Malik,

Please allow me to change the subject of our discussion to a mroe
appropriate one.

I see that our brothers with military background are not taking your
explanation of Jammehs’ mannerism on the premises of vertical/horizontal
socialization very well. I can understand where they are coming from and
that’s all well and dandy; but at the end of the day, Jammehs’ personality
as the president of The Republic of Gambia is what matters most. That is
what affects geopolitical positioning of the Gambia government in the New
World order. I think your explanation makes sense in describing how
Jammehs’ military orientation makes him become what we see in him today.
Those who knew the guy while he was a military police officer will agree
that he had always adored and believed in the use of brute force to resolve
situations. I think there is a certain degree of inherent personality that
has nothing to do with his military training. One can safely say that the
military environment only helped to bolster such inherent characteristics
and even more dangerously so, now that he has power and wealth to go with
that.

In moving on with our discussion, I would want to take issue with an
observation I had on your last posting. You had mentioned that “many of us
would try to blame those around him, but that would be a mistake because….”
I think you fell in the same trap of blaming those around him when in
describing how Blaise Jagne was at pains pleading for recognition you
mentioned the following: “ Blaise must realise that THEY are as equally
culpable as anyone else in creating such a diplomatic empasse. The ball is
in as much as it is in the international communities’ court it is equally
in THEIRS. Hence THEY most sort out the concerns that affects both Gambians
and the international community.” (My emphasis). I think you just want to
take the easy way out on this one but you must realize that part of the
blame will have to be apportioned to some of the high rolling toadies like
Blaise. They are the experts with the moral, professional and civic
obligation to steer the government, including Jammeh in the right direction
even if this means that it is the end of their stint. In the end, they
would have fulfilled their obligation to the people of The Gambia and
history will serve them well. This is why I will always respect people like
Alieu Ngum – a truly dedicated, principled and yet humble professional.
Those who know him will undoubtedly agree that the Gambia needs more of his
kind in these trying times. The last time I checked, he was an ambassador
somewhere in the Middle East. An expert in Public Finance! Sometimes I
wonder what people like Famara Jatta (SOS Finance) feel about how talents
and mentors like Ngum are being frustrated – though I doubt if Jammeh can
ever frustrate him. Now, to what we have in personality for a leader.

Allow me to take a slightly different approach in trying to understand
Jammehs’ mannerism as a leader of a developing nation like ours. I will
venture to use the concept of Emotional Intelligence – the application of
intelligence to our gut reactions, especially at times when a creative and
calm mind is what is needed to make a decision. In his book with the same
title published by Bantam Books in 1995, Daniel Goleman describes Emotional
Intelligence as “the abilities such as being able to motivate oneself and
persist in the face of frustration; to control impulse and delay
gratification; to regulate ones moods and keep distress from swamping the
ability to think; to empathize and to hope.” With that in mind, one can
fairly conclude that Jammeh has, on numerous occasions, demonstrated that
he is dangerously deficient in Emotional Intelligence when critically
needed. Of course, wherever you mention the name Yaya Jammeh words
like “intelligence” will be out-of-sync!

Now, how does one compensate for inherent lust for use of force to resolve
situations, a military background that encourages the concept of “command
and obey” - thus making it difficult to switch from vertical socialization
to horizontal integration. Moreover, the lack of Emotional Intelligence
when critically needed, to steer a nation yearning for a competent and
dedicated leadership that will be a force to reckon with. Jammeh will have
to undergo a total change in personality to achieve the standards of a
successful leader. Unfortunately, this might be unachievable and even
worse, the damage is already done with hundreds of innocent lives lost and
many others languishing in jail for no apparent reason. The question is, is
he willing and ready to accept responsibility for the damage done and take
the opportunity to change the way he us ruling the country. This will by no
means exonerate him from the loss of life and continuous incarceration of
the innocent law abiding citizens, but will help to put the country in
track for a well-deserved prosperity and peace we all yearn for. I think
Aristotle meant well when he said:  “Anyone can become angry – that is
easy. But to be angry with the right person, to right degree, at the right
time, for the right purpose and in the right way – this is not easy.”
Malik, we have an angry ruler, no doubt. However, is he angry at the right
person, at the right time, for the right purpose, in the right manner? That
is the question.  What are your take folks?

Abdoulie A. Jallow
(BambaLaye)

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