Baba,
       This is a succinct and well  thought-out piece.

       There is a very fundamental element  that has been absent, since
African countries began to evolve from the yoke  of colonialism. This
fundamental element is the deliberate and conscious effort  to build a nation. Just
like a builder who puts a very strong  foundation to a structure to give it
durability, stability and permanence; so  also must a nation be constructed
to withstand all the forces of its  internal contradictions, and in the
process strengthen the pillars that  give stability to its existence, and peace
to its people.

The situation of the oppressor and the oppressed, is a  classical failure
of what emerging African states should have done at  the dawn of their
independence. And, indeed, all emerging nation-states, to  carve the destiny of a
nation rooted in strong institutions and structures that  promote social
cohesion, lessen conflict and strife, and engender a political  system that
peacefully transfer power from one person to another; from one  regime to the
next.

   Imagine, if our 1970 constitution had a provision for  presidential term
limits. The first Gambian president would have served for only  ten years
instead of over thirty. And even if the P.P.P were to rule for over  thirty
years, which they did, the country would have been governed under three
different administrations. The potential of the situation of the oppressor and
the oppressed would have been negated; the potential of each successive
administration to do better than the previous one, both in terms of human
resources and infrastructure development, would have been greater. And the
potential to have a coup that heightened and deepened the situation of the
oppressor and the oppressed would have been aborted.

   This should serve as a lesson to those who are in the process  of
negotiating a future for our country; and they should heed your advice as  stated
below:

   "The person who seeks  liberation must therefore engage in a regime of
resistance perpetually inspired  by an unshakable conviction that oppression
is to be rejected without  qualification, and that what comes next must be
carefully and constantly  contemplated and visualized every step of the way."

Rene




   For our purposes, and for those who are engaged in the  process of
negotiating a future for our country, they should heed your  words thus:



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