THINKING ALOUD
The debate must be joined, to let ideas sprout and views exchanged, so that humanity benefits from the knowledge and wisdom spread.
Gambia must Never Again produce another Yahya Jammeh!
Lawyer Ousainou Darboe delivered a most pertinent statement, after being sworn in as the country’s new foreign minister and top diplomat, at the 1st January 2017 Kairaba Beach Hotel ceremony presided over by President Adama Barrow, who has called Darboe his “mentor”.
Darboe explained the meaning of the solemn oaths – oath of allegiance to the REPUBLIC, oath of office to execute their duties without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, and the oath of secrecy which Darboe described as protective of the state and, by extension, the President.
The oath of allegiance, he said, enjoins the new cabinet ministers not to build around the President a “personality cult”, but to be faithful to the Republic of The Gambia and to help Barrow in shaping the destiny of the nation faithfully. In other words, they have sworn allegiance to the Republic, and to serve the Gambian people faithfully. We hope the new President Barrow and his cabinet colleagues will imbibe well these words of wisdom.
Darboe’s advice rhymes well with the thinking which underpins our launching of the Never Again Movement (NAM), which we are promoting, and whose raison d’etre is to organize and campaign for the Gambian masses to stand up and make sure that there will “Never Again!” be a leader like Yahya Jammeh in this country!
NAM will campaign and ask the people to be vigilant to prevent the emergence of another Gambian leader like Yahya Jammeh!
This is why we will lend our support to the setting up of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as soon as possible, which will exposed and record the myriad crimes committed by, including the unforgettable abuses and indignities Gambians were subjected to, by the governments of Yahya Jammeh, between July 1994 and January 2017.
It will show how Jammeh was not motivated by altruism (as he claimed) but self-gain, and how in the past 22 years Jammeh managed to hoodwink some Gambians into thinking he is a saint, while he perfected his abuse of office and abuse of power as he worked to realise his misguided ambition of self-perpetuating misrule.
Related to the foregoing; in passing, we want to recommend to our readers the opinion piece entitled: “The End of an Era!!” by Baaba mu Sabel (see The Point newspaper edition dated Monday January 30, 2017), which provides a good insight into the personality of Yahya Jammeh. Indeed, Baaba Sillah has set the right tone in his piece, which shows what must be done now to document the era of misrule under Jammeh’s Gambia.
No amnesty for Jammeh and co
This is why one must concur with the views of Mo Ibrahim, on the issue of not granting amnesty to Jammeh and his cronies.
In a 23 January message congratulating the Gambian people “for the successful conclusion of a difficult electoral process” (carried in local newspapers), he said:
“We hope that The Gambia will find the space to put in place an authentic process for its people to reconcile themselves within a framework of national unity. However, this demarche should not in any way condone impunity for violations, atrocities and abuses that are related to the 22 years of authoritarian rule.”
We may not need to look far to ensure due process in making Jammeh answer for any crimes committed against the Gambian people, as there are already laws in our statute books such as laws for economic crimes, the recent anti-corruption legislation, sedition, treason, etc., which Jammeh used against people and political opponents, in the name of “rule of law”, and which can now be used to try him and his associates for any wrongdoing.
In any case, Never Again must Gambians allow themselves to be taken for a ride! Never Again must Gambians be rendered helpless and taken advantage of by an unscrupulous leader like Yahya Jammeh! Never Again must Gambians allow their leader to manipulate and to work the system, so as to use the state machinery to serve his/her selfish ends; indeed, to use resources belonging to the nation to enrich himself/herself and his cronies and associates, the way Yahya Jammeh did!
Never Again must they allow a leader to act with such impunity; indeed, to have his way in everything! Never Again must Gambians allow their leader to abuse his/her office; abuse his/her power, in the way the unbearably arrogant Yahya Jammeh did!
To be a paragon – yes, we can
Indeed, , this is our opportunity to create a state whose democratic governance super-structure would be a paragon, and could be said to outshine – as Halifa Sallah has been saying for decades – even what obtains in the world’s so-called most advanced democracies. It is possible; yes, we can do it; and this is our chance!
Again, we want to remind ourselves of what former U.S. president Obama said: “…what we need is not strongmen, but strong institutions,” in Africa. Obama was talking about African leaders who see themselves as “indispensable”, such as Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Uganda’s Museveni.
The creation of strong institutions must be the focus of the Barrow Administration! This is our firm conviction! Actually, the Barrow Administration is an interregnum; it is a good pause to enable us re-examine ourselves, then take action to correct and re-direct our path to get us to a better and brighter future.
This must be done in such a way that, come 2020, when Barrow’s term ends, his administration will bequeath to Gambians a model of good government in Africa. This should be the priority focus of Barrow’s transitional government!
Remember, we had a two-year Transition to civilian rule, under the AFPRC, which led to Yahya Jammeh’s Gambia of the past 22 years. We recall that the AFPRC used this Transition Period to embark on so-called development projects, which they then presented to Gambians and the world as evidence of what Jammeh can do, if given a chance, which led to the first election of Yahya Jammeh as the president of this country. We all know what that has led to, how it turned out and how it all ended by 21st January 2017, when Jammeh was forced into exile.
Gambians must be vigilant this time round, so that now under Adama Barrow, the three-year Transition Period truly leads to the emergence of a New Gambia.
We hope all goes as envisioned, and that we do not find ourselves in the same scenario all over again, as happened in 1996 and post-AFPRC junta.
Again, this must be ensured through Gambians being very vigilant, and making sure that Barrow’s Administration is truly transitional to a New Gambia – and not a revival of the old or even worst – and please don’t say “No Way!”, as we have seen this happening all over Africa – in Sierra Leone and Guinea, for example.
Way Forward
It is our strong belief that Barrow’s Transitional Administration is not supposed to work to bring about “development”. Of course, any government, at the barest minimum, must work to address the basic needs of the population, including vital infrastructure.
Indeed, in our view, the three-year Transitional Administration should be a period to focus on rectification of the derailment of ship of state under the Yahya Jammeh era. This means giving priority to implementing constitutional/legal reforms to correct everything Jammeh did to subvert the state, by making the legislature, judiciary, national economic institutions, national security apparatus etc., subservient and to serve his personal interest.
If the Barrow Administration succeeds in doing this, then it would have built and bequeathed to Gambians the strong foundation which Lawyer Ousainou Darboe alluded to in his statement referred to at the very beginning of this opinion piece.
We strongly believe this is the Way Forward!