Well stated Demba and we are on the same page.

 

I particularly like:

 

--- "He will lose, refuse to step down and then all hell will break loose..."

 

 

--- "Yero, slowly but surely am beginning to buy into your approach of resistance to whatever means... In fact violence is being wage on the Gambian people. The only difference is that one side is armed and willing and has unleashed their violence on the rest of the population..."

 

 

 

LJDarbo

On Wednesday, 27 August 2014, 21:11, Demba Baldeh <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Yero and Lamin at it again... Well it is worth every minute of your time... I think you both right including Nyang... The roles to me has clearly defined themselves... The Diaspora can only play a supporting role.. If anybody think the next transition leadership will come from the Diaspora the person must be hallucinating... The question is how do we effectively carry out that supporting role without getting at his each others throats?

Secondly, as stated the opposition is the most viable peaceful alternative to political change.. but as clearly defined as that is... the opposition appears to not be able to realize how they can utilize their political leverage... They seem to be operating as if everything electorally is fine and dandy...

I say we have a political emergency in Gambia and it needs Emergency measures... All individual partisan activities important as they be may for the future of the parties needs to take the back seat... I am equally confident that the NADD formula done right and beyond the leadership problem can and will dislodge Jammeh... He will lose, refuse to step down and then all hell will break loose...

Having said all this... The NADD process is a foregone conclusion unless these two conditions are met.. PDOIS and UDP are able to get over their individual positions of Party led coalition and Independent candidate selection. The citizens needs to force them to so one side and give in to another... These are the only two sticking points... Party led or independent... As long as they are not able to get over this hurdle the NADD unity formula will never work... So who is willing to give in? what measures can be put in place to avert the fears of both sides... this is the million dollar question..

Yero, slowly but surely am beginning to buy into your approach of resistance to whatever means... In fact violence is being wage on the Gambian people. The only difference is that one side is armed and willing and has unleashed their violence on the rest of the population... The other side is voiceless, does not have any arms and is being victimized... It takes two to fight, but it also takes two to make peace...

Thanks again

Demba 

On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 9:09 AM, Lamin Darbo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Well YJ, NADD was about a united front. Process, i.e., flag bearer, was the main difficulty. It is still an issue lurking in the background, but there is no question a NADD-type structure can do the work. A lot of people appear to have no faith in the electoral process but that may be a function of misunderstanding how a fully united front may respond to the challenges thrown up by a lawless electoral system. I have discussed my approach as far back as 2004-2005. Level of unity and commitment is the only issue, and I'm unsure about the preparedness of the party leaders to utilise all the available options in dealing with the current system.

 

A simpler way of understanding Nyang's contention re the Diaspora is to ask what we can do to practically influence matters on the ground given our separation from the main theatre of operations. In other words, the Diaspora has a role but that role is not overall leadership. No one resident in the Diaspora can be an electoral flag bearer, and the same applies to even to leadership of a mass uprising. The geography of the transaction cannot allow that but there are elements in the Diaspora that appear not to understand that our proper function, as long as we are away form the ground, must remain a supporting role. In the ordinary run of events, Professor Jammeh's successor will not come from the Diaspora. How is this controversial? 

 

As earlier stated, even a citizen uprising cannot be led from the Diaspora. What is the obsession then with leading when none of the available routes to change can be implemented from the Diaspora? Annoying the Professor through immense humiliation in the Diaspora is not the same thing as deposing his government, and a Gambia without his government is what this fight is about

 

Nyang's position is spot on and if we can have a truly united front of the bona fide opposition parties, we are more than 90% on the home stretch. I'm economical with words but I'm certain you got my drift. Home is where the action will always be!

 

 

LJDarbo 

 

 

On Wednesday, 27 August 2014, 15:03, Y Jallow <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

LJD -
 
Thanks for sharing. This is a good submission from our resident, Nyang.
 
Nyang have some great points. It is true that the opposition home are an instrumental element in this equation even though I personally understand the frustration of the Diaspora forces.
 
In his piece though, Nyang is suggesting that any unity effort be built from the previous miscarriage, NADD. The logic is a little scary. Well, NADD didn't work, or at least safely said that it was aborted by the many KEY players. That a reason to try a new model of unity. So I think the Diaspora weren't ignorant. It is combination of frustration, interest in a democratic process, and a wish to see some activities to counter the criminal regime. I will not rule out some mistakes or even over excitement, or better put as playing too much with democratic book teachings. It is all healthy even though some of the actions are simply a turnoff.
 
Must I say that, any route for another NADD will another waste of time, or at least repeating history, because Halifa, Waa Juwara, Lawyer Darboe, Hamat Bah, Barrister Fatty, OJ and Gomez didn't agree on things, and the G-N (6, 5, 4, 3, ...whatever that exact number is) didn't see fruition. If this cannot be worked out, I am seriously wondering how another effort in that direction will solve this problem.
 
