"The leadership of the UDP/NRP Alliance is  very conversant with the laws of 
The Gambia and in particular laws  regulating and governing election matters. 
Probably if the views of some  people who are part of the UDP/NRP Alliance 
were heeded the legal and  constitutional mess created by the registration of 
NADD would have been  averted."

Well, in view of the above pronouncement, the billion dollar  questions I 
would like to ask are these. If the intentions of the UDP/NRP to  forge an 
alliance with the other opposition parties were sincere and genuine and  They were 
not seeking and have never sought power for its sake as they say, then  one 
must necessarily ask:

1. where were all these learned legal minds who  claim to be "conversant with 
the laws of 
The Gambia and in particular laws  regulating and governing election matters" 
when the formation of NADD was  presented to them and they accepted it?

2. Where were these capable legal  minds when the MOU was being put together 
so they could lend their legal  expertise to make sure they applied the above 
mentioned knowledge to ensure no  problems arose with the terms outlined in 
the document?

3. And even if  these capable legal minds did not take part in formulating 
the MOU ( and if so,  then shame on them) where were they when it was time to 
review it and make sure  that nothing jeopadizes this golden opportunity for all 
those who profess to  love and dedicate themselves to the service of our 
country and our people to  join hands and pool resources together to save mother 
Gambia from the APRC beast  that is devouring our country and our people on a 
daily basis? Surely nothing  could be more urgent or more important for all 
patriotic sons and daughters who  are not driven by personal aggrandizement and 
lust for power to make certain  that this document was in order?. Surely no one 
with such legal expertise or who  has such legal expertise available to them 
should ever have to affix their  signature to a document they vehemently 
disagree with, especially a document  that spells out an agreement such as this if 
your intention was to really abide  by the agreement?

3. Where were they when the registration of NADD as a  political party was 
proposed to them and upon reviewing the MOU, their legal  expertise led them to 
the conclusion they are now claiming as the reason they  left NADD? Then what 
exactly was the reason they did not scream as loud as  possible to oppose it 
for the sake of salvaging the alliance for the interest of  Gambia and the long 
suffering Gambian public if their intentions in this regards  were genuine? 

4. Where were they when they held a grand signing ceremony  of the NADD MOU 
kindling a hope in our people that they later trampled  upon?

5. Where were they when they jointly agreed to sponsor candidates  under the 
NADD ticket?

One would have thought that these capable legal  minds who want to lead a 
country forward would have never agreed to put pen to  paper to sign unto 
something that their legal expertise told them was flawed in  the first place instead 
of using it as an excuse after the fact or was that the  plan?

Besides,  UDP & NRP were still in NADD after the same  court ruling that Mr 
Darboe is quoting as the reason they cannot re-join NADD  now was made and they 
still went on to field a NADD candidate in the  by-elections. Why did they 
not leave NADD there and then even if their legal  expertise missed all the 
above mentioned opportune times to object to the MOU up  to that time?

The proposal by the UDP/NRP alliance to have NADD join them  and just leave 
the rest of the details to be worked out according to the  constitution is not 
one made in good faith by someone who wants to  see the  opposition unite  or 
who wants to see real change in our political system,  nor does it reflect the 
legal expertise that is being claimed here because our  constitution is in 
tatters and anyone who wants to conduct business under a new  government 
according to the present constitution that Yaya Jammeh has altered  beyond 
recognition to legitimize his criminal acts against our people signals a  scary prospect 
indeed. 
Such a proposal in my view was put forth because the  UDP/NRP alliance is not 
interested in any reconcilliation of the opposition to  save Gambians from a 
brutal dictatorship. They simply still foolishly think they  can win come 
September or they think they can bamboozle their colleagues in NADD  to surrender 
to them and tote the line like Mr Hamat Bah so Ousainou Darboe can  fulfill 
his dreams of becoming President.

They knew no one in their  right minds who had the interest of our people and 
our country at heart would  agree to such a preposterous and insincere 
proposal. 

This agenda of the  UDP/NRP alliance is clearly manifested in this response 
and in the almost  daily.barrage of UDP/NRP supporters' writings on this list 
as well as in other  Gambian online papers where they shamelessly engage in 
manifesting the most  blatant hatred, mostly towards the person of Halifa Sallah 
that I have ever seen  Gambians engage in even at the expense of sounding 
totally clueless about what  it is that really matters here. And what is it that 
Halifa Sallah and NADD are  guilty of except wanting the best for all Gambians 
and having the capability and  competence to bring about such change? 

What a shame that when our  country and our people are at their most needy 
hour, all these biased, power  seeking and yes tribalists have to offer us is a 
daily dose of hatred for their  compatriots that is so evident in their 
writings in which one can clearly see  that it is certainly not intelligence and a 
dedication to what is best for all  Gambia's people that guides them, but 
rather the propagation of self interest  even at the expense of our national 
interest. The question we must make sure we  ask ourselves in the face of such is 
this. Can we in Africa afford to continue  to lend our support to such backward 
thinking individuals and still hope to have  results that are different from 
what we have had for far too many years and  which has brought us to where we 
are today? As someone said, to engage in that  exercise is the definition of 
insanity.

If Gambians want to see a change  that is real, and not just another window 
dressing exercise with dubious agenda,  a change that is sincere, genuine and 
something they can truly experience, and  which will come as a result of the 
work and dedication of capable and truly  dedicated people whose only desire is 
to do what is best for ALL Gambians  regardless of ethnic, religious or tribal 
affiliation, a Gambia where you do not  have to be afraid to speak your mind 
or support the political party of your  choice, then PLEASE DO SOMETHING GOOD 
FOR YOURSELVES AS WELL AS ALL YOUR FELLOW  GAMBIANS AND VOTE FOR NADD come 
September 22!!

Jabou Joh  

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