Ousainou Mbenga - An Away Politician
                
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<A HREF="http://allafrica.com/publishers.html?passed_name=The%20Independent&passed_location=Banjul">The Independent</A> (Banjul)COLUMN
April 11, 2003 
Posted to the web April 11, 2003 Banjul Okay, we all know the APRC holds the 
four aces as far as politics in present day Gambia is concerned. With 
something of a close victory in the last presidential elections and a 
National Assembly packed to the rafters with its representatives, surely, 
there is no realistic opportunity of being ruffled from any quarter?Thus, the 
emergence of a Waa Juwara-led National Democratic Action Movement (NDAM) 
poses little or no outside chance of tilting the applecart, although Juwara 
rattled a few pillars in the UDP bedrock before he hotfooted it to form NDAM. 
However, the party's number two man, Ousainou Mbenga, has been talking up 
NDAM's chances in no unwavering way. Though he agrees his party is new on the 
scene, he believes it would have a positive impact on Gambian people.Mbenga, 
in this issue of Portrait, talks on the glaring living conditions in The 
Gambia, why he doesn't fancy serving in Jammeh's government and the Iraqi 
war.
Portrait: Having been away for long, what is your candid impression about The 
Gambia?Mbenga: First of all, I must say The Independent has a wide readership 
in Europe and the US due to your audacity to stick to the truth as things 
unfold in The Gambia. This is something we are thankful of and it would help 
us in coming to grips to defend our rights. With regards to your question, I 
have been away since 1991. I think only a blind person would come here and 
say he/she is satisfied with the living conditions in this country. I find 
them deplorable and very appalling. The wretchedness is everywhere, on 
people's faces and are highly frustrated and desperate because of the way 
they live. When poverty is deep ingrained in society, people just resort to 
the most low ingenerate ways of relating to each other and that's my 
impression. I don't think there is any genuine development in society with 
first developing the people. In my view, we are heading down the same road of 
mal-development and where the people who run things are always eager for 
praises for things that they really should be doing. I don't think it is 
proper to tell this regime of any other regime in Africa that they are doing 
good because they have constructed a road that runs from one point to 
another. Development entails more than that.
Portrait: Is this a profound reason why NDAM came into existence?Mbenga: Yes. 
Even though I have been away for a while, I always maintain a tight bond with 
home. Naturally, things progress as you go along but it seems like things 
have degenerated to a level of unprecedented stage, which is difficult to 
characterize. Rightly so, because of our dissatisfaction in The Gambia and 
Africa in general, we (NDAM) thought our role to change things, particularly 
in our country, requires the birth of a new organisation. We've gone through 
a lot of political analysis of what preceded the current regime, the mediocre 
opposition in the country and the desperate need of for solutions. We thought 
it was important to rally the people behind a programme of action and one 
that would completely alter the existence of our being.
Portrait: What is NDAM's political ideology?Mbenga: Basically our ideology is 
firmly grounded in an African outlook.What we are trying to avoid is to be 
pigeonholed into these isms, where we have seen the failures of some of these 
backward tendencies of most of these isms, like socialism, communism in the 
wrong manner. What we want to do is to explain that we, as Africans, believe 
fundamentally in the unity of Africa, based on our common history to forge 
our way forward. It is because of this profound contradiction of how we have 
become beggardom while we sit on massive wealth! Still, we go around, begging 
people to implement programmes for us. We need to design our own political 
agenda, cultural agenda to move us forward and away from this burden of 
impoverishment and exploitation.
Portrait: How does NDAM differ from other political parties?Mbenga: What I 
would want to say is that we take organisation seriously, which differs us 
from other parties. We cannot just raise the people's consciousness or wait 
until everybody becomes politically conscious before we can emerge in Africa. 
We believe in forming youth organisations, farmers and people who drive the 
economy of every society. That's the process that we want to initiate. We 
don't want to theorize, theorize and theorize because theory without practice 
is empty.
Portrait: But how are you going to have an impact on the people when you are 
away from the theatre of leadership?Mbenga: It is very important to know that 
it is just by design that we found ourselves there. However, that doesn't 
really divorce us from taking part on stage, to put it. We can play a 
significant role because the problems that we have with previous 
organisations is lack of resources and, being in this centre where the 
world's wealth is concentrated, we thought it would be a new phenomenon if it 
is introduced into this country's politics where we have an internal and 
external wing. However, my sojourn is almost is almost to an end and the bulk 
of the work needs to be done here.
Portrait: Tell me, do you have realistic any chance in The Gambian political 
landscape?Mbenga: My philosophy is I cannot go into battle and shoot myself 
in the foot! You have to be confident and build confidence in the hearts of 
the people that if we have a free and fair elections (which I don't think 
exists in Africa, even the West because we have seen the crisis that engulfed 
the US elections) we can contest.
Portrait: How are the people warming up to NDAM, especially at the grassroots 
level?Mbenga: The seed has been planted and, from what I have seen so far 
(I've been only here for four weeks) but what I can sense is what I can give. 
I've been talking to comrades down here and they've shown me some committee 
members and things like that. What is left is to sink the ideas of the 
Movement into the hearts of the people.
Portrait: How could a NDAM administration help boost up our flagging 
economy?Mbenga: Fundamentally, all African economics are dependent. They only 
move when they are dragged along. It's like a train in one place, which is 
the best way to characterize it. It is unfortunate that the elite and the 
ruling class are not willing to make the sacrifices that are needed to really 
end this impoverishment and economic disaster. After 30 - 35 years of 
independence, you just cannot point out a country in the continent that has 
really taken domestic progress to change the lives of the people so we can at 
least enjoy the resources that we have as a people and cut down the high rate 
of infant mortality, disease and short life expectancy and several other 
hosts of social maladies.