On the new empowerment, the Diaspora forces are blessed with some key resources like the online radios, internet, freedom to speech/assembly which is very effective in exposing and countering dictatorship.
 
To suggest that the only way is to rally through the opposition back home might not be accurate. I know many are opposed to the toppling of the criminal regime through the military or citizen uprising. Such a method of seeing democracy (eventually) shouldn't be ruled out even though it comes with some problems and I am not being inconsiderate at of the dangers associated with such an undertaking . I have a very strong feeling that it is just a matter of time here but the political temperature suggests that the inevitable will happen sooner than expected. I couldn't convince my mind otherwise. It is time to defend yourselves. It is time to do it in  a way to liberate country. It is Jihad (struggle), and it one way to free your nation. Look up to the pioneers of democracy, therein lies the solution. In our own, elections to remove Jammeh and establishment of a healthy democracy is a long term agenda, and for the short time, Jammeh needs to be booted out by any necessary means.
 
On a note, great piece Nyang. I appreciate your substance, independence, and like LJD, I too celebrate your submissions.
 
Happy labor holiday in advance!
 
Warm regards,
Yero.
 


"There is no god but Allah; & Muhammad (SAW) is His messenger"
 
Kind Regards,
Yero.  

 

Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 22:22:50 +0100
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: STRATEGIC AND GERMANE ADVISE FROM M NYANG courtesy GAINAKO
To: [log in to unmask]

or Political Change

The Bends, the Curves, the Home-Straight, Keeping the Eyes on the Prize Towards a Strategic Home and Diaspora partnership for Political Change

— August 26, 2014 0 Comments 12

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Part 2 of 3

By Modou Nyang

 

In the contours of democratic political change in the Gambia the climax in the collaboration between home and diaspora forces is represented in the ushering of NADD into the country’s political lexicography. And now any subsequent partnership must aim at improving upon that milestone of political architecture if it is to help deliver the change that still eludes us in this past two decades.

 

The Gambia is not at a political standstill and its narrative cannot be etched anew at the back of historical perspectives. What is to follow if it is to be durable must learn from the past in order to construct a tenable future. Recent efforts in the diaspora at organizing the multitude of voices into a unified force seems all but inflicted with ignorance if not the total disregard of past lessons.

 

Diaspora Gambians are becoming more engaged and interested in the political life of their country and that is a good thing. From the ire and disgust shown following the killings of the nine prisoners in 2012 and now to every policy utterance in Banjul that deviates from the accepted norms and dictates of the laws of the country, young men and women are paying attention and sharing their views. For the first time in Gambian history protest marches were organized from London to New York, Atlanta and Brussels, Seattle and Dakar to show displeasure in Jammeh’s unwarranted killing of the prisoners. And now because it seems the only potent tool at their disposal protests marches and demonstrations is now the rallying call for the activists.

 

But protestations and manifestations especially in far flung lands away from the main theater might take too long if ever they will bear the desired effect of changing the status quo in Banjul. And herein lies the need to link the actions in the diaspora with those on the ground for maximal effect. The fact that people can confront president Jammeh in New York and hurl invectives at him without being reprimanded is a good enough reason not to ask the guy in the streets of Serekunda to do the same because he will not enjoy similar fate as his contemporary in New York. Preaching to the choir is never a savvy political device.

What the young men and women in the Gambia have at their disposal is to organize around existing political instruments to manifest their displeasure at what is happening in their country. In the existing political infrastructure, opposition forces have at their base the youths representing a critical element with the capability to galvanizing their country folks into action and taking back their country and refocusing its course.

 

But often in the diaspora activists dismiss as simpletons every talk about rallying the cause for change through legal democratic means. And the wonder in that is how come a protester in New York considers his actions more effectual than the one that organizes internally and close to home and to undoing the common problem.

 

Fact is, political change is brought about through the manifestations of the internal dynamics of a given society and such affects need to be worked on actively in order to attain the desired effect. Passivity is never a potent political tool and cannot be a wholesome substitute for active internal organization. What is required is the coupling of the two for optimal gain. This is why diaspora Gambians must build on their united efforts for protestations and move on to concretely charting strategies and activities with the ground forces.

 

Change can never be sustained at the back of the people. Hence the opposition forces must be encouraged and enabled in their work to organize the people. Only an organized people can withstand the most arduous of challenges thrown in their path to salvation. And this crucial work can only be implemented in today’s Gambia, by those on the ground working with the people. In the Gambia there exist no civil society body that is invested in the business of organizing the people around their civic rights and responsibilities.

 

Needless to say, the opposition parties are the only existing lifeline for democratic change in the Gambia and they most intensify their work in preparing and agitating the people for change. And for Gambians in the diaspora, even if only for a moment will pause the ecstatic frenzy for nothingness and direct their energy towards a holistic partnership with the ground forces, the current madness in Banjul will be confined to its right place: the dustbin of history.

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