When last week i lobbed the challenge at PDOIS/Foroyaa Alumni to empirically demonstrate how effective their party's strategy is in combatting the Jammeh Menace, inevitably it drew  much anticipated animus from what i shall call here programmed fanatics; supporters who will hear no criticism of their venerable Saint Halifa of Churchill's Town or the Biblical Foroyaa. And almost always reacts with knee-jerk lacing on critics whose only crime happen to be that they have independent thought. Unbeknownst to these programmed fanatics, the challenge was a bait to prove a point; that most  PDOIS supporters hardly see beyond what is written in Foroyaa or the Gospel according to Saint Halifa. As it turned none, save the exception of the erudite and affable Buharry, was able to pin-point how effective their strategy is or was. All they kept harping on about was how incorruptible, well-meaning and dedicated Saint Halifa really is. And concurring with everything Buharry wrote. Writer after writer merely droned " Buharry i concur entirely with your brilliant views." How brilliant or what makes Buharry's views brilliant they never bothered to demonstrate. Oh, and of course, lacing in on me for daring to be a critic. From hypocrisy to insincerity, they have thrown it all on me or whoever dares to join my lone voice.

That the PDOIS/Foroyaa "enlightenment" have in many cases churned out programmed fanatics is not in doubt. Save rehearsing the Gospel according Saint Halifa, many of these people can barely look beyond what they are told. So they invariably think and speak ill of others with independent thought who even dare subject their stuff to forensic scrutiny. Others independent enough to see through scams and poses. Well, if the price to be paid for being independent in thought is to be eternally damned and condemned as insincere and hypocritical by programmed fanatics, then it suffices for some of us. Notwithstanding the heckling and incharitable bawling from these programmed fanatics, the critiques will ever be forthcoming from this end.

Hamjatta Kanteh