Independence march past turns to
mumbo jumbo
The independence celebrations march past used to be
dedicated to school children and voluntary organisations,
and everyone used to anxiously look forward to it, but
recently, it seems to have taken a completely different
dimension. Instead of being centred on the children, it
appears that more attention was this time focused on the
'sindola' groups and other APRC-mobilised so-called
cultural
groups. Therefore, as a result of the attempt by those
heavily
politicised groups to steal the show, the entire
celebration
seems to have lost the regalia and touch it used to enjoy.
What we witnessed on that day at the Independence
Stadium was a kind of mumbo-jumbo show in which
President Jammeh himself actively took part, no doubt to
the chagrin of his honoured guests and many other people
present. I am sure instead of being impressed by such
fetishism, many of those present and those who saw the
activities on television must have been repulsed by it. It
was
indeed anachronistic for the organisers of the march past
to
allow those 'sindola' groups to demonstrate the violent use
of machetes and other crude weapons on each other, right
in the presence of the young children. Are we not sending
the wrong message to our kids that violence is quite an
acceptable part of our culture? I have no doubt also that
most Gambians who saw it may have felt quite uneasy and
may have even been embarrassed to see our own head of
state completely ignore protocol and seem to participate in
such a bizarre show, particularly during our most important
national day.
There is no doubt that it is perfectly alright for us to
demonstrate the richness of our cultural heritage whenever
the opportunity arises, but what actually took place at the
Independence Stadium on that day was certainly out of
place and out of tune with the occasion. If President
Jammeh
had indeed wanted his guests to see the 'sindola'
performances and his own participation in the ceremonies,
he could have arranged it at his residence in Kanilai rather
than use the national celebrations to do that. I am sure
most
people would like to see the celebrations continue in their
original format rather than being so politically
manipulated, in
which case they risk losing their touch and appeal to the
school children and everyone else. Even the very fact that
the
stadium this time round was only about half filled was an
indication that many people are beginning to lose interest
in
the trend that the celebrations seem to be taking. It is
therefore time that the authorities took stock of the
situation
and maintain some consistency rather than having to
introduce a new element into the celebrations every so
often,
thus leaving everyone confused as to what would happen
next.
The fact that much more attention seems to have been given
to the 'sindola' groups than the school children, whose day
it
was supposed to be, certainly did not auger well for the
celebrations. It appears that the organisers lost sight of
the
fact that the children, some as young as eight, were
standing in that stadium from as early as 6am and most of
them had become so exhausted that they lost concentration.
By the time President Jammeh began to deliver his speech
after midday, even the teachers had lost control of the
children and those who could still stand the heat and
thirst
could be seen running about all over the place. It was also
not a surprise that when the 'sindola' groups took over the
stage, virtually everyone in the stands got up to go home,
which was another clear indication that many people were
not the least impressed by what was going on. I only hope
that the organisers get the message that these politicised
cultural performances have no place in the celebrations,
otherwise, hardly anyone would like to attend subsequent
celebrations.
I wish to however commend the authorities for their decision
to not only decentralise the celebrations, but to also
ensure
that they were held in all the divisions on the same day
instead of continuing with the idea of some places
celebrating the event six months later when it had lost all
its
significance.
I have no doubt that if all the irrelevant elements like
the
'sindola' performances and the political gimmickry were
removed from the celebrations, the march past would
certainly regain its popularity and appeal. However, I think
the commissioners should have been left to prepare their
own
addresses rather than having to read President Jammeh's
speech. It was also good to give the children the
opportunity
to give the vote of thanks, but again, they should have
been
allowed to speak their own mind rather than being compelled
to read a speech prepared for them by someone somewhere
who may not have been quite familiar with their specific
problems. It is certainly not anyone's business to tell the
children what to tell President Jammeh and the nation.
During the march past at the Independence Stadium, and
as far as I know in the various divisional celebration,
there
was a noticeable absence of the opposition leadership.
Were they not invited this year, or did they boycott the
celebrations.
Copyright 2000 QuantumNET
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