D.A.Jawo: A man,a mission by Cherno Baba Jallow in Detroit,USA "You can't run tanks on hopes. You can't riddle people's yearnings with bullets." --- Pres. Ronald Reagan to Chinese leaders on Tiananmen Square massacre. Such was the toughness and outspokeness enshrined in the writings of D.A.Jawo. A journalist of calibre and timbre,a man of unassuming character and moral uprightness,Jawo recently became the first casualty of the change of ownership of the Daily Observer Company. He was fired without good reasons but apparently for his acerbic opinions and beliefs and ideas,on the fossilization of his society. If you're looking for a prisoner of conscience,Jawo is one. Well,actually,he's no prisoner,but a victim - not of his own designs - but those of the privileged few,luxuriating in covetous courtship with the powerful,and hell-bent on stifling intellectual growth and freedom. Jawo may have been driven to the edges of intellectual frustration, but the ebullience and resilience in him,larger than imaginable,will rekindle his hopes,put him once again,on the cusp of his mission: to speak the unvarnished truth without fear or favour,in these days of Gambian political insanity. And incivility. While at the Observer,Jawo unwittingly earned himself the custodianship of the newspaper's traditions and precepts. He infused responsibility and accountability in all of us - young writers,occasionally prone to youthful immaturities and peccadilloes yet working for a credibly serious newspaper. He knew us all by our personae,typescripts,writing styles and work ethics. And he would dutifully point out our errors and proffer solutions,and then leave you to defend your position. Jawo's writings as a reporter and columnist at the Observer had the cutting edge of truth. He never shied away from speaking his mind even if the scales of public opinion were against him. That's one of the traits of a good columnist: readiness to grapple with any issues whether controversial or inflammatory of majoritarian tyranny. And Jawo was such good columnist. He wrote with verve and enthuasism,profundity and clarity,honesty and objectivity. He combined toughness and civility,which made his acerbic writings painfully irresistible,instructively unputdownable. Read this: "The AFPRC also promised us that openness,transparency and accountability will be the hallmarks of the regime, but it appears that there is quite a lot left to be desired in that regard. We have witnessed the summary dismissal of senior civil servants and other republic servants,and others have been arrested and detained without anyone caring to tell us the reasons for such drastic actions." Jawo was doing a stocktaking of the AFPRC'S 100 days in power in 1994. Five years later,his words still have a ring of truth about current political realities in our nation. But Jawo had one skill that many columnists do not have: he had ways of telling you 'go to hell' and still have you come back to him looking for friendship. Do you want a proof of that? Just see how he single-handedly challenged State House Imam Abdoulie Fatty on his fanatical rabble-rousings,which Jawo considered to be inimical to Islamic sanity,secular unity and societal progress. In return,the Imam "threatened" Jawo,but later denied he ever did so. He said he would be happy to meet Jawo and even shake hands with him. Imam Fatty's overt change of heart was not because he wittingly submitted himself to self-scrutiny,but because he discovered his threats could not frighten Jawo into silence;that Jawo was a mountain that didn't move. He was rock-solid in his opinions on the actions of the Imam. Jawo was not the type of reporter or columnist easily brow-beaten into reticence. Speak his mind he must! I recall with great nostalgia my days at the Observer with Jawo. If he was not editing news reports,he was always busy scribbling notes which he would later develop into a thought-provoking essay or commentary. His eyes gazing above the rims of his lenses,adorned with his grizzled hair,Jawo would always engage us in journalistic dialogue on issues of the day. He would ask probing questions and then a proliferation of ideas would follow. We never always agreed with him,but oftentimes we listened with painstaking attention,as he argued his points. My respect for Jawo increased when, out of sheer ethica values,he stood by me during my confrontation with the then Acting Nigerian High Commissioner Goffrey Teneilabe. The High Commissioner was incensed by an article I wrote in my column in 1995 lambasting his propagandist diplomacy at the behest of Sani Abacha,Nigeria's most brutal military dictator since Ironsi in 1966. I wrote: "Time after time,the Acting Nigerian High Commissioner,more loquacious than profound,has put up a spirited defence in favour of the Abacha regime. The Abuja administration is constantly proffered panegyric stakes. And anything critical of it is viewed disdainfully." The High Commisioner went bonkers! He threatened to sue me and the Daily Observer Company,for libel? We wondered. Granted,facts and Almighty God were on my side,and I had received tremendous support from Nigerians in the streets,I still was visibly shaken by the threat of a suit. Here was a young columnist taking to task a high commissioner of the most powerful country in West Africa. I didn't want to go through all the rigmarole of court proceedings;it was going to waste my time and delay my efforts to pursue university education abroad,I lamented. And I was concerned that my family,which was always opposed to my journalism career,would have had more genuine reasons why I needed to quit the profession. But Jawo determinedly pep talked me out of my emotional distress. "You have nothing to fear," he reassured me. "Your opinions are your opinions," he added. He reasoned that to put me on trial for my opinions,expressed within the ambits of the law,would be a travesty, and that the Nigerian High Commission was simply fighting a rearguard situation. Up till I left The Gambia in 1996,nobody would tell me anything more about a lawsuit from the Nigerian High Commission. An informed source would later tell me the suit-threat had been dropped,and the High Commissioner had simply lodged a complaint against me at the Foreign Affairs Ministry on Marina Parade. Jawo's moral support was very instrumental. It energized my zeal to pen down yet more groundbreaking articles. He dusted off old copies of the AfricaNow and New African magazines from his drawers and handed them to me. His wish was to open up my mind to the didactic writings of Peter Enahoro,Abdu Rahman Babu and Phillip Ochieng,three great African columnists who made great strides on Africa's journalistic scene in the 1970s and 80s. In those days,Jawo was already writing in the opinion pages of these magazines. His interest in journalism is as old as the hills. Dismissal from the Observer will make not break Jawo. Always determined and perceptive, he will bounce back and carry on with his mission. He is undaunted. In the pursuit of truth he shall continue to persevere. And survive. I think the world of Jawo. _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. 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