Echo News Analysis
By Mathew K Jallow
Hypocrisy & Propaganda
President Jammeh’s Hypocrisy
On the occasion of his third and hopefully last inauguration, Yahya Jammeh’s remarks were true to form. First, his twenty minutes message was by every indication, an empty and meaningless tirade: talking loud, but saying absolutely nothing. If anything, it was an occasion for his usual boastful and condescending propaganda, and his appeal for forgiveness from Gambians was preceded by his promise to “forgive us.” His forgiveness of us seemed like a clear, threatening reminder of his beneficence. Forgive us? What? In what world is Yahya Jammeh living in? Forgive us! Forgive us for what?
Another closer look at Jammeh’s short speech will reveal several hypocrisies and falsehoods: an apparent attempt by Jammeh to hoodwink Gambians, but more importantly, to create an air of indispensability in the minds of our mostly illiterate compatriots. When Jammeh confessed in his speech, “it is not easy to build a nation,” he was right on the money. The only difference is that no one asked him to build a nation, rather, his duty as the head of a government is to develop a geographically defined space we call our country. A nation in our case is not defined by the concept of physical boundary; instead it is the fusion of so many different ethnic and tribal groupings into a unitary political organization. That nation was created and built for us by our former colonial masters, and for generations we have lived peacefully side-by-side. But now, Jammeh is doing everything to in his power to create discord and destroy the civility that has existed in that nation created for us so long ago. There is no doubt Yahya Jammeh is not building, but slowly destroying the coalition of ethnic and tribal groups that were forged into the nation we all call home today.
Further, Jammeh’s call for honesty, loyalty and discipline from Gambians is evidently misplaced. If anything, it is Jammeh who is clearly morally bankrupt and lacking any discipline, who needs to inculcate these virtues in himself. His arguments against tribalism, regionalism and other forms of intolerance clearly has merit, but again, with his open tribal and regional politics, he has proven to be the wrong person to advocate the agenda of tolerance to anyone. Yahya Jammeh must be delusional if he thinks that we are not seeing through his every action. From the disproportionate prevalence of his fellow Jola tribesmen in most high profile positions in our government, to the absence of provincial born citizens in any position of significance in his government, his every action is being watched and documented for posterity. In the same breath that Jammeh spoke sagely of national unity, his mention of Singapore in relation to Gambia’s development is an unfitting frame of reference. First of all, Singapore has compulsory education for all its citizens, with a literacy rate of 95% compared to just 15% for The Gambia. For The Gambia to be like Singapore, it will take more than just hope and wistful thinking; it will take a high literacy rate, transparency in government, high degree of freedom of press and civil society, and a democratic system supported by laws that will demand public accountability and the rule of law. The Gambia is far removed from any of these ideals of good governance. Until we get there, all of Jammeh's empty promises will come to nothing whatsoever.
Daily Observer’s Misinformation
At a recent UNDP meeting, The Daily Observer as expected, did much to misrepresent the facts and the data of the annual Human Development Index (HDI) developed by the U.N. to measure country performances in terms of investment in their citizens. Rather than focus on the real meaning and social and economic implications of the study, the paper deceptively limited the discussion to the issue of water resources, even though water resources were only a minute part of the overall 400-page document.
By ranking The Gambia 155th out of the 177 countries on the index, the UNDP study is giving The Gambia an absolute failing grade for an abysmal performance. Of the 177 countries studied around the world, The Gambia performed just a little better than only 21 of those countries, while 154 countries did much better than us, scoring far ahead of The Gambia in terms of caring and helping to lift their citizens out of abject poverty. Every other thing the Daily Observer reported on the HDI, was mere sugarcoating and hot air. The Daily Observer must realize that the time is over when our people were fed false and fabricated information without being challenged. Every junk news and information the pro-Jammeh media puts out there will be scrutinized, vetted and countered for inaccuracies and falsehoods. To continue down this path of deceit and misinformation of our people, is a disservice to our countrymen and women, and an exploitation of their illiteracy and lack of political awareness. The Daily Observer is the mouthpiece of this Jammeh government, and in so doing, is participating in and spearheading the transformation of our country into malleable and vulnerable society. Our duties are to strengthen our country’s institutions, and not to weaken them. With the remote control of The Daily Observer from the State House, the paper is not about to change its leopard spots anytime soon. Until it does, we will continue to monitor what the paper spews out from its propaganda mills, and the talking points emanating from Yahya Jammeh's media control room.
Banjulians At It Again
The meeting between Abdou Jobe and his high profile Banjul delegation with his highness Yahya Jammeh
was both irreverent and disgraceful. Mr. Jobe evidently has no shame or pride in him; instead he has shown himself to be a slave to his own greed for material wealth.
Imagine the handing over of cola nuts to appease Yahya Jammeh, and its implication in the swelling of Jammeh’s ego. But, what is most striking is the fact that such respectable personalities in our society will belittle themselves before Yahya Jammeh by merely appearing before him in a submissive and a position of weakness. This shameful practice of submissiveness to Jammeh has it origin from the Jawara era, when Banjulians under the aegis of the Imam Ratib, and the Mandinkas under Banna and Fabala Kanuteh marched delegations to the president each time someone in their community was in trouble. The practice of patronage in our society has no place in the realm of governance, and unless we accept impersonal relationships to govern our system of government, every positive step we take ahead, will bring us two steps back. If people like Abdou Jobe have access to such high-powered delegation to militate against any possible sanctions, where does this leave the vast majority of people who don’t have the same access to power? We already have a system in place where citizens have an unequal access to justice, and the revival of the selective dispensation of justice, will only add to a complete mockery in which our system of justice system finds itself. It is not surprising that the other person to do such a shameful guttering of his own pride and dignity, Lie Conteh formerly of KMC, was also from the Banjul/Serekunda area. There is a history here, or better still a tradition or maybe it is a culture in the Greater Banjul area to put ethics and morality behind the pursuit of material wealth. There has always been a lot of talk about religion, but little about morals, ethics, pride and dignity. If Abdou Jobe committed the economic crimes he confessed to, then the law must take its course. It is not for Yahya Jammeh to pardon him. The crime is not against Yahya Jammeh; it is against The Gambian people, and consequently, unless Mr. Jobe was coerced or pressured into making a false confession, he must face the law of the land. In Mr. Jobe's twisted saga, we see history repeating itself. Abdou Jobe and Lie Conteh's cases do crystallize the disparity that has always existed between those connected to power and power brokers and those left to the brutal mercy of their own government. However, Jammeh does not own the nations resources even though he pretends as if he does, and he is not the law, even though he acts as if he is. A crime committed against The Gambian people is not a crime committed against Yahya Jammeh. Banjulians under the Jawara regime and now, have generally felt a sense of entitlement, and therefore expect special and different treatment from that metted to others, just like the Mandingos felt a sense of ownership of The Gambia, and demanded a special status different from any other tribe. This form of political pressure and favoritism has always been an antidote to good governance, and it is time we confront the scourges of inequality that this creates in our society. Meanwhile, to Abdou Jobe, Lie Conteh and all the others who have crawled back and kissed Jammeh’s feet after they have been so publicly disgraced and humiliated, the big question is; have you no shame left in you?