<http://kibaaro.com/why-do-you-single-out-dr-amadou-janneh/>The Gambia has
it fair share of academics at present and the number is growing. Although
the bulk of our intellectuals, or should we say, those with Doctorate
titles are hardly heard in conversations, even in their field of expertise.
What is puzzling is that, a number has succumbed to the trappings of the
Jammeh dictatorship, as opined by the writer of the article below.
 A source in the Gambia immigration services indicate that, quiet a number
of Dr titile holders actually travel with President Jammeh's approved
diplomatic passports, advising him and sometimes running secret errands for
him. One may see attaining a PhD as something monumental, but actually,
does it just mean a licence to fall into the petty trapping within the
elite of the third world. A vehicle to get some hearing, but not a tool to
change society for the better.
The Dr (PhD) Gambians haven't put anything tangible on the plate yet, or do
some expect too much from ordinary men/women who just want to be left alone
to do what they want, rather than shouldering the burden of our social
ills. A recent article in Aljazeera by Mamdani explain the faults of the
secular liberals in Africa...a case study of this group may help us help
them...
Suntou
http://kibaaro.com/why-do-you-single-out-dr-amadou-janneh/ Why Do You
Single Out Dr. Amadou
Janneh<http://kibaaro.com/why-do-you-single-out-dr-amadou-janneh/>
Reads :567

*By David Bansama*
[image: dr. janneh]<http://kibaaro.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/dr.-janneh1.jpg>

*Dr. Janneh: I’ll not allow anything to distract me. I am therefore
responding with silence. Let them rave and rant until rivers run dry!*

*I read the interesting piece by Foday Samateh on Dr. Amadou Janneh and got
tempted to react.*

Foday’s piece in indeed interesting because it touches on a number of
issues that characterize not only Amadou Janneh in particular but the
average Gambian intellectual in general. That is why we need to put this
phenomenon in its proper perspective rather than the selective application
trend it is currently taking. Whatever is underpinning this selective
criticism needs to be cast away to establish absolute objectivity,
especially when Foday himself aptly stated *“The anything goes image-making
and self-glorification finally and thankfully belongs to the bygone era*”.
I cannot agree with him more! Mr. Samateh (and before him, the erudite Dr.
Saine) raised pertinent issues in his probing piece.

However, I would like to bring two things (better described as diseases) to
the fore for Gambians to ponder over. Generally, Gambians (particularly our
so-called intellectuals) are inherently selfish. In that, we first think of
ourselves, then our nuclear family, then our extended family, then our
tribe before we think of our country. This is not a sweeping
generalization. We have some exceptions but they are fast becoming a rare
breed in today’s Gambia. Following from above, Gambians can thus trade
anything for government positions (especially ministerial).

These two factors explain why we still have this social misfit as our
president for 19 solid years and, I am not being pessimistic, but without
Divine intervention, he is likely to stay on for another decade and life
will continue to be seemingly normal for all Gambians.

Having said that, let us delve into these two points in detail. Amadou
Janneh is a Gambian, born and brought up in Gambia (except for his stint in
the USA) inheriting these sordid characteristics that we all have including
my humble self. So singling him out for castigation, in my opinion, will
not help our cause. For instance, despite his unparalleled arrogance and
barbarity on The Gambian populace leading to his eventual downfall, some
people continue to see Sanna Sabally as faultless and in fact one of the
best for our country. Our own Mathew Jallow, inspite of his exposure,
intellectual standing and literary prowess, fell for this myopia.
(Rerefences of Mathew’s contributions in defense of Sanna Sabally could be
found in The Gambiaecho’s archives). I wonder what led him to tow that line
in spite of the overwhelming evidence against his Fulani compatriot. The
only logical conclusion I can give is their common Fulani heritage which
bonds them together. Therefore, Mathew’s good judgment, at the time, was
beclouded by his tribal sentiments.

Dr. Sedat Jobe became Minister after the November 11 1994 bloodbath; after
the mysterious murder of the young Finance Minister, Ousman Koro Ceesay;
and after (or was still minister during) the April 10-11 massacre of
innocent students. In fact, for Dr. Jobe, having regained his credibility
after his land-mark resignation in 2001 (the only one I remember after Mrs
Satang Jow’s) his credibility was badly dented when years after his
resignation, precisely during the 2006 presidential and parliamentary
electioneering, he stood on an APRC political platform to cast aspersion on
the Opposition. He holds a Ph. D and was supposed to know better. He did
not think of the average man (at the time of accepting the ministerial
offer) who sees him and his Ph. D as a savior. He let them down. He did not
see the poor farmer in Njain Sanjal, Badibu, Niumi, Jarra and Kiang looking
up to them (the intellectuals/*Borom Hamham yi*) to save our small Gambia
from the disaster it has already slid into. The only logical conclusion I
can make is that they were more interested in the 2Ps i.e. their *p*ocket
and personal *p*restige that comes with such positions. *Our intellectuals
indeed!!!*

Dr. Saja Taal, arguably the most prostituted Gambian intellectual, held
several positions during and after all of these sad events had taken place
in our small society. He did not bat an eye. In fact, some accounts of
Chief Manneh’s disappearance implicated Dr. Taal. Only God knows the truth
about that. He holds a Ph. D and was supposed to know better. He did not
think of the average man who sees him and his Ph. D as a savior. He let
them down. He did not see the poor farmer in Njain Sanjal, Badibu, Niumi,
Jarra and Kiang looking up to them (the intellectuals/ *Borom Hamham yi*)
to save our small Gambia from the disaster it has already slid into. *Our
intellectuals indeed!!!*

