*Character Assassination or a question of scrutinizing the record and
integrity of an ‘enabler’ who fell out with President Yahya Jammeh:
 The case of former Professor Dr Amadou ‘Scattered’ Janneh*

By Momodou Olly Mboge

The heated argument that erupted following the excellent factual scrutiny
of Dr Amadou ‘Scattered’ Janneh’s record both before and during his tenure
as one of President Yahya Jammeh’s State Ministers or Secretaries rumbles
on.  The defenders of Janneh or should I say the ‘critically minded
analyst’ or the ‘the politically incorrect’ as one claimed, believe that
Prince Obrien-Coker and those who agree with his analogy are engaged in
assassinating the good character of Janneh as well as trying to elbow him
(and ‘turn coats like him’) out from the ranks of the opposition.  Their
arguments are becoming hysterical and incoherent the more they come out
swinging in defense of Janneh.

Those who agree with Prince instead believe that it is prudent, fair, and
wise to be reminded of the ‘turn coats’ among the opponents of Jammeh who
are being compared with ‘Mandela’ as well as being positioned as the new
enlightened ‘saviours’ and champions of the struggle to rid the Gambia of
Sheikh His Excellency President Alhagi Dr Professor Yahya Jammeh.  Since I
consider myself among those who agree with Prince Obrien-Coker’s
observation, I am apt to think that he is asking and trying to answer the
‘never again’ question so as not to let future generations of Gambians
being led astray in the struggle against tyranny in their country.  The
Nigerian critic, Chinweizu, who has had many an intellectual battle with
Wole Soyinka cautioned against not asking and trying to answer the ‘never
again’ question in the analogy below.  He writes:

“Consider a man who has just escaped, half mauled, from the den of a pack
of hungry lions. If he is wise, his first order of business is to vow
“Never again!” and ask how he strayed there in the first place, and then to
take steps never again to make that mistake. If he does not do this, if he
fails to learn from his harrowing experience, he is stupid and deserves to
become the dinner for the next lion that comes his way. By failing to ask
and answer that “never again” question, Black Africa’s “independence”
generation let Black Africa down and led us astray.” Chinweizu (2008)

Indeed the Gambian opposition to SHEPAD Jammeh has been mauled more than
one time by pretenders and opportunists.  It is way beyond the point it
should have asked the ‘never again’ question and to find answers to such a
crucial question.  It will be more than stupidity not to do so.  Prince
Obrien-Coker has cued us.  We should be having more of the type of scrutiny
he has made on the records of Dr A S Janneh.  Dr Janneh sullied his own
integrity by dining and enabling the devil.  As one observer on the online
forums the good Dr ‘assassinated his own character’ and I should add he has
done a damn good job.  No spinning can change that.

The lead defender of Amadou Scattered Janneh, Mathew Jallow whose
narcissism and charlatanry are legendary tells us that what Prince
Obrien-Coker wrote about his friend Janneh is just the ‘fertile
imagination’ of the gentleman devoid of evidence.  He wants us to believe
that Dr Janneh and his likes were actually in the government system to
subvert President Jammeh’s efforts.  In the words Mathew Jallow: “From the
day of his appointment to the day of his dismissal, Dr. Janneh worked
actively but clandestinely every opportunity he had to undermine the Yahya
Jammeh regime”.  Jallow goes on to cite some evidence for this, one of
which was when Janneh was accused of working for foreign agents.   The
funny thing about Mathew’s rebuttal of Prince Obrien-Coker’s facts is that
he would not divulge certain information because if does he will be
endangering some lives in the Gambia. Standard evasiveness.  Well, to be me
this is an absurd excuse. If Mathew and his friends are serious in their
claim that people are trying to ‘assassinate the character’ of the good Dr
or shall I say Professor A S Janneh.  I think they should be more
convincing in their arguments than hiding behind flimsy and preposterous
excuses which no one can verify or substantiate. Mathew, the man who has
bamboozled us with his skills and intellectual acumen as well as being the
‘most qualified Gambian to be President’ should stop taking people for
being stupid.  Most Gambians are discerning and are engaged critically at
all levels with the struggle to get rid of Jammeh.

As I hurriedly stated in a response (full of errors) to an editor of one of
the Gambian online papers the idea that Dr Amadou S Janneh is a Mandela
figure who has suddenly brought to light the conditions in Gambian prisons
is I repeat a fallacy and ‘nonsense on stilts’ which obviously means
nonsense upon nonsense.  Any honest person following what is going on in
the Gambia knows that Foroyaa has spent a lot of ink and paper concerning
the conditions in Gambian prisons.  Halifa Sallah, yes Halifa Sallah whose
mention stirs a lot anger and vitriol from some of his so-called,
self-ascribed ‘critical scrutinisers’ has continuously spoken and written
about Gambian prison conditions.  Many other people with experience of
those conditions have spoken about it.  The conditions in Gambian prison
have not changed since Dr Janneh’s sojourn.  Dr Janneh suffered for no
one.  Though I agree he was wrongly incarcerated, he did not go to prison
for the ‘people’.

Furthermore, the idea that we can learn from Dr A S Janneh’s proximity to
President Jammeh is neither here nor there.  There is nothing we do not
know about Jammeh that we can learn from Dr Janneh so that argument should
be thrown where it belongs in the trash can.

For what it is worth, no one is denying Dr Amadou Scattered Janneh or
people like him the right to oppose President Jammeh.  He has all the right
to do so.  Equally no one should try to stop people scrutinising the
integrity of persons like him based on facts about their record.

In the mean time I eagerly await more installments from Prince Obrien-Coker
of the type on Amadou S Janneh.


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