D.A.Jawo: A man,a mission
by Cherno Baba Jallow
in Detroit,USA
"You can't run tanks on hopes. You can't riddle people's yearnings
with bullets."
--- Pres. Ronald Reagan to Chinese leaders on Tiananmen
Square massacre.
Such was the toughness and outspokeness enshrined in the writings of
D.A.Jawo. A journalist of calibre and timbre,a man of unassuming character
and moral uprightness,Jawo recently became the first casualty of the change
of ownership of the Daily Observer Company. He was fired without good
reasons but apparently for his acerbic opinions and beliefs and ideas,on the
fossilization of his society. If you're looking for a prisoner of
conscience,Jawo is one.
Well,actually,he's no prisoner,but a victim - not of his own designs - but
those of the privileged few,luxuriating in covetous courtship with the
powerful,and hell-bent on stifling intellectual growth and freedom. Jawo may
have been driven to the edges of intellectual frustration, but the
ebullience and resilience in him,larger than imaginable,will rekindle his
hopes,put him once again,on the cusp of his mission: to speak the
unvarnished truth without fear or favour,in these days of Gambian political
insanity. And incivility.
While at the Observer,Jawo unwittingly earned himself the custodianship of
the newspaper's traditions and precepts. He infused responsibility and
accountability in all of us - young writers,occasionally prone to youthful
immaturities and peccadilloes yet working for a credibly serious newspaper.
He knew us all by our personae,typescripts,writing styles and work ethics.
And he would dutifully point out our errors and proffer solutions,and then
leave you to defend your position.
Jawo's writings as a reporter and columnist at the Observer had the cutting
edge of truth. He never shied away from speaking his mind even if the scales
of public opinion were against him. That's one of the traits of a good
columnist: readiness to grapple with any issues whether controversial or
inflammatory of majoritarian tyranny.
And Jawo was such good columnist. He wrote with verve and
enthuasism,profundity and clarity,honesty and objectivity. He combined
toughness and civility,which made his acerbic writings painfully
irresistible,instructively unputdownable. Read this:
"The AFPRC also promised us that openness,transparency and accountability
will be the hallmarks of the regime, but it appears that there is quite a
lot left to be desired in that regard. We have witnessed the summary
dismissal of senior civil servants and other republic servants,and others
have been arrested and detained without anyone caring to tell us the reasons
for such drastic actions." Jawo was doing a stocktaking of the AFPRC'S 100
days in power in 1994. Five years later,his words still have a ring of truth
about current political realities in our nation.
But Jawo had one skill that many columnists do not have: he had ways of
telling you 'go to hell' and still have you come back to him looking for
friendship. Do you want a proof of that? Just see how he single-handedly
challenged State House Imam Abdoulie Fatty on his fanatical
rabble-rousings,which Jawo considered to be inimical to Islamic
sanity,secular unity and societal progress. In return,the Imam "threatened"
Jawo,but later denied he ever did so. He said he would be happy to meet Jawo
and even shake hands with him.
Imam Fatty's overt change of heart was not because he wittingly submitted
himself to self-scrutiny,but because he discovered his threats could not
frighten Jawo into silence;that Jawo was a mountain that didn't move. He was
rock-solid in his opinions on the actions of the Imam. Jawo was not the type
of reporter or columnist easily brow-beaten into reticence. Speak his mind
he must!
I recall with great nostalgia my days at the Observer with Jawo. If he was
not editing news reports,he was always busy scribbling notes which he would
later develop into a thought-provoking essay or commentary. His eyes gazing
above the rims of his lenses,adorned with his grizzled hair,Jawo would
always engage us in journalistic dialogue on issues of the day. He would ask
probing questions and then a proliferation of ideas would follow. We never
always agreed with him,but oftentimes we listened with painstaking
attention,as he argued his points.
My respect for Jawo increased when, out of sheer ethica values,he stood by
me during my confrontation with the then Acting Nigerian High Commissioner
Goffrey Teneilabe. The High Commissioner was incensed by an article I wrote
in my column in 1995 lambasting his propagandist diplomacy at the behest of
Sani Abacha,Nigeria's most brutal military dictator since Ironsi in 1966.
I wrote: "Time after time,the Acting Nigerian High Commissioner,more
loquacious than profound,has put up a spirited defence in favour of the
Abacha regime. The Abuja administration is constantly proffered panegyric
stakes. And anything critical of it is viewed disdainfully." The High
Commisioner went bonkers! He threatened to sue me and the Daily Observer
Company,for libel? We wondered.
Granted,facts and Almighty God were on my side,and I had received tremendous
support from Nigerians in the streets,I still was visibly shaken by the
threat of a suit. Here was a young columnist taking to task a high
commissioner of the most powerful country in West Africa. I didn't want to
go through all the rigmarole of court proceedings;it was going to waste my
time and delay my efforts to pursue university education abroad,I lamented.
And I was concerned that my family,which was always opposed to my journalism
career,would have had more genuine reasons why I needed to quit the
profession.
But Jawo determinedly pep talked me out of my emotional distress. "You have
nothing to fear," he reassured me. "Your opinions are your opinions," he
added. He reasoned that to put me on trial for my opinions,expressed within
the ambits of the law,would be a travesty, and that the Nigerian High
Commission was simply fighting a rearguard situation.
Up till I left The Gambia in 1996,nobody would tell me anything more about a
lawsuit from the Nigerian High Commission. An informed source would later
tell me the suit-threat had been dropped,and the High Commissioner had
simply lodged a complaint against me at the Foreign Affairs Ministry on
Marina Parade.
Jawo's moral support was very instrumental. It energized my zeal to pen down
yet more groundbreaking articles. He dusted off old copies of the AfricaNow
and New African magazines from his drawers and handed them to me. His wish
was to open up my mind to the didactic writings of Peter Enahoro,Abdu Rahman
Babu and Phillip Ochieng,three great African columnists who made great
strides on Africa's journalistic scene in the 1970s and 80s. In those
days,Jawo was already writing in the opinion pages of these magazines. His
interest in journalism is as old as the hills.
Dismissal from the Observer will make not break Jawo. Always determined and
perceptive, he will bounce back and carry on with his mission. He is
undaunted. In the pursuit of truth he shall continue to persevere. And
survive. I think the world of Jawo.
_______________________________________________________________
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