The Tribal Debate Overkill

    By Mathew K. Jallow

After again reading Sam Sarr’s article on the genesis of tribalism, it became evident that some of the passionate but brutal responses his article elicited, are mostly overkill. The cruel and venomous tones of some of the responses made me go back and read the article once more time, and truth be told, I found nothing to warrant the barrage of insults and irrational confrontation the article has generated. First of all, I think Sam Sarr also has every right as a Gambian to write about and to criticize former members of the defunct regime, just as he has the right to offer opinions on matters dealing with social and political issues of current and historical interest in our country. Sam’s ideas and perceptions could well be clouded by cultural and other biases, but that alone does not diminish his right to freely express himself about anything and everything he chooses. I have myself written articles criticizing Banjul Wollofs as mostly indifferent to problems facing provincial Gambians, and on more than one occasion, called some of them corrupt and nepotistic, but I am yet to get any response from any Banjulian over this. I recognize that by not responding and pinning tribalism labels on me, Banjulians are showcasing maturity, and perhaps, just perhaps, a recognition and acceptance of the validity of my opinions. But, in contrast, I wrote an article about tribalism around the same time in which I dwelt on the infighting between Banjulians and Mandinkas over political and economic control in then 70s and 80s, and true to form, the responses I got from some Mandinkas were fierce, sustained and lacked objectivity. I am still unable to wrap my mind around this level of sensitivity to criticism of former Mandinka bureaucrats and politicians by some Mandinkas, regardless of factual contents and objectivity of the analytical observations being made. Sam’s article, innocuous as it seems to me, has nonetheless, succeeded in inviting the deadly wrath of some critics who equate his analysis to hatred of Mandinkas. Unless we reach a level of intellectual maturity that will permits us to suppress our natural tendencies to defend our individual tribesmen, we will not be able to address the real tribalism which has over time created wedge issues that are tearing us apart philosophically.

This seeming resentment towards the Banjul Wollofs has more to do with the inferiority complex felt by the majority of provincial born, and this is gnawing into the hearts of many of us. The social relationship between Mandinka men and Banjul women as one writer indicated is a consequence of this. The quest for social elevation and acceptance in the competitive and materialistic Banjul culture continues to drive educated men from the provinces and the Kombos to court and marry Banjul area women. In that regard, Banjul women have become trophies to be won, and the desire to win this trophy and achieve social recognition within the Banjul circles, has consumed the psyches of many of these provincial and Kombo born men. But coming back to Sam Sarr’s article, I think its contents have been taken out of context making reactions to him out of place and totally unnecessary. I do not think either Momodou Manneh or the recently deceased Lamin Saho need anyone to defend them, and besides their PH. Ds have been questioned as fake for as long as I can remember, and in this case Sarr is only now saying what everyone knew as fact all along. My own understanding of the genesis of modern tribalism in The Gambia shares more or less the same path as the one described by Sarr, but I do not agree with some of his facts and the sequence of some of the events. In the beginning, the Fulas, namely Michael Baldeh, Paul Baldeh, Andrew (Assan) Camara, Chief Omar Mbakeh, Demba Koita Cham, M.C. Jallow and the rest were aligned with P.S. Njie’s U.P. This gave P.S.Njie the Premiership and denied Jawara the majority he needed to rule, and it was not until the Fulas as a block, left P.S. Njie and joined Jawara that he was assured the majority to win an election and become the first Prime Minister. I do not remember the circumstances surrounding these events, but what was clear is that between P.S. Njie and Jawara, two minorities both in terms of tribe and party, it was the Fulas who determined who led The Gambia. It is true that many provincial born held Banjulians in contempt and this had to do with the fact that many of them were groundnut traders for many major companies in Banjul, even though the Aku Marabouts and Lebanese were as culpable for cheating provincials as the Wollofs were. The tribal divides were not precipitated by the perception of dishonesty of Banjul Wollof traders, but it did aggravate the situation. In the beginning, it was the Akus who held power as Managing Directors of major institutions and government agencies, yet few realize that relationships between Akus and Banjulians were strained as the Akus were seen as not wanting to share power with their Banjul neighbors. The Wollofs resented the power of the Akus and as more of them got education and assume political power under P.S.Njie, J.C.Fye and Garba Jahumpa, they began to crowd the Akus out of their positions. By the first decade of independence, the Akus had been virtually wiped out of power by the Wollofs. By the early 70s, the Banjul Wollofs had completed their takeover just as the Mandinkas were emerging as a force to reckon with. Like the Akus and Wollofs before them, in the middle to late 70s, Mandinkas also began a process of systemic Mandinkanisation of the Civil Service and government, which continued until the coup in 1994. The objectives of the Mandinka political leaders was to create a permanent majority that could not be brought down and would ensure Mandinka dominance over all the other tribes, and this was a myopic rationalization as the architects failed to recognize the minority status of the Mandinkas. The Gambia like most African countries does have a majority tribe, but an amalgamation of minorities who must form coalitions to even form governments. Without the Fulas, Jawara could never have achieved a majority in any election much less become Prime Minister and President. Today, Yahya Jammeh’s open tribalism is most definitely a reaction to what he saw as the marginalisation of his tribesmen over the thirty-year Jawara rule. By the time he leaves office, Jammeh’s Jola tribesmen would receive the education that was denied to them under Jawara, and they would also have accumulated wealth just as the Mandinkas, the Wollofs and Akus before them did. Maybe next time will have a Fula, Serere or Serahule President to do the same thing for their tribes as well. That makes sense to me.

