Here is one real life story amongst hundreds testifying the Kafkasque
state of affairs during the "Kairaba" years of Dr. Fafa (Jawara).
One instance of injustice to any citizen is sufficient enough to
expose jawara's dubious human rihts credentials.


Ebou

************
From http://www.observer.gm

Bantaba
Fodeh Baldeh
Writer, Lecturer, University of The Gambia
By Omar Bah
Feb 21, 2004, 11:55


The AuthorFodeh Baldeh, a lecturer of English at the University of
The Gambia was born 56 years ago in the Central River village of
Fulabantang. His eventful life saw him as a teacher, political
detainee and writer. In this edition of Bantaba, Omar Bah asks him
about these and other matters.

Bantaba : How was life as a child in the remote Fulabantang village
in the 1950s?
Fodeh Baldeh: I was born in Fulabantang in 1948, an only child. I was
the first boy from the village to go to a secondary school in Banjul
in 1961. But that did not mean that the other pupils were dullards.
My parents were keen on education. I had a scholarship. As a matter
of fact, I was one out of 20 pupils in the whole country to be
awarded a government scholarship. At secondary school, I was good at
French, Latin and of course English. I always got encouragement from
my teachers for the wonderful essays I wrote.

What interested you in teaching?

When I graduated in 1972, I got appointment as a teacher in English
and French at Gambia High School. I was there for four years. I then
proceeded to Gambia College as a senior lecturer in English.
Why did you leave for Nigeria and stay there for 20 years?
The simple and straightforward answer to that question is this, there
was an attempted coup in The Gambia in 1981. I was among those people
who were detained. As a matter of fact, I was detained at Mile 2
prisons for 11 months and when I was released, I had to wait for a
couple of months to hear from the government as to my status at the
college. When eventually my appointment was terminated, I had no
option but to seek employment outside of the country.

Why were you detained for 11 months?

You know there was a coup. People were detained. I was accused of
being a co-conspirator.

But were you?

No. I wasn’t.

What happened then?

I was asked to read something in French and obviously, after the coup
anybody who had anything to do with the coup was arrested and
detained. I think it was a normal routine and I was released. I had
no grudge against anybody.

What statement did you read in French?

Well, I was approached by some young people if I could read French
and I said yes. I was then taken to Radio Gambia at Bakau and I was
asked to translate something that they wrote in English into French
and after that I went home.

Rebels or government soldiers?

Rebels

In law, that makes you an accessory to the crime. Why didn’t you
refuse since you knew they were unto something unholy?

It was not an easy moment, you remember, I wasn’t a collaborator. In
plain English, I will say I did it at gun point. But that doesn’t
mean that there was a gun being held against me. The situation
warranted that you do what you are told to do. But quite honestly, I
thought that asking for help as the rebels had wanted was an exercise
in futility.

So, you did it under duress?

Yes.

What were you charged with?

Just like any other person; with possessing arms and ammunition with
a view to overthrowing the lawful government of The Gambia.

Was that the grounds for detention of every person?

Fortunately or unfortunately, I’ve never held a gun in my life.

Where you participating in politics before that?

I have never been a card-carrying member of any political party. But
obviously, all human beings are political animals. As a student of
literature, as a student of humanities, as a human being, I am
interested in what goes on around me. And as such, I think I am a
political being.

Was the coup not used as a pretext by the then government to
witch-hunt or crack down on political elements?

Of course, there was an element of witch-hunting. I knew that
something was in the pipe line because after the attempted coup, they
started rounding-up people.

Why didn’t you run away when you knew your arrest was imminent?

That’s a good question. I would meet people in the street they would
tell me, we heard that the police are looking for you. So, one day I
went up to the police station in Banjul. There, I met the group of
people who were responsible for writing down the names of people to
be detained. I went up to them and asked if I was being sought for by
the police. They looked for my name in the list they couldn’t see it.
So I went back. Of course, I knew that was just postponing the evil
days and that one day I would be arrested. Since my conscience was
clear, I chose to stay and face the consequences. That’s what
happened.

Were you not a supporter of NCP?

I remember attending one or two NCP rallies but I think that was all,
really. I wasn’t really seriously committed but I was interested in
what was going on. I dabbled into politics yes, but never very
seriously.
Your incarceration gave you the time to write. Tell us about it?
In prison, one is isolated, one has nothing to do except to ponder on
one’s situation. I had written quite a good number of poems. I had
contributed quite a good number of articles in the Gambia News
Bulletin. I think that prison is a place where your creativity
blossoms.