Mr. Sidi Sanneh, a one-time Foreign Minister, became minister after all of
the above quoted incidents, and after the deliberate attempt on the life of
Lawyer Ousman Sillah and the gunning down of Deyda Hydara whose family
continues to seek justice until today. Sidi is not a Ph. D but he has a
very impressive career both in and outside of The Gambia before and after
the illegal Jammeh enterprise in the Gambia. Yet his vast exposure and
experience could not save him from accepting the ministerial offer when it
came his way. Today, like Dr. Janneh, he is Yahya Jammeh’s arch critic
judged by his almost hebdomadal online postings. He did not see the poor
farmer in Njain Sanjal, Badibu, Niumi, Jarra and Kiang looking up to them
(the intellectuals/ *Borom Hamham yi*) to save our tiny Gambia. *Our
intellectuals indeed!!!*

The recording-breaking speech of Dr. Njogu Bah, another PH. D (whether real
or fake) in which he prayed for (and requested his audience to pray for)
Jammeh to stay in power for 900 years, was a classical case of an
intellectual thinking of himself first before a dying nation. He did not
see the poor farmer in Njain Sanjal, Badibu, Niumi, Jarra and Kiang looking
up to them (the intellectuals/ *Borom Hamham yi*) to save our tiny Gambia.
It would be interesting to know whether Dr. Bah still maintains the same
view on Jammeh. *Our intellectuals indeed!!!*

Dr. Crispin Grey Johnson became minister after all of the above quoted
incidents, including the deliberate attempt on the life of Lawyer Ousman
Sillah and the gunning down of Deyda Hydara. He holds a Ph. D and was
supposed to know better. He did not think of the average man who sees him
and his Ph. D as a savior. He let them down. He did not see the poor farmer
in Njain Sanjal, Badibu, Niumi, Jarra and Kiang looking up to them (the
intellectuals/ *Borom Hamham yi*) to save our small Gambia from the
disaster it has already slid into.*Our intellectuals indeed!!!*

Our own Nana Grey Johnson, is the current Information Minister, – also an
intellectual. He read all the books in The Gambia and the great seas
beyond, yet his “wisdom” could not save him from accepting Jammeh’s
ministerial position. He did not see the poor farmer in Njain Sanjal,
Badibu, Niumi, Jarra and Kiang looking up to them (the intellectuals/ *Borom
Hamham yi*) to save our Gambia. *Our intellectuals indeed!!!*

Dr. Momodou Tangara, a serving minister in the Jammeh regime, is a Ph. D.
He became minister after all the atrocities mentioned earlier. He did not
think of the average man who sees him and his Ph. D as a savior. He let him
down. He did not see the poor farmer in Njain Sanjal, Badibu, Niumi, Jarra
and Kiang looking up to them (the intellectuals/ *Borom Hamham yi*) to save
our small Gambia from the disaster it has already slid into. *Our
intellectuals indeed!!!*  I can go on and on with examples of Gambian
intellectuals going about messing everybody up. All these PH.Ds are jokes.

Buba Baldeh, our serious activist in Dakar, was part of the overthrown PPP
and it did not prevent him from accepting Yahya’s offer when he had the
opportunity. He is not an intellectual like the caliber of those mentioned
above. But he has the Gambian blood in him transmitting our common disease
which beclouded his judgment at the time of accepting Jammeh’s poisoned
chalice.

Yet with all of the above, we continue to say our society is a “close-knit”
one where everyone knows each other thereby reinforcing the need to
exercise MASLAHA. Yet from our “close-knit” society, people are willing to
accept Jammeh’s offer when the next door neighbor is crying over an
assassinated son, husband, father and/or a jailed brother who puts food for
them on the table. What an interesting society!! Is it Maslaha or sheer
hypocrisy?

When I first read the humorous Papa Kumba Loum’s sarcastic piece on
Gambians, I initially felt like drawing him close to me and punching him on
the head. However, upon a second, and this time, a sober reading of his
piece, I felt like calling and congratulating him because he was just so
apt with our comportment. So Dr. Janneh belongs to the same Gambian
intellectual club with the same features. This is why singling him out for
criticism, in my opinion, smacks of some hidden agenda. In fact, he has
realized his mistakes and is willing to make good what he did wrong. We
either get rid of all of them (including the ones I have mentioned above)
and start with people who have unblemished records or we accommodate them
whilst holding them in check to ensure they do not mess us up the second
time.

Education is supposed to benefit the larger society and it is not the same
as intellectualism. Education is intellectualism plus character. Most of
our co-called intellectuals do not have that required moral character to be
able to use their “education” to benefit our society. Instead, most of them
see their education as a means to obtain wealth and prestige at the expense
of the impoverished lot. So I have but very little respect for most of our
intellectuals. They said Yahya is not educated, is dumb, he is this, he is
that, yet with his supposed ignorance and dumbness, he uses all these
intellectuals (some PH.Ds) to his advantage and later dumps them. So who in
fact is dumb – Yahya or our so-called intellectuals? If our men of the book
and Western orientation and busy jockeying for positions in an illegal
enterprise, what makes us, the Gambian Diaspora, think that Gambians in The
Gambia will rise up against the Jammeh regime? How sure will they be that
our so-called intellectuals will not highjack their cause to become
Jammeh-reincarnations? No Gambian (inside Gambia – both Military and
Civilian) will ever bell the cat in rising against Jammeh and Jammeh (the
wise fool) knows this. Let us be objective and rid ourselves of these
destructive diseases that we all have – selfishness and lust for position,
prestige and fame. Even our Diaspora liberation associations as well as our
on-line papers and their contributors are not immune to this. You do not
need to have a magi to see the bickering?




-- 
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com


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