Koto Modou,

 

It was good meeting you in person in Washington DC for the ALD symposium. -  such a gentleman, and a man of true conscience you are. Please keep up the true spirit of awareness in our useful online portals, which is the mediums available us to for activism. 

 

On the laughable festival in Kanilai, indeed laughable that the devil himself is seeking blessings for eternity in his power seat -nothing else! It goes to show that he (Jammeh) is a human being ofcourse with no power what-so-ever, except that power from God and the people. While I am not against such festivals, but I very well belief that the Foroyaa editorial is spot on. Day will one day break, for certainty.

 

Kind regards,

Little yj


 

There is no god but Allah (SWT) and Muhammad (SAW) is His messenger. Fear and Worship only Allah alone!


 



Date: Mon, 31 May 2010 16:09:01 +0000
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Foroyaa Editrial: THE KANILAI FESTIVAL, AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY
To: [log in to unmask]






THE KANILAI FESTIVAL, AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY
 
The Mosques and Churches were requested to give special prayers for the opening of the festival. The whole state administration was put to an almost standstill as the President, Vice President , Cabinet Ministers, Governors, Chiefs and the cream of Gambian society headed towards Kanilai. Many officials from Gambian Missions abroad are also represented. The first question we would want answered is the source of the funding for the event. Those who are interviewed by the state media claim that they have meat and drinks in abundance. Others however visited Coka Cola stands to buy drinks. What is propaganda and what is truth needs to be clarified. 
 
It is visible to all that private companies, public enterprises, Institutions and individuals did contribute in cash and kind to the activity. Foroyaa will publish the amount of contributions made once we have the figures.
 
The festival has attracted many artists and the talents displayed have been varied. Unfortunately, most of the songs were not designed to liberate minds. They were songs of praise to the President. Such songs are designed to build a personality cult.
Many of the singers also took partisan line and transformed the festival into a party function.
 
Now one may ask: What is the significance of holding festivals and trade fares? Thinkers have seen the need to expand the economics of scale by holding fairs and festivals which draw a large number of people to a given area so that the sales of goods and services would be enhanced. The collateral effect is to expand branches of the production of those services into a particular area and thus facilitate infrastructural and economic development.
On the other hand, if a festival and fair is organised just for fanfare, visitors would come and enjoy themselves only to disappear and leave the place like a ghost town until another event is held in the place. This would require the maintenance of infrastructure that is used annually. This is a monarchical approach to holding festivals and fairs. The people-centered approach is to convene such activities to have lasting impact on people and settlements in the way and manner general welfare is improved.
 
Each government has to choose what type of festival and trade fair it has to organise. Foroyaa stands for and recommends the people-centered approach in contrast to the monarchical approach. In our view, State should be separated from party and the individual life of the office holder. A birthday remembrance should be a private matter of the family and friends of a head of state. It should be quietly done, if it has to be done at all, while one is in office. African Liberation Day is not a day for festivities. It is a day to take stock of the shortcomings of each nation and identify the strengths with the view to map out a strategic way forward to attain the goals set for the liberation of the people from poverty and tyranny. We hope the Gambia Government will embrace this pattern of marking African Liberation Day. 

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