I only add that Sir  Dawda's neutral and more desirable posture cannot 
bring clansmen together.  Clansmen who retreat into their ethnic bunkers for 
lack of vision for commoner  relief. No matter how angelic a president is, when 
he/she leads a mass of  illiterate savages feigning non-ethnic alignment 
instead of confronting the  malignant contagion of such proclivities, ere the 
reach of fraudulent agency in  fetid want overcomes Gabriel's sojourn. They 
cry; "rule of law", "democracy",  "Human Rights" as they recoil further and 
further, into their self-interest  caverns. 
Haruna. 
Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara:A  Statesman for the Ages 
By Mathew K. Jallow, Associate  Editor 
The term “Founding Father” conjures up  mental images of the American 
Revolution, and applying it to Sir Dawda K.  Jawara, has always felt like a 
stretch for me. Yet, the realism and enigma of  Sir Dawda is articulated in the 
pioneering spirit with which he so ably led The  Gambia into the 
mush-rooming age of political independence. President Jawara was  molded by a cast that 
almost defied definition. As the embodiment of an  amalgamation of three 
cultures wrapped into one person, Sir Dawda, out of social  expediency, 
developed a redeeming neutral identify that combined the Fula and  Wollof 
upbringing, which set him on the journey towards identity crisis; the  refined 
sophistication of the Aku cultures into which he got married; and the  
omnipresent Mandinka heritage, which loomed large in his background. And,  growing up 
in Bathurst, now Banjul, where his sense of  tribal identity was diffused by 
homogenizing cultural forces more powerful than  the confounding sense of 
tribe, Sir Dawda, by default, became victim of the  environmental 
circumstances, which pervaded his early life. And in the end, with  the pull of the 
different cultures, and draw of conflicting identities, Sir  Dawda rose above 
the narrow limitations of tribe, into a neutral identity where  he found safe 
haven from the demons of his inner conflicts. When he was called  to 
respond to the tribal self-interests that consumed the antagonistic tribal  forces 
in his government, he seemed to quietly retreat into the familiar  neutral. 
Today, fifteen years after his fall, the story of Sir Dawda is still  being 
written by the inadvertent paradoxes of history; as testament to the  
genius of his leadership style. The verdict of history will cast President  
Jawara in good light; notwithstanding the economic failures, which led to his  
political downfall. 
 
Ex- President Jawara, Education  Minister, M C Cham and Lady Njaimeh 
Jawara, 1977 Independence @ MacCarthy  Square 
Throughout his public  life, Sir Dawda’s had remained rational to a fault, 
show-casing the  well-balanced, if not non-intrusive qualities that often 
bordered on political  detachment. Sir Dawda was never given to drama, and 
even when the resources of  our country were plundered right before his eyes, 
he almost seemed unable to  provoke accountability and discipline in response 
to the exigencies of the  moment. One would think Sir Dawda was the victim 
of his popularity, or perhaps  he never learnt to hold the feet of his 
subordinates to the fire; but whatever  it was, in the end, his nonchalant 
approach to governance drew a lot of  criticism even as our country was descending 
into the unfathomable depths of the  tribal infighting, which seemed to 
color and obscure all the good that we took  for granted. Yet, today, in 
retrospect, Gambians will choose to relive the worst  of the Jawara era, than 
remain prisoner to the state of suspended animation  which is challenging our 
consciences and degrading our humanity. By every  measure, the past fifteen 
years have been a radical departure from the nostalgic  and tempered period of 
the Jawara era; an era that gave rise to a new paradigm  embodied in the 
irony of conflicting harmony. Jawara was certainly a man of  vision both by 
nature and circumstance, yet he was a man lacking the strength  and the force 
of will to rein in the run-away looting and plunder that still  continues to 
cast the darkest shadow on his otherwise unblemished legacy. Sir  Dawda is 
the picture of nobility and grace, a rare breed with an almost angelic  
serenity; a man fixated more on his unique qualities as a compassionate  
statesman than on a need to enrich himself with the wealth of our nation. In  that 
regard alone, Sir Dawda is the definition and the embodiment of honor.  
During his thirty-year  long presidency, Sir Dawda did all he could to 
provide opportunity for Gambians,  yet somehow, the cloud of moral and ethical 
degradation that hung over his  successive governments, failed to alert his 
good judgment, for reason that still  leaves Gambians scratching their heads 
with perplexity. As president, Sir Dawda  Jawara was unlike most African 
leaders of his generation, who took advantage of  their positions to enrich 
themselves. If there was one negative on which there  is universal agreement 
about the era of Sir Dawda, it was that he overstayed as  our president, even 
when the signs for his departure were written on the wall.  But, since we 
cannot undo the past, we must at least find solace in the glory of  the 
remarkable achievements of Sir Dawda’s long reign. Today, only a few other  
African countries have had the success of ingraining the values of democracy and  
the rule of law in their citizens as The Gambia under Sir Dawda. For ours 
was  not the romantic notion of democracy; judging by the plethora of angry 
voices  shouting freedom from behind the ominous dark shadows of the confining 
walls of  our prisons, to the unforgiving distances separating Gambians 
from their beloved  homeland. Gambians on all continents have formed a critical 
mass in opposing  Jammeh’s murderous dictatorial regime, and this is 
possible only because Sir  Dawda gave us a taste of what it was like to live as 
free men and women. Today,  the narcissism of Yahya Jammeh stands in sharp 
contrast to the humility of Sir  Dawda, whose majestic certitude is the product 
of knowledge and cultured  disposition. True, Sir Dawda will admit to his 
failings, but he has given us a  lot more, and to me he has fulfilled his 
contract with Gambian people. For if  truth be told, there is no greater gift 
Sir Dawda could give us than the gift of  liberty. And as age takes its toll, 
and Sir Dawda continues the dignified march  towards the sunset, his legacy 
remains etched in our hearts, our souls and all  across our land. We can be 
proud of Sir Dawda, a statesman for the ages,  respected all around the 
world. And we wish him the best of luck with the book  launch at the Kairaba 
hotel later today.


¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