Because I’m drowning in a sea of assignments, I’ll be brief. Having watched
the “100 feet deep” video which is several hours long, I have to say that
our tiny nation call Gambia is in serious trouble. First, as I’ve said many
times before, Yaya Jammeh has NO business running anything of substance,
much less a country. But even worse (if this video is anything to go by,)
Yaya is by no means a lone marauder. Yes, people kiss up to power
everywhere. However, that sorry trait is turned into an art form by too many
people back home. As sad as it is, that “too many” people include some very
elderly people. To most of us who look to our senior citizens as the
repositories of wit and wisdom, conscientiousness and honor, this video
offers no solace in that direction. To the contrary, it’s an indictment of
Gambian grandees.
There has been a lot of broo-ha-ha from our end regarding Yaya Jammeh’s
“incitement” to the group to take the law into their hands. In truth, Yaya
hasn’t incited the group any more than they incited him against the UDP.
(From the video, one might as well assume that there is no other opposition
party in the country apart from the UDP. Every single lash at the opposition
was directed towards the UDP.) But overall, it’s as if Yaya on the one hand,
and the cadres on the other, were engaged in a contest to decide who could
outdo the other in terms of being the most outrageous. There’s something
truly surreal, and sickening about the whole affair considering the status
of one of the participants. I’ll give a brief overview of what I recall from
the major speakers.
First, the sitting arrangement: Samba Faal (Bjl Mayor) was seated at the
extreme right; Yaya Jammeh (R) and Yankuba Touray ( L) are in the middle;
and Baba Jobe sat at the extreme left of a long table facing their troops.)
Yaya, (in his usual make-belief “am Mr. Pious” role) wore an oversized
Warramba, and white Muslim cap. (The man reminds me of my grand father on
Fridays – only he is at least forty years younger.)
Acting West Jarra Chief Yaya Jarjusey chaired the meeting, and like all
Chairmen, he had a few words to say after every speaker spoke. Let’s just
say that the Jarra blood in me makes me want to puke each time the charlatan
spoke! But he wasn’t the biggest disappointment. Read on.
Samba Faal – This was my first time to see this fellow. But, as APRC cadres
come, he didn’t disappoint. Mr. Mayor might as well be re-named “Chief Ass
Licker.” Both the posture of the fellow -when he had the floor, and his
utterance, reveal a man who would tell Yaya anything he (Yaya) wants to
hear. He rambled on about “the politics of development vs. the politics of
deceit.” I don’t need to tell you which type of politics he said they were
engaged in. When he was done, I seriously doubt if anyone had a clue about
what he was trying to say.
Speaker x – Due to the noise in the room at the time, I missed the name of
some fellow from CRD who gave us a very frank view of their movement. This
guy, who was commending the “job” the “boys” have been doing since ’94,
betrayed the semantics involved in the APRC Name Games. Speaking in
Mandinka, he said “…at the time, we were called July 22nd Movement.” I said
“Yes! Gotcha!” So, the word is out: “APRC Youth Wing” is the SAME as “July
22nd Movement!” The fellow, like many speakers after him, went on to praise
their Assistant Commissioners for the wonderful job they were doing. It’s on
video.
Alh. Banta Camara – This old man is one of the biggest disappointments of
the video. I was really struck by his old age- grey beard and all. He’s
clearly a lot older than my own Dad who is in his mid sixties. Yet, some of
the most disgusting ideas and confessions in that video came from this old
man. He spoke of his role in Basse, and how he has been reporting disloyal
civil servants to no avail. “Until today, nothing has happened to them,” he
lamented in Mandinka. He kept asking “why, why, why?” But as if that isn’t
enough, the old man started quoting the Quran to back what he was saying. He
was particularly emphatic about Yaya meting out retribution against his
enemies. “Even Allah, who has made us all,” he said, “doesn’t forgive those
who transgress against him. That’s why some people will go to hell.” He
therefore incited Yaya to take action against those who disparage him. He
recalled the Basse incident, which he apparently helped forment. At some
point, he tried to quote some verse from the Quran but couldn’t. “How do
they say it again?” he asked his cohorts twice. It wouldn’t be too bad if
this is an aberration, but the reality is that, we have many Alh. Banta
Camaras in that tiny country: people in their twilight of life, who instead
of frowning upon worldly perquisites in favor of basic decency, choose to
wallow in hypocrisy with reckless abandon. “Keep the fingers crossed for The
Gambia” is all I can say.
Modou Soma Jobe – Well, Soma Jobe won’t be himself if he didn’t combine the
charlatan with the Brutus. He was really brief (for which I am thankful.)
