Malik,

I apologize for the lag on my part in response to your last posting on this
discussion.  I believe that this is an issue that needs much attention from
everyone concerned with how Yaya is ruling the country. Now that we have a
common understanding of the issue of Jammehs' personality, I will venture
to take it a little bit further than him being a nag in the way he conducts
himself as a head of state on many occasions. Inasmuch as he is responsible
for his public utterances and deeds, part of my dispraise for such behavior
will however, have to be apportioned to those in a position to tell him off
when necessary. In particular, the members of his literally non-existent
club of toadies.

Malik, in Africa, we always fall in the trap of making kings out of idiots
and clowns. That is from the lowest threshold of the meaning of the word.
Every chapter of the African history bears an episode of such a character.
Gambia is no exception. We are guilty of making a big deal out of our
leaders. We tend to subdue and be content with what we have as leader as
being ordained by the Almighty. How many times have you heard “Yala mo kofa
tek.”? Such attitude is what makes Yaya and dolts like him so haughty,
unbelievable sometimes. They are not even remotely close to being what we
expect of leaders by example. I can vividly remember what transpires during
the ”Mansabengos” in Brikama in the PPP era. The chiefs being literally
worshiped as some of them ride their clear white stallions in crowds of
thousands. Do we want to flip the pages of history backwards? I guess not.
Yaya wants us to do just that when he said that the democracy of
the “khaftan” and “sword” is what is right for Gambia as he shows the
heartfelt desire to be worshiped by his group of toadies. He is acting like
a 19th century king in the 21st. Moreover, he seems to have the admiration
of many in our midst. People need to understand that much of what Gambia is
going through as a developing nation in the eyes of the world is dictated
by the conduct and perspective of those who put themselves at the helm. The
world sees the Gambia in them. Their level of professionalism in conduct of
the state business is as important as the issues they seek to sell to the
development partners. I can only imagine the rush of adrenaline experienced
by some of the genuinely hard working professionals in the government when
Yaya goes through his spasms of idiocy.

Enjoy your day.

Abdoulie A. Jallow
(BambaLaye)

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