It is generally assumed that the military of a nation, as a result of its
perceived professionalism, is not supposed to intervene and disrupt
popularly and legitimately elected governments. The virtues of a military
relate to professionalism, discipline, and loyalty to the government in
power as well as recognition of civilian dominance over the military.
Inevitably, any political role for the military is seen to be a sabotage
against the new liberalizing ethos of the democratization process.
The behavior of the military in the Gambia has been one of unnecessary
intervention in politics. Latest reports of their activities in response to
a perceived demonstration by the opposition alludes to this fact. Instead
of restoring order in the face of the anarchy we've had in Kanilai since
1994, they tend to want to protect the Kanilai Empire - with whom most of
them closely identify - by exercising power out of corporate ambition, and
much more often, because they think that they have the ability to forcibly
dislodge any perceived opposition. This pattern of military contraventions
in our politics, although unprofessional, is becoming so ingrained that it
is being viewed as common practice, a notorious role of the military in our
society.
In the Gambia, like many African states, the reality of two existing power
bases - civilian regime and the military - is common knowledge. So it is
not unsuspecting to see Jammeh striving to consolidate both power bases for
the perpetuity of the Kanilai Empire.
A major reason for the decline of professionalism in our army and their
attitude toward the ordinary citizen and the democratization process is the
disintegration of other societal institutions which is in turn a
consequence of A(F)PRC misrule. Thus the army becomes the institution with
monopoly on the instruments of coercion and can thrive on what any decent
human will consider an inappropriate exercise of power. They have
effectively been given a carte blanche in the name of "national security."
A good loyal citizenry is expected to directly intervene whenever
disruptive primordial loyalties and opportunistic political behavior
threaten to prevail in a country. The expectations are that we be prepared
to intervene when the internal imperatives of economic mismanagement
intensify the immiseration of our people and contributes to further
economic dislocation and instability. We are expected to intervene in the
face of the political indiscipline manifested in blatant corruption,
economic mismanagement, and gross ineptitude.
The political insecurity that is producing a politicized and co-opted
military institution stems from the unfavorable societal conditions in the
Gambia: internal fragmentation underlined by class and other social
cleavages. These fragmentations are also reproduced within the army with
serious implications to our democratization process. A politicized military
institution has to ensure that junior officers and the militarist also
benefit from the fruits of clientelism and neo-patrimonial connections.
Such neglect is what brought us to the class over toned coup of July 1994.
To rationalize their takeover of power, members of this "subordinate class"
were engaged in populist rhetoric about the need to democratize Gambia,
wipe out corruption, and ensure a decent life for every citizen – “soldiers
with a difference.” While the rhetoric may have correctly diagnosed what
was wrong with the country, their assumption of power is counterproductive
of a democratizing culture and further institutionalizes military
interventionism. Besides, the takeover by the junior officers undermines
the respect for hierarchy among the soldiers or the chain of command
thereby setting a precedent for successive aspirants to power from the
militarist class. Is that what the Kanilai Empire wants?
The skunk we have for a head of state is causing serious, perhaps
insurmountable, obstacles for sustained democratization. Our brothers and
sisters in the army have been inadvertently socialized into active
involvement in politics through the coup and as a security support for the
Kanilai Empire. Jammeh’s current tactics of entrenching subjective control
of the military is an obvious hindrance of the full development of positive
civil-military relations and the maximization of military professionalism.
What we need for him to do is to ensure good control of the military by
establishing a symbiotic relationship with society, providing more
resources to the paramilitary units – ensure that they are free of undue
influences - as checks and balances to the military, and possible foreign
patronage (such as the presence of French armed forces in Senegal and other
francophone African states).
In the final analysis, to get our brothers and sisters in the army to
disengage from political intimidations, it must be satisfied that the
skunks we have for a civilian regime and the political economy are
conducive to their professional career, economic and job security concerns.
Negative developments that could motivate the military folks to continue
their meddling of our political setting are: (1) the existing situation of
serious socio-economic imbalance in our society manifested in current
instances of high unemployment levels, resulting in widespread frustration
and government ineptitude; and (2) the existing condition of gross
differences in access to resources among elements of the civil society. In
the Gambia of today, deprivations are bound to intensify for some groups -
as we are currently witnessing - resulting in political agitation, which
could motivate the military and other groups to take action. As the saying
goes, the Kanilai Empire shall live by the gun and die by the gun.
-BambaLaye
==============================================
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
====================================================
"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have
acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence
of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible
for evil to triumph."
-Halle Selassie I
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