Is President Jammeh A Criminal or A Fool?

By Momodou Badjie, Western Foni, The Gambia

As a Gambian living in The Gambia, I want to seize this opportunity to remind President Jammeh the dictator that nothing lasts forever except the Kingdom of the Almighty God.  Jammeh's presidency validated our perceptions that he is both a fool and a criminal. Whenever a leader fails to think about the consequences of his actions, something very serious is missing in the puzzle. If anyone doesn’t agree with him then you are fired and remanded in Mile Two Prisons. Families have been put through hell in the country because their breadwinners are routinely hired, fired, tortured and humiliated for no apparent reasons. Since the President has no sense of focus, his immaturity and indecisiveness led to the destruction of many families in the country. The norm has been that wise leaders always surrounded themselves with policy technocrats and experienced people to avoid serious mistakes that will jeopardize their presidency. Dr Jammeh has lost focus a long time ago because the entire programme is about his power as a President. Democracy in The Gambia is nothing but a big joke because Jammeh is not mature and will never lead The Gambia to any successful path. The Gambia is doomed because the Checks and Balance Systems of governments of the previous regime were buried on July 22, 1994. There is no serious judiciary to apply the law to its letter and the common man has become the biggest loser. The abuse of human rights is far beyond anybody's imagination. Comparing us with Senegal is an insult and to talk of western democratic standard and think about ours is tantamount to hallucination.

Let us just think about the notorious NIA monitoring every move of citizens with the never-ending detentions of innocent civilians. Pathetic business!! Sometimes as I travel through every village and hamlet I wonder why we can't have anything good like the Western world. The Gambia's size with good governance and transparent and feasible economic policies could transform our country into an earthly paradise where every citizen wants to live.

When a fool is in power a rational approach is always out of the equation. Let us take a moment and reflect on Iraq under Saddam Hussein-the abuse of power, and the innocent civilian killings and guess what? During the invasion where was the supposedly biggest warrior, daily dressed in a General’s regalia with two pistols firing shots in the crowds to show power?  He was nothing but a fool. He could have easily agreed to the full disclosure of everything but refused. As the saying goes "when the going gets tough the tough gets going". When the mighty Iraqi army fell under the US and the allied forces, Saddam was found hiding in a hole and captured probably by someone younger than his son …uh what a shame?  In order words, he chickened out when things were tough letting the innocent die for an unworthy cause of patriotism. In a similar situation in The Gambia when the junta came even one person could have blown all of them in the 505 Peugeot Sedan they drove to The State House. On that day our vehicle was the third or forth to be refused crossing at the Denton Bridge. Sir Dawda never had any serious guards to protect him and country. His security personnel team was more like secretaries or clerks in an office. As we have experienced since then, nothing has gotten better because it's been a roller coaster ride from one hell hole to another. It is true it helped build some appointees' resumes but it continued to destroy innocent families.

I want to remind Dr. Jammeh about his immaturity and irrational behavior because he will not lead The Gambia forever. He does not want be a Saddam hiding in a hole to be arrested by a twenty eight year old or so. Jammeh thinks that it is only okay for him to topple a legitimate government and it is not okay for the Captain Darboes, Jarjues, Bahs and etc to get rid of him. For Gambians back home we will never give up until he steps down, release all the political prisoners and create the environment for a free press. He is a criminal and a fool but beyond that, Yahya Jammeh is a hypocrite. He hates the press so much yet he enjoys their coverage of his pet policies and projects.

Brothers and Sisters let us never give up until we get rid of this dictator because someday we look forward to welcoming all of you back to The Gambia. As a cautionary statement, let us always remember that we have a bigger task at hand than the petty squabbles of personal differences. We in The Gambia will never rest until this dictator is removed from power.

Momodou Badgie "ANAYBH"

Western Foni