Opinion
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Mr Samuel Gibba and the Rt Rev Michael Cleary
An unwarranted attack on the Bishop of Banjul
A corroboration of the views expressed in Part 1 & 2
Part 3
By S.H.M. Jones
Feb 4, 2005, 11:29

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I reproduce below four excerpts from three previously published articles, which speak for themselves.

Also included in this part of the series are two comments: the first draws attention to the similarity of the Bishop’s Call to Gambians and my own Appeal to various categories of Gambians.
The second deals with the attitude of some Gambians to “Foreigners”.

A
“To stand up and be counted”

“This is not a battle cry, most definitely not a ‘Call to Arms’’’.
“It is my considered opinion that Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara has rendered sterling service to The Gambia. His place as a ‘Founding Father’ of the modern GAMBIAN NATION-STATE is assured; it will not be affected told by either mud-slinging or muck-raking. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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I trust he will be consoled by the knowledge that many Gambians, of whom I wish “to stand up and be counted”, are immensely grateful for the services he has rendered over the years to The Gambia, our Homeland.
Extract from a letter published in this Newspaper, entitled
“No mud-slinging” Sam H.M. Jones, Fajara August 1994

B
Does “Bishop Cleary’s inability to solve the problems of Northern Ireland disqualify him from expressing his views on the cold-blooded murder of one of our leading journalists?
“Apart from this conspicuous act” of Vandalism, which was well calculated to put the Newspaper out of action, this crime was compounded by the attempt to incinerate all the Workers of the press at the time of the attack. Mercifully, the latter fought hard to foil the nefarious intention of the intruders.
Is the criticism of President Jammeh, his Government and his party a sufficient justification for inflicting a financial loss of such magnitude on a small and struggling Newspaper?
Is the criticism of President Jammeh, his government and his party, an illegal or unlawful activity?
Is such criticism a sufficient justification for the planning of the cold-blooded murder of the Workers in this press?
Is anyone justified in taking the life of another human being?”
Extract from an Article published in The Observer, The Point and The Independent entitled:
“The ARSON ATTACK ON THE INDEPENDENT PRINTING PRESS” S.H.M. Jones, Fajara, April 21, 2004.

C
“Instead of Preaching Peace, you are preaching Spite, Division and Anarchy”.
“I appeal to:
(i) the Leaders of the Supreme Islamic Council and the Christian Council in their respective Mosques and Churches to condemn unequivocally the perpetrators of this possible crime.
(ii) The Ministers and Members of Parliament to condemn unreservedly the perpetrators of this outrage.
I look forward to the Hon. Member for Serrehkounda Central proposing an appropriate MOTION at the next session of Parliament, which I hope will receive the whole hearted support of his fellow Legislators.
(iii) the Readers of the Local Press to
(a) write letters to the editor of their particular Newspaper expressing their horror at the action of the Arsonists and condemning the latter in no uncertain terms
(b) read aloud the words of our NATIONAL ANTHEM and follow this up with a period of complete silence to enable them to mediate on the import of the words:
“And pray
that all may live in Unity,
Freedom and Peace each day.
Let Justice guide our actions
towards the common good.
And join our diverse people
to prove man’s Brotherhood”.

“I entertain the hope that President Jammeh will see his way clear to condemn unequivocally the action of those whom I have christened ‘our home-grown terrorists’ as robustly as he has condemned the Terrorists who have operated in Israel, some Arab States and more recently, in Spain.”

Extracts also from
“The Arson attack on the Independent printing press” S.H.M. Jones, Fajara, April 21, 2004.

Comment
Without doubt, the Bishop’s “Call to Gambians in his now famous Homily on Christmas eve is not in anyway different from my earlier “Appeal” to various groups in our Society. What I have expressed at considerable length in the latter, Bishop Cleary expressed succinctly in one short paragraph. I do admire his conciseness and will endeavour to emulate him.
D
“He is a Nigerian - a ‘foreigner’ who is temporarily working in The Gambia”.
“A native of another country but nevertheless, deserving of respect and courtesy from all of us, his host”.
Extracts from parts 1 and 2 of this series.

Comment
I thoroughly dislike the word “foreigner” and, whenever possible, avoid using it, because of its negative connotations namely, one who is regarded as:
(a) a second-class citizen who, it seems, is not entitled to the Rights and Privileges of Gambians
(b) not welcome in our country, because he is “not one of us”
(c) he takes jobs, which properly belongs to our own people
(d) he prospers at our expense

etc etc etc etc.

The matter of the attitude of some Gambians to “foreigners” and their behaviour to them, particularly to those holding high office in the Religious and Secular World cannot be adequately dealt with in the space available for this contribution.

In the next instalment, which will be the last in the series on Mr Samuel Gibba and the Rt Rev Michael Cleary, I shall deal with this aspect of the matter.

© Copyright 2003 by Observer Company

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