Gambia L,
I was intending to do another commentary, on the Daily Observer situation,
by today, Monday, but circumstances have, in fact, forced me to defer such a
commentary, till later on, because I am still waiting for more concrete
facts and details concerning the sale.
What happened last night was that when I contacted a government source in
the Gambia, to quiz him about persistent allegations that Jammeh himself
was, actually, the true owner of the Daily Observer, he, the source, told me
about a new development in the Government, instead of denying or confirming
these allegations.
Therefore, I intend to contact him again, because my telephone card had
finished, before the Observer issue was addressed.
Meanwhile, this was part of what my source had to say: "Ebrima, guess what?
Essa Sey is going to be announced as The Gambia's Ambassador-designate to
France, to replace Njogou Bah, who has recently been recalled, while Maodo
Touray, former Chief Protocol to Jammeh, will be announced
Ambassador-designate to Belgium, to replace Ismaila Ceesay. No one is yet to
be named to replace Crispin Grey-Johnson in the USA".....
I couldn't believe me ears, when this top government insider told that Essa
Sey was going to be our new ambassador to such an important country like
France, where the ambassador also doubles as The Gambia's permanent
representative to UNESCO, which is also headquartered in Paris.
Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against Essa Sey. In fact, he is a friend
and, top of that, his wife is a relative. Also, Essa did write some nice
poems for the Daily Observer, while I was there. So I wish him good luck in
his new post, if everything goes according to planned.
But, in honest opinion, I believe a more seasoned, a more experienced
diplomat should be sent to such a key Embassy like Paris, especially having
regard to the fact that if my memory serves me right, Essa must have joined
the government (The Foreign Ministry) in 1993, as a protocol officer, after
having left the then Gerdarmerie/Gambia College.
Presently, I understand that he is a deputy permanent secretary and, prior
to that, he had served as a First Secretary at our Embassy in Paris, during
the transition period.
Yes, it is Jammeh's prerogative to appoint anyone he wants as Gambia's
ambassador/high commissioner, but please, Mr Jammeh, make sure that while
you consider "loyalty" in your ambassadorial appointments, you also consider
age, experience and even qualifications as well, if you truly love the
Gambia.
Interestingly, when I asked my source whether he knew why Njogou Bah - who I
must say did a good job as Gambia's ambassador/high commissioner to Senegal
during the transition - was recalled, he told me this in reply: "Well,
Njogou Bah's house maid in Paris, who is related to Mr X (I am withholding
Mr X's name) of the NIA, had a big quarrel with Njogou Bah's wife and,
consequently, she, the maid, reported Mrs Bah to the government, through the
NIA, that she, Mrs Bah, was (allegedly) rude, abusive, hostile etc."
"So I understand that Njogou was recalled as a result of this", the source
added. By the way, like Ebou Khan, Njogou Bah is also a leading interpreter,
when it comes to simultaneous interpretation from French into English.
Although he has not done sat in a booth for a long time now.
Anyway, in my view, given the mess in which our civil service in particular,
is in, I sincerely believe that the time has come for us to pose the
question as to who will save our motherland - the Jammeh's regime or another
one?
Personally, I feel a load of disappoinment in my heart, when I consider the
fact that my own classmates, members of my generation are raping and
destroying our country.
I feel guilt in myself, in the face of how The Gambia is being run, even
though I am not, and will never be, part of this government. History,
indeed, behoves me (and all of us for that matter) to be in the forefront
for the repair work that needs to be undertaken in the Gambia, because as I
stated earlier on, my old fiends, members of my generation are putting the
country into this mess.
However, I find consolation in my belief that the third liberation of the
Gambia will come on the waves of the printed word and, with long life and
good health, I believe I would be part of that struggle.
Thankfully, Gambians are now speaking out, but we need to speak out more and
more and, of course, louder than before, because, frankly speaking, our
failure to speak out, our continued silence in the face of tyranny will only
make our very selves the casualties.
We should never forget that normality and personal welfare flee in the face
of tyranny and oppression. What the Gambia needs to put in place, in my
view, is a genuine democratic culture, which allows a free press, an
independent judiciary, greater accountability, transparency, probity and
other forms of participatory democracy.
Most of us admire the democratic culture in the West, which even if critics
say is not very representative, offers more for humanity than the type of
systems we are used to, in the African Continent.
But we have to remember that what obtains in the West today did not fall
from the skies, which should, therefore, motivate us to use our limited time
in this world, to build our countries as developed as the West, or even
better.
Mr Jammeh, if you are reading this piece, I hope it would inspire you to
realise the historical prudence to allow a much more democratic society in
our land, so that our pride as a people and as a country will be restored.
Be reminded that no one can really stop an idea whose time has come and,
whether you like or not, the time has arrived for greater development and
genuine democracy in the Gambia.
Gambia L, sorry for boring to death, once more. I'll do better next time.
And, as my good sister, Ndey Jobarteh, says:"the struggle continues!"
Ebrima Ceesay,
Birmingham, UK.
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