Portrait: What would a NDAM government do with the debts we own?Mbenga: In my 
view, I think the debt is unpayable. We just can't pay them for several 
reasons because we or subsequent generations cannot be held responsible for 
the responsibilities of previous regimes. I think it is very unfair to 
subject us under those conditions. The more you beg, the more they end up 
trying us in vicious convoluted cycles of just debt, debt, debt! A NDAM 
government would explain to these debtors that the debts they gave up was not 
to our benefit
Portrait: But the debtors won't see it from those lenses. They'll say The 
Gambia borrowed the debt and, irrespective of which regime is in power, she 
has to pay?Mbenga: It is our responsibilities to explain to them to a level 
where the average person can understand it. I really think so. We don't have 
to be an economist to decipher that.
Portrait: What do you make of the Media Commission Bill?Mbenga: Let's put it 
this way. People who fear ideas should not be entrusted with leadership. If 
you fear somebody's ideas, then there is a serious problem with you! We at 
NDAM are not scared of ideas. We struggle for ideas and not personality. I 
think the bill is draconian and just meant to stifle criticism. If you are 
scared of being criticised, then you must be hiding something! Developmental 
and self-criticism are going to be the backbone of NDAM. We criticise when it 
is worth it and not to just tear down. We are definitely against any bill 
that is meant to stifle journalists. The issue should be treated amicably 
rather than say we are going to burn down Radio One, threaten Independent 
editors, etc. I think it is the most absurd approach in a country that claims 
to be civilized and democratic.
Portrait: Would you serve in Jammeh's government if called upon?Mbenga: No
Portrait: Why?Mbenga: I'm not driven by money. I have strong convictions of 
changing the wretched situation in The Gambia. Looking at the history of the 
regime, I can't even fathom myself of being in that process. The way he 
(Jammeh) treats dissent, I don't see myself being in there only to be given 
the unceremonious boot later. I'm not looking for a job. The real job I want 
to do I want to do it for Africa and the Gambia is particular. I don't fancy 
driving two block long limousines. What thrills me is go to a village and see 
a very conducive environment for people and children to grow.
Portrait: You were once part of the NRP. Why switch over to NDAM?Mbenga: I 
still like Hamat as a person. Being away from home, we were always trying to 
see how we could really take part in changing things in the country. It was 
during this process that Hamat, knowing one of my comrades, decided that we 
should invite him over and see whether we can forge things and become an 
intricate part of the political process. But things didn't work and we 
couldn't find what we were looking for.
Portrait: Seems like there was a divergence of ideas?Mbenga: Actually, we 
were willing to compromise the divergence of ideas but there were other 
roadblocks.
Portrait: Waa Juwara, NDAM leader has been with two parties before.What are 
the chances that he won't hotfoot it elsewhere?Mbenga: Well, he would be the 
best person to answer that question. My view is that I have recognised some 
changes with him and that he is sincere. The reason why we have gone that far 
with him is the evidence that I have seen in the country's political crisis.
Portrait: NDAM came rather late in the day. Would you tell us why we should 
take it seriously?Mbenga: The reason why NDAM should be taken seriously is 
that it is not going to be a personality organisation. The programmes that we 
want to present to the people would be seen in due course and they can then 
compare and contrast with what they have been used to. We want people to make 
up their own minds so that when they come into the moment, they would 
participate and not just spectate. People would be able to think for 
themselves that nobody is going to come here and just try to get over with 
bogus, stupid policies that will never benefit us but less than a handful of 
people.
Portrait: Who are the financiers of NDAM?Mbenga: Well, Gambians generally and 
people who love freedom and liberation. We are not going to accept help from 
anywhere with strings attached. We want to begin the process of our genuine 
independence.
Portrait: Tell us about Jaaliba magazine?Mbenga: It brings back a lot of 
memories. We founded it in the US, two other brothers and myself in the early 
80's. We used to keep our past issues but they all got ruined when the 
ceiling leaked. It was founded on the basis to keep Gambians in a very 
cohesive unit in the U.S. It went on for a few years and then financial 
constraints came in.
Portrait: What are your views on NEPAD?Mbenga: You know, the problem is very 
glaring. We allow ourselves to be dragged into all these worthless acronyms! 
We never start where we should start, which are all about a cart-before- 
the-horse policy
Portrait: Seems like you have something in common with president Jammeh, 
eh?Mbenga: We do? But you cannot oppose NEPAD and then engage in certain 
activities that don't create a conducive environment to replace NEPAD.My mind 
goes further than that. NEPAD, OAU now AU, how did we arrive at these things? 
Are they out to see how our local economies are strengthened or not? Most of 
these problems are solvable but, no, they would rather just jump into stage 
five when stages one and two haven't been done. You just cannot keep on 
building on rubbish. It would just give birth to more rubbish! We will never 
get anywhere if a body sprouts up every five years and then goes away. We 
were never told what was the problem with the OAU. They just got up and 
brought in AU. I'm not trying to tear down AU or NEPAD but we should do 
things in a coherent manner.
Portrait: Finally, what do you make of the Iraqi war?Mbenga: It is a classic 
case of opposite poles of the same stupidity.The US gave birth to these ter
rorists. If you reduce the social fabric to roving bandits, this is what you 
get. The Iraqi war is the biggest blunder the U.S has done. They have no 
regard for the UN.The UN is also at fault. The most memorable is the 
assassination of Patrice Lumumba when the world body dragged its feet over 
the investigations. These memories should be exposed to show that the UN 
Security Council cannot come and shove anything down our throats anymore.



"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are 
evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
 - Albert Einstein
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change 
the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead 
"When the government fears the people, you have liberty. When the people fear 
the government, you have tyranny." 
- Thomas Jefferson
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" 
- Edmund Burke