Mr Badou Jobe wrote:

"No doubt the 2nd story makes better reading, judging by the reactions. So I gladly leave the field to the likes of mr. Drammeh and his revelations, for the members of the Gambia-L to gloat on, wishing them happy reading".

No. Neither gloating nor schadenfreude here. A couple of people responded to Oko's posting and there is no reason to suppose that their views are respresentative in any way. Infact, I for one, do not agree with Brothers Elhajj's or Habib's position. I am inclined towards sharing the view advanced by Oko Drammeh, namely, we cannot hope to redress social problems if we desist from narrating their causes for fear of brewing fresh acrimony. 
That is a pattern common amongst Gambians, where the absence of anonimity, in the main, encourages hanging on to flimsy notions of unity as a way of preserving domestic peace. The reason, partly is because traditional(!) methods of conflict resolution invariably fail to objectively address the past. In the process all we do is to sacrifice justice for unity, a formula which itself is a greater threat to future projects of mutual solidarity and unity. Confronting our history, analysing it, and taking possession of it, owning to all the honourable and dishonourable roles of individuals (especially where they matter politically) is a necessary condition in our struggle to take control of our destiny. 

Our predicament, as it relates to Ifang Bondi, perhaps lies in devising mechanisms of narrating this history objectively without undue emphasis on the failures of individuals, the deployment of bilious langauge, in order to make possible a post-bitterness reconciliation amongst all the members of Ifang Bondi. 

All of you without exception, made important contributions, big or small,  to develop Ifang Bondi's music and thereby enrich Gambian culture immensely. Likewise, all of you influenced in different ways Ifang Bondi's demise. All of you must accept that responsibility in your own ways. With that perspective, it should be perhaps possible to narrate what happened rather than dwell on who did what.

Long Live th Memory of Paps Touray

momodou s sidibeh

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