Brother Abdu,
 
You wrote:
 
Any individual following the history of fragility of NADD will agree with  me 
that sensational journalist is the attribution of the break down of that  
coalition.




As I always say, anyone who is presenting themselves as a potential leader  
of a country and who either takes personally or cannot withstand criticism both 
 by the media and by the general public who have a right to scrutinize them 
needs  to excuse us and go find another trade. We cannot use sensational 
journalism as  the excuse to abandon or embark on a cause or make a decision that  
eventually betrays the people. What was at stake was too great and required  
the resolve of true leaders who can do the right thing and make  the  right 
decisions who can never be distracted from the importance  of that goal by 
anything or anyone.  Therefore, people who are so  easily distracted have no place in 
it. So let us put that  excuse aside. We  do not need basket cases as 
potential leaders. To paraphrase a famous American  leader, If they cannot withstand 
the heat, they must get out of the  kitchen.
 
As Laye Jallow already pointed out, 
 
"This is what democracy is all about. It is the voice of those  who
participated that matters at the end of the day even if their decision  is
the worst for the majority"
 
The fact of the matter is that those people who stayed home and failed  to 
vote and some of those who went over to the APRC were disillusioned by the  
breakup of the original coalition, period! and it is time to accept that as  
opposed to cooking up all manner of excuses as the reason when everyone  knows the 
reason. The UDP lost ground with some of their supporters who were  angry that 
they left the coalition and that is why they were able to pull only  27% of 
the vote despite their union with the NRP and GDP and Hamat Bah likewise  lost 
supporters because of the same reason plus various other issues and  nothing 
else. 
 
This exercise of engaging in all manner of feel good exercises rather that  
calling a spade a spade are some of the very reasons that the UDP lost some of  
their support base. They insisted on feeding the people various and sundry  
excuses that seemed to change from one day to the next as to why they left  the 
coalition,  when the people knew better and it looks like they  still have 
not learnt a lesson. Where are the thinkers and strategists in this  party?
 
If those who made a mistake cannot asses themselves and do the right thing  
so we can regroup, Yaya Jammeh will be there for the 40 years he promises  
Gambians. 
It is like a drug addict, unless they can come to terms and admit the fact  
that they are addicted and want and need help, no amount of therapy  can help 
them kick the habit.
It is time to set aside the excuses and do a retrospective in order to  move 
forward and those who fail to do that will forever be lost in self  delusion 
and Jammeh stays where he is to the detriment of our people. It is a  recurring 
problem that will not go away and has to be answered and acted upon if  we 
are to get rid of the menace of Yaya Jammeha and that is whether one is  
motivated by a quest for individual and partisan  power or the  interest of the 
people as a whole. The Gambian people are waiting for that  answer and whoever does 
not want to come to terms with that fact is a part  of our problems.
 
Jabou Joh

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