the residents of the provinces, where most Mandingoes live. However, even the Mandingoes, Fullahs, Jolas, Sarahules in the Banjul and the urban areas sent their children to school. Do Janneh Kunda (Sarahules) on Hagan Street in Banjul, or the “Mamburays” (Mandinkas) of Kombo/Spalding Streets ring a bell? Very few Gambian families produced more educated Gambians than them.
After the Anglo-Boer war (1899-1902), the veneer of invincibility of the British Empire was shattered. Britain won the war, but it was a hollow victory. From that point, the British knew that independence for the colonies was inevitable. Therefore, they built Armitage School, in 1927, to educate the children of Chiefs and their close associates, for them to become the future administrators of the colony. Before Armitage was built, the children of Chiefs were educated at schools in Banjul and the urban areas. For this reason, Mama Tamba Jammeh of Illiassa, whose father, Jatta Selung, was the Chief of Badibou, attended Mohammedan School, in Banjul, in 1905; meanwhile, his son, Kebba Jammeh, attended Armitage School. Matarr Ceesay of Njawo, Upper Saloum, Central River Region was also among the first, few educated rural residents. This resulted in a concentration of educated Gambians in the rural areas, from the beginning to the mid-20th century, around Chieftaincies, in places like Brikama, Kudang, Salikenni, or Essau; or the Trading centres of Georgetown, Bansang, Basse, or Kaur. As you can see, The Gambia did not have a “Tribal Divide”; she had a rural-urban divide, in terms of education.
Meanwhile, the United African Company (UAC) was tasked with the provision of higher education for the children of their traders to become the professional class of The Gambia. I am not sure, but I think S Madi Limited played a similar role for the children of their traders. Would someone verify that for me and the readers?
Sir Dawda abhorred tribalism and understood the impermanence and “Shifting Sands” realities of politics, where loyalties and alliances change and evolve, over time. Politicians are no different from the general population; they look for paths to the advancement of their careers. The Late A.B. Njie and the Late Garba Jahumpa began their political careers in the Muslim Congress Party, which merged with the Democratic Party, to form the Democratic Congress Party. M.C. Cham began his political career in the United Party (UP). However, these politicians ended their political careers as members of the PPP and were among its staunchest supporters. The late Mam Alieu Jack, and the late Attorney General Lamin Saho were Wollofs, but were early supporters of PPP. Sir Dawda knew that no great Party or country can be comprised of one tribe.
The other lethal weapon in Yahya Jammeh’s toolkit: was “Money”. To the dismay and horror of many Gambians, we were surprised that his killers (The Junglers) were not hired mercenaries from Cassamance, but Gambian citizens from all tribes and regions of the country. The Junglerswere motivated by money. Each Jungler had to justify his presence on Jammeh’s payroll; as a result, the more brutal and outrageous you were, the higher you were regarded and rewarded. It worked pretty well for Saul Badgie; therefore, each Junglertried to outdo Saul Badgie, in wickedness, and brutality, which is a tall order. At the end of the day, innocent Gambians and non-Gambians paid a huge price.
In The Gambia, unlike Rwanda or Kenya, where political atrocities were tribal based, Gambian atrocities were the work and responsibility of a single crazed, demented, megalomaniac, hell-bent on maintaining power, at any cost. For that—we should thank God! The proof of that is he killed his own brother, Haruna Jammeh, for advising him to be more empathetic. Mafougi Sonko, a Jola, suffered beyond belief. Besides those who paid the ultimate price (their lives), or maimed, no one suffered like Mafougi Sonko. Here was a driver, who was not privy to the planning of the November 11th, 1994 coup attempt but languished in jail for 9 years. An overwhelming majority of Gambians see the Jolas as hardworking and honest individuals. Yahya Jammeh was an “equal opportunity dispenser” of misery and deprivation.
TRRC witness Alagie Kanteh correctly summed up the Gambia’s misfortune: He characterized Yahya Jammeh as a narcissist, megalomaniac; Sanna Sabally as a liar, and a paranoid schizophrenic; and Edward Singhateh as a sadist, who delighted in inflicting pain and suffering. That became a lethal concoction of brutality, and depravity. The Deepest parts of Hell await the five members of the AFPRC and the Junglers, who perpetrated such heinous crimes against innocent Gambians. No amount of pilgrimages to Mecca, Rome, or Jerusalem can atone for their sins.
Education is very important! The worst torturers during the brutal reign of Yahya Jammeh tended to be the least educated. It is not a coincidence that the relatively educated members of the Army (Momar Cham, Alagie Kanteh, or RSM Jeng) tended to be the voices of reason and moderation. Yahya Jammeh purged them from the army, and was left with the likes of Saul Badjie, Umpa Mendy, Alagie Martin, or Sanna Manjang—the monsters with a human face. Some of us are old enough to remember the brutal dictators: Idi Amin of Uganda; Bokassa of the Central African Republic; or Samuel Doe of Liberia. The common denominator between these tyrants: lack of education.
I, like most Gambians, have friendship and familial relationships across tribal lines. According to my father, my grandfather was more fluent in Sarahule than Mandinka; I can barely construct a sentence in Sarahule. My mothers’s family are Serrers; I can barely understand a word of Serrer. Some of my best friends are Jola; some of my nieces and nephews are Jola or Fullah. There is a lot of intermarriage within Gambian society. My relationships are a reflection of the relationships of most Gambians. Very few of us can claim to have their roots in only one tribe.
Yahya Jammeh pitted tribes against one another, and the likes of Momodou Sabally played along. No amount of money or title should warrant that! We are better than that: the behavior of Momodou Sabally, Edward Graham, Saul Badgie, and the Junglers. In order to inject moderation and sanity into our politics, the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) should remove the “Plurality Clause” from the presidential elections to a Majority Clause”. In a plurality, the presidential candidate can be elected with as little as 20% of the votes, as long as he/she gains the most votes. Yahya Jammeh knew and that was the reason for his abominable politics of “divide and rule”. When a candidate, just like Senegal, needs a majority (51%) of the votes to be president, he/she appeals to all sectors of the society.
We are one people; let us never, ever forget that! We are closer to another than Yahya Jammeh wished us to believe. We should avoid emphasizing tribal identities, once again, just like Senegal did. We should emphasize our national identities, as Gambians, full stop! No single tribe has ever achieved greatness—ALONE! The great empires were comprised of multiple tribes and ethnicities be it Mali, Ghana, Rome, Egypt, or Mauryan (roughly modern India) empires!