What was your first poem?
Freedom is Dead!
Interpret it.
I wasn’t happy with the government of the day. It had been in power
for some 20 years. I’m a social commentator. Obviously, everybody now
knows that the coup was justified; that the PPP regime had done very
little to uplift the standard of living of Gambians. Everyone knew
that the country was ripe for change.
Some claim you authored the speech of the coup leader?
I was shocked to hear after my release from detention that I was the
author of the coup leader’s speech. You remember the speech of Kukoi
Samba Sanyang, the coup leader?
What connection did you have with Kukoi?
Actually, I first heard his name at St Augustine’s Secondary School
at Hagan Street. He was then known as Dominic. But I had not seen him
for ages. So, I couldn’t have been a party [to his coup].
Going back to your earlier statement, how can you justify Kukoi’s
attempted coup?
What I mean by the fact that the coup was justified is that the
people needed a change of government. But the Gambian people didn’t
necessarily want a revolution. You remember what led to the bloodshed
and looting? The Senegalese troops came in on behalf of Jawara, the
people were annoyed that the troops of a neighbouring country should
interfere in the internal affairs of The Gambia. So obviously, people
overreacted by looting, by killing in some cases.
In other words, President Jawara should have let the coupists take
over the country?
Obviously, I think if Jawara had behaved in a statesman-like manner,
if he had relinquished power... you remember the coup succeeded, you
remember it was the Senegalese Army that crushed the coup, and you
remember Jawara had been in power for about 20 years. So, obviously
if I were in his position, I would have resigned honourably.
What type of person did you see him as?
I think that Jawara was a person who thought that The Gambia belonged
to him, just like most African heads of state - that power is
God-given that it shouldn’t rotate.
Let’s saunter back to prison, how was life like in those 11 months of
you incarceration?
Very monotonous. As a detainee, you are confined to yourself. As a
prisoner, you are free to walk around. As a detainee, you just stay
indoors. It was a terrible status.
You wrote an anthology of poems while a detainee. How did you do
that?
That’s a good question. Prison life is not easy, you do not have
access to writing materials, you do not have access to newspapers.
Through the good offices of one or two prison warders, I was able to
get a pen and cigarette paper and I was able to scribble these poems.
Anytime the inspiration came, I would just reach out for my pen and
scribble on the cigarette paper. Of course, they thought that I was a
fool.
What is the figurative meaning of your book, titled, Fate of An
African President with the portrait of a gun on the cover?
You know rightly or wrongly the fate of an African president is
associated with the gun. You use the gun to get power or the gun is
used against you. The fate of an African president is the title of
one of the poems in the book.
When released, why didn’t you sue the government for unlawful
detention and dismissal from your teaching job at the Gambia College?
The letter from then Principal of Gambia College stated that I had my
services terminated on the instructions of the Establishment
Secretary. Interestingly, the title of the letter was, “Participation
in the Rebellion”. I didn’t participate in the rebellion. I ought not
to have been sacked from my job. It was a very fluid situation. Maybe
I didn’t know the law that time and I thought that the best thing for
me to do was to leave the country. But I believe one should have sued
the government for unlawful detention.
And what were you doing in Nigeria?
I started as a teacher both at secondary school and university
levels. I was a writer, an editor and a publisher. I moved to the
position of managing editor. I had the Fulladu Publishing Company. I
have edited well over five to six hundred books.
Why was your doctorate thesis in which you criticised Nigerian
English, rejected?
I started my doctorate programme in 1986 and quite a good number of
people were not comfortable with my attitude towards what is called
Nigerian English. As a student of Languages, I aimed for standard
British English. Some of the professors were not happy, they thought
that I was arrogant. They thought that after all, we didn't have a
university and who was I to criticise the English of Nigerians? In
effect, I thought that my knowledge of the language was sufficient,
that a doctorate degree... well it is good to have a doctorate
degree, but then I thought that somehow I did not want to succumb to
blackmail.
Why did it have to take 10 years after the PPP government for you to
return?
On 28 July 1994, I wrote a congratulatory letter to Lt Yahya Jammeh.
I welcomed the change with open arms. I also wrote a piece to the
editor of West Africa magazine applauding the coup. At the time of
the coup, I was engaged in writing my main text book, that is,The
Student’s Companion to Good English. I thought that once I came back
to The Gambia, I would not have the opportunity of completing that
work.

© Copyright 2003 by Observer Company




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