Finally, in all seriousness, I think we should lower the temperature and be rational about it. For one thing, I found no relationship between what Sam wrote and Saul Saidy-Khan’s long and boring thesis about the Manden. Anyone can write a claim to tribal glory, but I for one see no need or relevance to write a revisionist history of the Fulas as they spread across twenty-two countries in West, East and Central Africa from Ethiopia to Senegal and from Mauritania to Cameroon and Kenya. In the context of the discussion about tribalism generated by Sarr’s article, I see relevance in the fact that Senegal, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Nigeria have produced Fula Heads of State, including Nigeria’s new President Omar Yar’Dua. But, I would not even begin to list Fulas’ historical accomplishments through the centuries and as recently as the early last century. I think Saul Saidy-Khan should appreciate the fact as he so vehemently and passionately defends the Mandinkas; he is not a Mandinka going by his last name. The Gambia is the only place in the whole wide world where a Saidy- Khan, Saidy-Leigh, Saidy-Wan, Saidy- Bah or any hyphenated Saidy are considered anything other than Fulas; not in Senegal where probably 90% of all Saidys live. In the same vein, all Saballys are Fulas. I mentioned this because in The Gambia, shift in the demography includes the phenomenon of detribalization. The two tribal groups that benefited from this phenomenon are the Wollofs and Mandinkas and the biggest losers are the Fulas, Sereres and Jolas. The Fula population is diminishing as some like all the hyphenated Saidys, Saballys, Chams and Kandehs become Mandinkas, and the Jallow, Bah, Kah, Cham and Khan become Wollofs. Similarly, the Jola’s population diminishes, as the Bojang, Jammeh, Sanneh and some Badjie have become Mandinkanized. The Sarrs and other Sereres have also become Wollofs, but after centuries of assimilation, the Wollof/Serere divide has largely become so blurred as to be non-existent in the Banjul area. The phenomenon of detribalization is largely particular to The Gambia. What we call Wollof is therefore an amalgamation of various tribes adopting the Wollof culture and comprises Fulas, Sereres, Mandinkas and some Serahule. The tribal distinctions in The Gambia are therefore, increasingly becoming difficult to delineate. One of the things we must bear in mind, whether we are real Mandinkas or detribalized Mandinkas, real or detribalized Wollofs, or real or detribalized Fulas, is that we are a country of minority tribes and no one should aspire to a tribal hegemony and expect it will last forever. No one expected a member of the smallest tribe in The Gambia to rule, much less stay in power as long as Jammeh has done. If we open our heads rather than emotions, maybe we could learn something from Sarr’s article that will teach us that we either learn to live together or perish together. I grew up, as did all Fulas, being taught and really believing that the Fulas are the superior tribe and that everyone else was inferior to us. Now I know we are all the same and over the years, I have learnt to accept this infinite truth and needless to say, I would never go bonkers because someone has said something about the Fulas. So as the Americans say, let us all chill out fellows.