He warned against ethnic baiting, and gave the group one of his trademark
one-liners. Quite uncharacteristic, this speech was for Soma Jobe.
Mafuji xx – I didn’t catch this fellow’s last name, but I gathered from
someone that he works for the Health Dept. One thing though, he speaks
exactly like Soma Jobe: the fanaticism, the arrogance, the ignorance, the
hypocrisy, and the works… This Mafuji fellow ranted about civil servants
that dare tell him “your government.” He wondered why those people don’t
resign their government positions and wait for “their government’s” time.
Yaya Jammeh interrupted his speech to ask him to give him the name(s) of any
civil servant who dares voice his/her cynicism about the APRC govt. On went
Mafuji…
Hon.? Jones (Bjl MP) – I have to say that Jones was the biggest
disappointment to me. Why? Jones left his Qualified Teacher job to dedicate
his life to PDOIS. But something went wrong somewhere. And I’m not talking
about his fall-out with PDOIS. MP Jones went on about the inadequacy of the
Parliamentary System, never really spelling out what he wants done to the
system. He said the system is serving the interest of the former colonial
masters rather than the ordinary African masses. That the masters have
realized that it’s easier to control (African) nations by hand-picking a few
people, and using them to accomplish their designs without having to go
through the masses. I couldn’t believe what I was watching. Even a PDOIS
renegade could do better than that. I find his assertion ridiculous, if for
nothing else, but that, the system he was ranting against, is in fact one
that feeds him. It would be more appropriate if he had resigned from
parliament, and denounced the system as a marionette of the “masters.” But
“eating the cake and having it” simultaneously turns many off, as it did I.
And for good reason. He then went on about how the youth should “Japalleh”
Yaya Jammeh in what he is doing to develop the country. Some things are not
meant to be understood folks! Apparently years of being Halifa Sallah aide
hasn’t done much for this fellow.
Mrs. Yaya Jarjusey – If one thinks the great Seyfo is out of his rockers,
one hasn’t tried the Madam! She gave the most memorable speech in the video
lamenting their leader’s silence about reports in the media. “They give
interviews in the Observer, you keep quiet; they give interviews on BBC, you
keep quiet; no one hears your side; that’s very disheartening; … they’ve
recognized all of us now, so if this ‘thing’ rocks, we’re all in for hard
times; …you have to be on our side – you cannot be neutral; you have to do
something about the ‘short man’ (an obvious reference to Ousainu Darbo.”)
Blah, blah, blah!
Yankuba Touray - I have to say that I was really disappointed by Yankuba. I
was expecting Yankuba, the Loose Canon–cum-demagogue. I didn’t see that. In
truth, Yankuba gave the most coherent and responsible speech at that
meeting. He spoke of how they (the cadres) could help their party instead
of the empty revolutionary mumbo-jumbo. And he did raise a few discipline
issues. Overall, I have no quarrels with what the guy said. If he can
influence his people to behave the way he was exhorting them, our nation
will be the better for it. Deep down though, I have doubts about the guy’s
sincerity in that speech. We’ll see if his actions match his words. But I
respect what he said in that video.
The big Kahuna- Uncle Yaya took over, and the gist of his speech as
published by Gambian newspapers, will go down in history as one of the most
crude, and vile speeches ever given by a Head of State. However, those of us
who subscribe to the notion that Yaya has a tribal agenda (and I belong to
this group) need to “chill.” Yaya simply has a lot of help, like I’ve said
many times before. From the makeup, and look of that tape, most of the
speakers are Mandinka people. Yet, to the last person, they were all
inciting Yaya against Ousainu Darbo, who is one of them! So, in honesty,
it’s unfair to heap all the tribal disharmony blame on Yaya Jammeh. What I
SAW on that tape isn’t a group of people who were being coerced by Yaya to
say crazy things. Rather, it’s a group of otherwise responsible adults who
are offering themselves as Yaya’s WILLING executioners and tormentors of
their fellow Gambian citizens. There is nothing that Yaya said at that
meeting that is extraordinary within the scheme of things. In isolation, we
cringe at the foul and uncouth language, but that was what his audience
asked for. Yaya simply gave his people what they wanted. The only problem
was he insisted that the entire country see the show. Quite unfortunate.
It’s sad and tragic, but that’s what I gathered from this horror movie. I
did see Koto Modou Pikka on the tape. He’s definitely not the man he used to
be. For lack of time, I’ve gotta go!
Good day!
Saul.
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