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    OPINION  Professing to be perfect  By Jawara, The Stranger

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January 8, 2006
Recent events in the Gambia should concern every decent citizen of that country, whether you currently live in the Gambia or live somewhere far away from home. Many concerned citizens of our dear country are asking many questions than they can get answers for; yet there is little sign that such a scenario would abet any time soon.

It's been eleven years now since Gambians were awaken to a new socio-political era that would dictate their lives for a decade and counting. When Yahya Jammeh and his military colleagues knocked the doors of power in a memorable July morning, few Gambians knew that eleven years later one of the compelling questions many Gambians would be asking would read, "How did it all go wrong?". Yes, this is one of the compelling questions that lingers in the minds of many Gambians both at home and abroad. Unless you are living in the fantasy world of Jammeh's dictatorship, the picture of the Gambia reads a complex reality.

Whether out of distaste for the old guard, a mere yearning for change, or out of sheer ignorance, many Gambians greeted the emergence of the then military boys with applause. Dressed in strange camouflages and sandwiched between the past and the future, the military boys promised the Gambian populace that the days of the proverbial "monarchy" would be things of the past. For the future, they promised that the hallmark of their regime would be accountability, transparency and probity-the three candid, if sometimes misleading words that would disappear from the lips of our supposed emancipators forever. For all blatant denials of the promises they gave in the early days of their ascension to power, these three words remain the ones many Gambians would never forget.

The Jammeh regime's -from the military to the civilian, have failed to live up to the expectations of the Gambian people. As if that is not enough, Yahya Jammeh and his suitors have created a political atmosphere that can only be compared to the devilish styles of the dictators who came and miserably gone before him; Samuel Doe of Liberia, Emperor Bokassa of CAR, Idi Amin of Uganda, and recently his friend Charles Taylor of Liberia. It is no coincident that some of Jammeh's best friends, at least in the public purview- General Sanni Abacha, Charles Taylor, Moumour Ould Tayer, are dictators of the highest order.

Yahya Jammeh has succeeded, at least temporarily, in creating a police state in which the rule of the land is his rule. Our national constitution has been reduced to a history book, our judiciary has been politically creamed, and our legislature has been reduced to a boys and girls group who only say "Yes" to him. In addition to this unfortunate reckoning, Jammeh's unbounded and sometimes excruciating taste for power has reached its climax where dissent is seen as treason punishable. Creating a nostalgia for many Gambians for what they are used to, Jammeh's state machinery who operate at his will has poured terror in our land and succeeded in victimizing the innocent, the poor, the needy and the politically weak citizens. This is what makes it all the more important for us to reflect on our situation as people and to see if there is any alternative for survival. Let's suspend the topic of alternatives for a minute.

In the middle of Yahya Jammeh's political theatre in which dreams and dramas are hardly scarce, there is no sign of hope for a better and matured political environment. He has accused and imprisoned his staunch supporters, he had been accused of political murders, he presides over a fearful populace and, he has broken all the promises that gave him the chance to lead the Gambia through the transition from the military regime to a civilian one. It may be understandable for any leader to be vigilant about national security. However, Jammeh's recent accusations against his perceived enemies such as, ESPIONAGE, SUBVERTIVE ACTIVITES AND TERRORISM, shows a man who is confused to the core and is losing the battle to stay tuned with the political reality in his own party. If the accusation against Dr Scatter Janneh and that of Samba Bah, the former NIA boss are true, then why would his government let them walk free in the streets of the Gambia? Or are these mere rhetoric's of an embattled
 leader whose threshold of arrogance and self-inflicted fear knows no bounds? Whatever the answers, there is a need for restraint on the part of the Jammeh government in order to avert turmoil of any kind in our dear country. Our peaceful co-existence and ability to allow dissent are core values to our survival as a nation. Therefore, it goes without saying that we must keep our treasured peace as the first, not the last wall of defense.

Democracy cannot exist in the same aisle with tyranny. Where the former exists, the latter dies, and vice-versa. To protect our democracy, Jammeh's forces must learn to respect the rule of law and abide by the letters of the little valuable statues left in our constitution. The APRC government must accommodate people of other political affiliations in order to create a de-polluted political climate that could harm the endangered species of Gambia's political terrain. They must realize that the days of torturing the innocent with impunity belong to Africa's historical dust bins.

As a matter of fact, a stable political environment with no tilt of any sort should be created so that every Gambian, notwithstanding their political affiliations can have their say on matters that relate to the country that belongs to all Gambians. The Radio and the television of the republic of the Gambia should be open to all political parties in times of need and the dissemination of any information that is relevant to our country. Also, the APRC government should ensure that the security of the Gambian citizenry is not handled by fabricating stories against the innocent. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that every citizen lives in a secured environment. While delivering such a daunting task for everyone, no one should be used as a scapegoat as seen in the recent arrests and detentions of prominent Gambians. Unless there is a valid evidence which is irrefutable, any arrests for security reasons would create unnecessary alarms in our midst.

Talking of alarms, it is important to note that any crusade against the innocent would only last as long as it takes the truth to surface. It is no crime to accuse a person if reasonable doubt exists. It is the responsibility of our justice system to either exonerate individuals or convict them of what they are accused of. Yet, as seen in the Gambia recently, a plethora of arrests and detentions of individuals for no genuine reason can only succeed in creating an atmosphere of fear, anger and the macabre zeal for revenge. Although confident of his chance to weather every political storm filled by perceived enemies, Yahya Jammeh has no control over the power of human beings when they unite against a system or a person. Adolf Hitler could not withstand the pressure from the allies in the World War II. That was not because he was not smart enough to do so. It was not because he ran out of ideas of sinking civilization into anarchy. It was because his intention to rule over a united
 enemy hunted him and his treacherous ideologies. Yahya Jammeh and his cohorts may fall into the same trap, sooner or later.

It remains to be seen if there would be any elections in 2006. Would some mad soldiers overthrow Yahya Jammeh and his government? Would Yahya Jammeh declare Gambia a one party state? Would he just cancel the presidential elections? Would the newly political party, NADD, boycott the elections for lack of a level playing field?

While the answers to some of these questions remains open to debate, it is clear to me -base on records- that Yahya Jammeh would stop at nothing in making himself the president of the Gambia beyond 2006. President Jammeh is define by surprises and he lives a life full of them. Yet, any attempt by him to hijack legitimacy for the opposite would not go unchallenged by the Gambian people. For now though, let's hope that the opposition comes with a good alternative for the current corroded system of governance in the Gambia. The rest is history in the making.




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