My Fellow Gambians,

As each day passes, the scale of the problems in our country becomes more
and more intimidating and depressing. In fact, I now begin to wonder whether
the damage already suffered by our beloved country can ever be fully
repaired.

Each minute, each hour, each day, each week, each month, each year that
Jammeh remains in the presidency, the more the crisis engulfing our country
deepens.

My sixteenth message deals with the points I elucidated in a previous
posting (Contents of message 16 on 6th September). I have endeavoured to
highlight the main issues involved in each point, and should welcome
critical response from the readership of these Internet postings of mine.


1. An Overview of the Plight of Gambian Citizens


At the domestic level, Jammeh has failed to deliver in every single respect:
unemployment is rising daily and rapidly; prices of staple goods are
sky-rocketing by the hour; some public servants are not paid their salaries
on time; our roads become increasingly impassable; our refuse disposal
systems pose even greater health hazards for all the community; our
electricity supply gets closer to non-existence; our water supply becomes
unsafer; our schools become more overpopulated, under-resourced and
under-staffed; poverty of a scale we have never previously known grows; our
health service gets closer to collapse and our environment deteriorates.

Still at the domestic level, but more importantly in a way, corruption has
become the keyword to describe the leadership of the country.  Jammeh
travels frequently and with an entourage which grows with each trip; the
renovation of State House in Banjul is months behind schedule and millions
of Dalasis over budget  (as well as being undertaken by Moroccans rather
than Gambians); central government operations are at a virtual standstill,
and the government/public coffers are being depleted at an ever-accelerating
pace.

I even hear that Amadou Samba is trying to recover the sum of 14 million
Dalasis that the Jammeh Government is said to be owing him, but to no avail.

The Government is proving to be one built on lies, prevarications, excuses
and intimidation: even its own supporters are now saying publicly that
Jammeh and the APRC have failed them.

Clearly, under Jammeh, attitudes of apathy and fatalism have taken over in
our Gambia: the country is dogged by myriad problems. Poverty now exists on
a scale that is totally unacceptable, and is threatening the very survival
of individuals and families.

In fact, some would argue that political repression in The Gambia, at the
level at which it exists, is still not the greatest and gravest threat: they
perceive that poverty in all its terrible shapes and forms comprises the
greatest threat to Gambian dignity and honour.

Poverty in the Gambia is now at such a bad pitch that people are saying that
democracy will make no sense, unless poverty is tackled immediately: their
view is that LIFE itself is the first human right, and that when poverty is
allowed to threaten so many of our citizen’s lives, then democracy becomes a
illusory ideal.

At a regional level, Jammeh is destroying The Gambia’s image and
credibility.  He is at daggers drawn with President Wade in Senegal because
of the Casamance crisis: President Kumba Yala of Guinea Bissau does not
trust Jammeh any longer because of Jammeh’s links with Ansumana Manneh:
Nigerian President Obasanjo will not even deign to sit at the same table
with Jammeh.

Even South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki has been apprised of Jammeh’s lies and
subterfuge:  Jammeh told the South Africans that ESKOM would be given the
electricity contract in The Gambia, but later they discovered that Jammeh
was actually using Sam Sarr as a cover for his partly-owned company.

Our relations with our fellow African states are characterised by lying,
artifice, dodgy dealing, cheating and corruption on the part of Jammeh and
his government. At this current United Nations Millennium Summit, Thabo
Mbeki even went as far as to out rightly refuse to meet Jammeh personally.
What a disgusting and depressing state of affairs.

At an international level, The Gambia’s image is at an all-time low.  Thanks
to Jammeh we are now known as a rogue state, a drug state:  unreliable and
untrustworthy in the extreme. In the not too distant future, we shall also
be accused (and rightly so) of being a terrorist state because of Jammeh’s
illicit dealings with countries that support terrorism and terrorist
atrocities.

No wonder at the present UN Summit in New York, Jammeh is seen as a joke of
a leader, and no other world leader of good repute wants to have anything to
do with him.  Jammeh blames Sedat Jobe, his Foreign Minister and Blaise
Jagne, the Gambia’s Ambassador to the UN for this state of affairs, but the
truth of the matter is apparent to all of us clear-thinking Gambians.  We
can lay the blame directly at Jammeh’s feet.

Even the leaders of the Arab countries are running away from Jammeh, because
it has become clear to them that the man is a fake and a scoundrel.  They
note that he even uses his LEFT hand to hold the Kurus (Islamic beads)! They
are now realising that Jammeh is only interested in the money he can get
from them.

Whichever way you look at it, Jammeh is known now as a man of lies,
corruption, unreliability, disloyalty, shadiness and cunning. He is also
slated for his extremely low levels of intellectual ability.


2. A Closer Look At what Gambians Now Have to Contend With


As long as Jammeh remains the president of our nation, the future of The
Gambia will remain uncertain. For this reason, all Gambians MUST now take a
more proactive role in the day-to-day running of the country.

As a people, history will certainly and justifiably indict us if we watch
our country slide ever more quickly and certainly into anarchy and chaos.
We have a duty of conscience to ourselves, to humanity at large, to
posterity to work together and uproot this evil demon from office, and to
put in his place a leader who will be truly orientated to The Gambia, and
who will have our country’s best interests at heart.

The prolonged nature of militarism and despotism in The Gambia must be
brought to an end with all speed: authoritarianism has had its day, and we
have to give precedence to seeing the back of it.

Also, the economic crisis has to be dealt with as a matter of immediacy and
urgency: given the current desperate state of stagnation, the very
sovereignty of our nation is at risk. And without any effective economic
base, our country is finished.

We really do have to come together as a people determined to fight against
military rule masquerading as democracy, against the violation of the
fundamental human rights of Gambians; against lawlessness and social chaos.
We can never hope to move forwards under an oppressive regime as epitomised
by Jammeh’s.

