Sister Jabou Joh wrote:

"We must learn to tell each other the truth and  criticize each other, respond to those criticisms without making the discussion personal. Objectivity and self examination, identifying where we are wrong and working to correct it is the goal of such an exchange. We must learn to correct each other gently".

Succinct, timeless piece of wisdom, that can be repeated, restated again and again. 
I tend to beleive that issues of criticism and self-criticism lie at the heart of Africa's problems of governance, and gravely affect the conduct of both leaders and followers,  and patterns of inter-generational communication in our society.

One may sound terribly idealistic, but perhaps if we are able to exercise and maintain by and large, that level of tolerance and humility as Sister Jabou opined, in our exchanges on Gambia-L, we may at least contribute, in a small way, in setting a trend in political discourse that others in the larger society may emulate.  If all of us realise that no one is perfect, in the words of Elhajj Tapha, then amicable criticism and self-criticism will become quite normal in our exchanges.  

Cheers,
Momodou S Sidibeh

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