New Year Review---The Gambia in Perspective, Part I
 
http://caelos.com/gainako/?p=1841
 
 
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Cult Syndrome

It has now become a tradition to give the credit to President Jammeh for every good thing realized in the country while others are made scapegoats for everything that goes wrong. There is a tendency to not only treat President Jammeh as an infallible being, but also as a super human who has the answer to all the country's problems. We have for instance seen how a cult syndrome is being built around him with the claim that he possessed some super natural powers such as the power to fight against hostile demons in order to construct bridges against the hostilities of those demons, thus earning himself the title of Babili Mansa (the king who bridges the river). He also claims to have the power to cure HIV/AIDS and all other incurable diseases.

We can also still recall with shame and embarrassment the state-sanctioned exorcism exercise conducted a few years ago by socalled witch-hunters escorted by heavily armed security forces, during which several innocent Gambians were subjected to all sorts of harassment and indignities after they were accused of practising witchcraft. We recall how Halifa Sallah, the only opposition leader who had the courage to stand up against the shameful act, was arrested and detained and eventually charged with opposing the government policy of exorcism, thus further making the Gambia the laughing stock of the sub-region.
 
Virtually, most people in this country have now been reduced to praise singers, apparently in order to gain access to the numerous bounties being frequently dished out by President Jammeh in the form of cash or material gifts. As a result, therefore, those people we expect to speak against some of the bad decisions and actions attributed to his regime like our religious and traditional leaders, seem to have been completely pacified by those generous gifts he dishes out to them that they would rather sing his praises than tell him the truth. We have seen how the very few religious leaders who have had the courage to speak out against some of the bad actions of the regime and other ills of the society, such as Ba Kawsu Fofana and Imam Baba Leigh, have continued to pay dearly for it, while their colleagues in the Supreme Islamic Council have not even mustered the courage to speak in their defence. Yet, when President Jammeh ordered the execution of the death row prisoners, most of those same religious leaders were quick to defend it as an Islamic injunction. It appears therefore that most of them would do anything to please President Jammeh rather than risk earning his wrath and end up like Baba Leigh and Ba Kawsu Fofana.

Therefore, in view of the total submissiveness of those in authority, President Jammeh has almost completely been shielded away from what goes on in the society and as such, he is hardly aware of the daily realities on the ground. Despite that however, everything seems to be done in his name by those very people he entrusts with the running of our institutions of governance, and instead of telling him the reality, they would just tell him what would please him. As a result, the situation continues to deteriorate and with it the quality of life of ordinary Gambians is getting worse.
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