I must confess when  some great list members proposed we make a collective
effort to engage the government of Yayah Jammeh, I felt a sudden shudder in
my spine. Sure their intentions are most laudable in that they want us all to
try to work at resolving the numerous problems we face as a people. They set
out parameters that could conceivably serve as a framework for the dialogue
even though this government  by dint of it's nature would find those basic
conditions anathema. If a government has to be goaded into treating it's
people lawfully , it is my contention that attempting to constructively
engage that government would not only be inconsistent, it would also
inadvertently rationalise all the wrongs that have come to symbolise this
regime. Why, list members , do you think it would be worthwhile to engage a
government whose leadership constantly run roughshod of the laws and
constitution of the nation? They have honed criminal behavior to a fine art
by murdering and torturing their opponents with impunity. While they were
quick to throw people out of their homes and confiscate their property, they
have failed to properly adjudicate these so called cases of ill-gotten wealth
in a court of law. Their intention was not primarily geared towards
recovering public funds , something I support whole heartedly, rather they
embarked on their brand of justice which was essentially premised on
vindictiveness.
If for some reason some list members want to hold their noses and agree to
engage the president by proxy through his aids in a bid to bring change, I
can say with reasonable certainty it too would be an exercise in futility. Do
we seriously that Dr Sedat Jobe or Tombong Saidy or anyone close to Yahya
would somehow turn to men of virtue ? They know this President is a criminal
and ought to be removed from office but being in the positions they are has
gotten the better of them. They will tag along for as long as the shipwreck
avoid making them casualities. For the men around the President, no price is
too high for them. The people of the country can die of treatable illnesses,
schools can fail  and the people can wallow in extreme hardship, these folks
would take no responsibility. They and the man they serve are content with
running a rudderless government that is unraveling to the core. They have all
become experts at shirking responsibility and blaming someone else for
institutional failure. How for example can the president possibly do anything
about corruption when he is it's very embodiment. Sure he would loudly and
personally dismiss a few government employees as a way to posture for the
public and to some extent the international community most of whose leaders
would not touch him with a ten foot pole because of his questionable
legitimacy. It would however be seen for what it is, a hollow and meaningless
harangue that does not address the rot the he personifies.

I think a better Gambia lies squarely in the hands her children. We must
always be thankful if the thoughtful among us urge us to coalesce and do
good. Since we are all stakeholders in the affairs of our country , our
efforts would hence be primarily self-serving in that the very things we
endeavor would benefit us too.  By the same token , I believe we have  a
similar responsibility to reject off hand a tyrant who by all indications has
ruined the country in a cruel and cynical drive to enrich himself and oppress
an already beleaguered people. What i would  urge list members is to do all
they can to remove Yahya Jammeh and all that he represents and help build the
institutional framwork that can enable us all to do right by our nation and
people

Karamba

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