Jammeh should not be allowed to resign. He should just pack his things and GO. Full Stop!!

A resignation of a head of state because of incompetence is almost always a question of honour and rectitude. It is the rectitude of the person in combination with the honour conferred on him by the populace that warrants him to vacate his office. 

The President of the Gambia is totally oblivious of these qualities. These are qualities that are totally independent of Jammeh's mercurial character and shallow understanding. So those on this List who are calling for Jammeh to resign are no better than those who would advocate for the Winter Olympics to be held in Bamako or Timbokoto. (Timbuktu, to the Westerners) 

I am slightly becoming sick and tired of being sick and tired with all these formations of committees, organisations and lobbies to actuate Jammeh's removal from office. Some of the crazy notions on this List are: 

  1.. To lobby Kofi Annan. Well, anybody who was abreast with the developments in Rwanda would know that the inertia of Kofi Annan, and nobody but Kofi Annan, was responsible for all the killings in that country. He had recently been feted by Yaya Jammeh. Do you think if he had really condemned Jammeh for the actions of April 10th, Jammeh would go ahead and rename Old Cape Road after him? Milosovic will surely not name even an alley after Kofi Annan. 
  2.. There was also a mention of the European Union and Romano Prodi, well, the reaction of the EU at the aftermath of the April 10th butchering of innocent and defenceless students should be enough for those who think that the EU could be a magic wand to alleviate our predicaments. As for the President, Romano Prodi, he is yet to wake up to realise that he is the President of the European Union. 
  3.. The latest that came up was that nebulous concept of forming a sort of an NGO. With the little political history that I know, it has never happened that an NGO was instrumental in unseating a diabolical regime as what is now sitting in Kaninlai. A Non Governmental Organisation MUST sign "a Conformity Statement" with the Government before they are allowed to operate. It was a violation of that "Statement" that got Pa van der Plas of Community Development into trouble with Jawara's Government that he was deported. To form such an organisation, simply means that you either have to take your orders from the Government or the Government has to approve your initiatives. 
It is about time we faced reality. The reality among some of us is that the Gambia has a problem. Where we differ is in our approach to a solution. One of the tangible methods to solve this problem, so far, was given by Ebou Colly in his last posting. Ebou Colly, in his piece never said anything about bloodshed and bloodbath. The present diabolical and infanticidal regime of Jammeh's came to power without a nosebleed. My own conviction will always be bloodlessly, if possible, but by any means JAMMEH MUST GO.


I would like to quote an angry contributor to this List by the name of Solomon Njai, who so eloquently echoed my sentiments. It is very apparent in his reply to Ebou Colly's piece "Soldiers Of The Gambian Army" that this fellow is also really sick and tired of being sick and tired with some softly-softly approaches to Gambia's main problem.

"Our way out of this dilemma, is to identify our power base/voting strength [$#DM, etc.]; identify our interest; compromise with our support-base in Gambia; or else, engage in conflict. As disenfranchised
Gambians on the periphery, looking from outside in, most of us tend to take the simplification method of proving each theorem; GAMBIA HAS A PROBLEM, PROBLEM IS YAHYA JAMMEH, HE MUST GO; theorem proven QED. Overnight or flight by-night organizing/organizations impregnated by self-interest, ego-trips and title/leadership sickness is, and will, never be our way out."

For me, both Ebou Colly's and Solomon Njai's methods are acceptable as long as the end-result is that Jammeh Will Go. The simplistic approach of some of us on this List will only condemn us to remain the "disenfranchised Gambians on the periphery" as Solomon Njai calls us.

JAMMEH MUST GO.



Prince Coker