Malik, I apologize for the lag on my part in response to your last posting on this discussion. I believe that this is an issue that needs much attention from everyone concerned with how Yaya is ruling the country. Now that we have a common understanding of the issue of Jammehs' personality, I will venture to take it a little bit further than him being a nag in the way he conducts himself as a head of state on many occasions. Inasmuch as he is responsible for his public utterances and deeds, part of my dispraise for such behavior will however, have to be apportioned to those in a position to tell him off when necessary. In particular, the members of his literally non-existent club of toadies. Malik, in Africa, we always fall in the trap of making kings out of idiots and clowns. That is from the lowest threshold of the meaning of the word. Every chapter of the African history bears an episode of such a character. Gambia is no exception. We are guilty of making a big deal out of our leaders. We tend to subdue and be content with what we have as leader as being ordained by the Almighty. How many times have you heard “Yala mo kofa tek.”? Such attitude is what makes Yaya and dolts like him so haughty, unbelievable sometimes. They are not even remotely close to being what we expect of leaders by example. I can vividly remember what transpires during the ”Mansabengos” in Brikama in the PPP era. The chiefs being literally worshiped as some of them ride their clear white stallions in crowds of thousands. Do we want to flip the pages of history backwards? I guess not. Yaya wants us to do just that when he said that the democracy of the “khaftan” and “sword” is what is right for Gambia as he shows the heartfelt desire to be worshiped by his group of toadies. He is acting like a 19th century king in the 21st. Moreover, he seems to have the admiration of many in our midst. People need to understand that much of what Gambia is going through as a developing nation in the eyes of the world is dictated by the conduct and perspective of those who put themselves at the helm. The world sees the Gambia in them. Their level of professionalism in conduct of the state business is as important as the issues they seek to sell to the development partners. I can only imagine the rush of adrenaline experienced by some of the genuinely hard working professionals in the government when Yaya goes through his spasms of idiocy. Enjoy your day. Abdoulie A. Jallow (BambaLaye) <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>