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. 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