Culled from the Independent Independent View As we celebrate… Thirty seven years is no modest leap in time. Since that memorable day when the Union Jack was lowered for our national colours, a lot of water has passed under the bridge, borrowing an old overuse cliché. Apart from the hysteria of expectation there was much hope and confidence in our ability as a nation to forge ahead without being guided. After so many years, The Gambia like a youth in her prime, is still glowing with the hope of its people that the change from the first to the second republic would usher in a fairytale development not necessarily seeing us living in streets paved with gold but at least as happy, comfortable people self-sufficient in food and other things regarded by others around the world as necessary living exigencies. In as much as we celebrate thirty-seven years of nationhood with all its expectations for the future, we cannot fail to decipher how much we have erred along the way. It is true that Jawara has to be remembered with some good… even invaluable contributions his long rule had brought to our sorry lives. But it is also true that any problem of a national scale compounded today, had its origin from his style of leadership and administrative kleptomania. With all respect to the man, the network of bad roads, shaky economy, educational amateurishness, impartial justice, uproariously divisive politics, a profound lack of needed awareness of the outside (thanks to the dogged absence of a television) are some of the ugly hallmarks of his government’s dominance over the political situation. Thus it is of credence to assert that the compounded economic and social problems of The Gambia today were almost the making of the past. This is not however, a way to absolve the government of Yahya Jammeh, which has also brought some chilling additions to the already embattled Gambian scene. If Jawara had committed some costly mistakes, Jammeh has also committed some quite disquieting mistakes too, which for the interest of reconciliation, we should all forget as we try to turn a fresh leaf to give reconciliation a chance. In fact neither Jawara nor Jammeh fostered the ideal atmosphere for reconciliation to tick and thrive. Never before…never. In spite of these depressing realities it is still justified to look at our independence anniversary as one replete with glad tidings borne out of this season of compromise. We are justified in feeling that The Gambia has come of age and will demonstrate this with class and style. No better way therefore for its current leadership to reflect this in words but also more importantly in actions. No better way than to start with our immediate neighbour Senegal whose president was here to join his own compatriots living here to share our moment of joy and cautious optimism for the future. This comes just days after Gambians share the joy of Senegal’s success in the African Nations Cup. Suffice it to say that many Gambians had openly wept for their defeat in the final. As we draw deep from the breath of independence, Gambians would do well to realise that self-governance has with it a heavy burden to persevere in times of visitation and prosper in better times. Gambians as a resilient nation would not tire in finding that crucial touch that turns everything into gold. How many times have we realised that we dream but live and work to realise those it in due course. _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> 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] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>