When Halifah Sallah came last summer as an invited guest of the ALD , I
attended all the public fora he spoke at. I enjoyed everyone of them
notwithstanding some differences I have with MR Sallah and his party. But
what left a lasting impression in me was the few but extremely dedicated
supporters who were by Mr Sallah's side . They were Gambians based here in
the US some of whom lived as far away as the midwest. You could see the
passion in their eyes as they coordinated everything from occasionally
adjusting his microphone , to distributing PDOIS literature and audio tapes.
Talking to them quickly reveal people driven by genuine faith in a message
and a people. Travelling hundreds of miles and expending resources to help
spread a messsage they believe in is an admirable demonstration of
participatory democracy in which individuals in their small way contribute
immensely to the course of freedom and change. Afterall participation is what
lies at the very heart of democracy and it is only when we as individulas
choose to pertake in the political process can we shape and influence our
destiny as a nation. No one is entitle to great leadership and no such
leadership miraculously emanates from a vacuum. We all have a duty to work
for the kind of society we want to live in. That means rolling up our sleeves
and doing the hard work of coming together to fashion a governmental
framework that would actually help our people. If we don't quickly dispense
with the paralysis  and decay that lack of participation invariably entails,
we may not have a nation to save. Until at such time that we as a people
decide to resort to alternative means of change , we must give the political
process our utmost. The politicians we will meet on Friday and Saturday on
the 25 and 26 of May are not perfect by anymeans. Their separate or combined
platforms may not incorporate all of the ideas and visions we desire for our
country. They may not be verulent idealogues. But Ousainou Darboe, Hamat Bah
and Sedia Jatta are honourable men dedicated to their country. They will come
to the United States to ask you the sons and daughters of Gambia to fully
pariticipate in the salvation of the nation. We, their hosts would come down
to two profound choices. First we can offer full partnership by acknowledging
the scope of the danger enveloping our country and doing whatever is
necessary to forestall it. That would mean committing time and resources and
actively engaging the politicians on the ground.On the otherhand we can
choose the easier alternative of disengaging, pronouncing events back home as
hopeless and irreversable . We can pretend that all fault lies on the
struggling politicians with no resources. When we settle for the latter , we
would have by implication forfeited our right to complain and consign
ourselves to the dubious distinction of being the generation of Gambians who
sat by while their nation was destroyed and their people enslaved. We must
expunge from our system the very unhealthy habbit of excuse making and
bickering as a cynical ploy to avoid doing the hard work we know is required
for success. We can spend a lifetime finding fault with everyone or thing we
encounter . The task for a people desiring positive change is the ability to
transcend personal apprehension, suspicions and other inhibitions inorder to
achieve the broader objective of the common good. Even mature democracies
contend with intra-party disagreements . Their strength lie in the
organisations ability to sort out these inherent differences in a manner that
leaves them stronger. At this difficult time in our country , we must learn
to parlay our relatively minor differences into a strong and effective
platform for change. Our biggest hindrance is our propensity to reject people
and their efforts out of hand if we perceive them to be unsuitable. Lets
embrace our politicians and in the process lobby them for the things we care
about. Lets help them financially to whatever extent we can. We have asked
sufficient questions. Let us now work our answers into the kind of
transformational politics we all say we want. We must all be the great guys
who ably served as leutenants for MR Sallah. It is their kind who would make
Gambia better.
Karamba

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