Gambians are having to contend with terrible pressures: repressive acts, the
suppression of a free and honest media, the politicisation of the judiciary,
economic partiality on the part of government; electoral interference by the
ruling party; theft on a grand public scale; intimidation of ordinary
citizens; MURDER by government decree.

We cannot stand idly by and watch the social, economic, judicial and
political disintegration of our homeland. We absolutely HAVE to take action
and reclaim our rights as Gambian citizens. We have the right to expect
justice, freedom, equal opportunity in all areas of life (including health,
education, infrastructure): we have the right to be consulted by the
government we elect:  we have the right to be respected by our leaders: we
have the right of citizens to high national, continental and international
reputation: we have the right to look to contribute to the development of
our nation in every aspect:  we have the right to live freely and without
fear.


3. Assuming "People Power"


We absolutely have to assume "people power": to expect that our leaders and
government agencies will take note of our views, our dreams, our ideals.
Ordinary Gambians have the entitlement to an opinion freely held and freely
expressed: they have the entitlement to expect that each and every citizen
can make an important and effective contribution to national development.

People have to be encouraged to perceive themselves as constructively
critical agents of their leaders: they have the right to disagree or agree;
to suggest improvement or to criticise improvements.

Until Gambians understand that their leaders are not demigods or
intrinsically "better" people than themselves, then we cannot progress.  The
empowerment of the people lies mainly with the attitudes of the people
themselves, and we have to work towards this wholeheartedly and with
commitment and belief.




4. Using The Ballot Box To Best Effect



The ballot box is going to be the tool of the people in deciding their own
preferred future: we have to commence a massive political education and
sensitisation programme in order to ensure that every Gambian with a vote,
uses that vote freely and with understanding of all the issues.

We have to ensure that each Gambian of voting age, registers for a voter’s
card:  that there is no collusion or conspiracy to avert the true electoral
process. We also have to ensure that we involve as many national and
international agencies as possible in supervising the whole electoral
process, to ensure that the forthcoming elections are truly free, fair,
incorrupt and representative of the true will of the people.



5. How Ordinary Gambians Can Move The Country On


Ordinary Gambians have a paramount role to play in moving their country on:
they have to learn to be discriminating; to be truthful; to be reliable; to
be hard-working; to be decent; to be socially aware; to be mindful of the
views of others; to be tolerant; to be just; to be committed to freedom and
democracy; to be fair in their judgements; to be honest in their reactions;
to be willing to compromise in the national interest; above all, to have
self-respect.



6. Gambians Looking To Their Own Personal Future


If we can get our attitudes set on a fair and true course, then we can
genuinely expect to make a positive difference in our country. By looking to
our own futures (in terms of educating ourselves and our children to the
best of our abilities; to developing our sense of social responsibility; to
contributing personally towards the wealth and health of our nation; to
accepting personal responsibility; to cultivating the best in our human
nature), then we can move ourselves and our families forwards, and put our
country back on the right tracks to prosperity, decency, independence and
democracy.

Gambians should be looking to the betterment of individuals, of their
families, of their village, of their District, of their Division, of their
Nation.  We have seen what will happen if we leave the running of our
country to our present leaders: it is tantamount to committing suicide.
Gambians absolutely have to play an active part NOW, and in a post-Jammeh
administration.  "As we sow, so shall we reap".  We have to be looking
towards protecting the integrity, the sovereignty, the prosperity of our
nation otherwise all these ideals will be jeopardised in the medium and long
term.

Protecting our own future starts with protecting our country from top to
bottom, from tip to toe. We really do have to become more proactive; to take
ourselves seriously; to take education seriously: we have to learn, and get
"co naissance".  We have to be developmentally orientated, business
orientated, politically orientated; innovative; self-reliant.

We have every right to expect that our freely elected government will be
responsible and accountable for the day-to-day governance of the nation, but
we also have to acknowledge our own involvement in this.

In the post Jammeh era, we have to become self-disciplined, hard working,
self-reliant. In all these things, we have to start at home in our own
personal, domestic and employment lives. If we are going to move our country
on, then we also have to move ourselves on.


7. Safeguarding The Electoral Process


The ballot box has to be our major focus:  how we sensitise our people to
the important personal role each one has to play is going to be crucial.
All political parties will need to work hard to educate, educate, educate.
All national and international agencies will need to monitor, monitor,
monitor.  Every case of corruption or nepotism in the electoral process has
to be noted and reported.

As citizens we have to be certain that the electoral process is truly free
and fair: that every vote cast is counted accurately; that every shade of
opinion is respected and given media time:  that all our electoral officers
and officials are incorrupt and decent Gambians.  We should leave no stone
unturned in making sure that elections in The Gambia lead to a true and
representative reflection of the will of the people.



8. Our Responsibilities, The Elections and The Economic Plight of Our Nation


My Fellow Gambians!

The message is very clear! The situation in The Gambia is drastic in the
extreme, and it cannot improve under Jammeh. We have to take the
minute-by-minute deterioration seriously.  Were it not for the financial aid
that many Gambians living abroad were sending home, then the domestic
situation could be even more traumatically serious.

However, the reality is that not every Gambian has a brother or sister or
cousin working or living abroad. Most are self-reliant, and for them the
pressures of daily life are becoming insupportable.

Our problems are numerous: solving them starts with changing the leadership
of our country. All the background to the current crises is the result of
bad governance. No Gambian needs a reminder of the devastating situation in
our land:  it is there for everybody to see.

The sooner we eject Jammeh and the APRC from power, then the sooner we can
endeavour to put our country back together again. With God’s good help, and
by working together with The Gambia’s best interests at hear, WE CAN DO IT.

Ebrima Ceesay
Birmingham, UK.


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