A Prayer for the Devil Himself
By Mathew K Jallow, Associate Editor
A President or A Devil?
The mini public announcement in the APRC’s propaganda newspaper, The Gambia’s Daily Observer looks innocent enough, but its implications seem to be very powerful
indeed. The combined efforts of the Independence Drive and King Faqad mosques to organize a special Koranic prayer for this coward, this devil, this evil man, this killer, this man of no consequence, this internationally certified fool, is beyond the comprehension of ordinary Gambians who are at the receiving end of Yahya Jammeh’s brutality. That the Imam Ratib of Banjul would be at the front end of this disgraceful act of treachery to Gambians both living or murdered by this illegal military regime, tells so much more about the culture of a segment of Banjulians that many of us Gambians have found so disturbing. If one looks at the list of the nearly 100 Gambians killed by this regime over the past thirteen years, what becomes evident is that there are no Banjulians among them. This is not by accident, because like Sir Dawda before, Banjul Muslims have found the soft spot of this criminal buffoon that so many still insist on calling a President Yahya Jammeh. But, my intention here is not to disparage any Banjulian; rather, the intent is to draw their attention to things they have done wrong over all these years. For most of us, we see a country called The Republic of The Gambia, but for Banjul Muslims, their reality does not enable them see beyond The Republic of Banjul. They have no emotional attachment to anything that happens to people outside the walls of Banjul. This degree of separation is so severe; one would think Banjul Muslims see themselves as coming from a different species of human beings. But, if their combined emotional detachment to most things Gambian is not serious enough, their sense of entitlement is even more profoundly unsettling. It has become a tradition for Banjul Muslims under the Imam Ratib of Banjul to lobby Jawara and now Jammeh, by springing up a group of respected elders in order to secure privileges such as high profile jobs or simply to rescue Banjulians who are in serious trouble with the law as in corruption cases. The only other group that enjoyed such a powerful tool of brokering power was the Fabala and Banna Kanuteh brother duo, who did for the Mandinkas what Banjulians continue to do for Banjul Muslims. While these activities are in themselves not illegal, and do fall within our long held and practiced traditions, they run counter to all modern management practices, but beyond that, it is unethical to give unfair advantage to any one single group at the expense of others.
Imam Cherno Kah, Gambia's Imam Ratib,
(Photo, courtesy of the Gambian Daily Observer)
The Imam Ratib of Banjul should be the spiritual guidance of the entire Republic of The Gambia, and his moral obligation is to the entire people of our country, not just a select few. At this time, the Imam should be remembering not the three bulls Jammeh gave to his mosque, but all the fathers, mothers, wives, children whose sons and daughters and husbands Jammeh has brutally murdered. He should be out there visiting prisons and jails around the country to see the inhuman conditions and utter humiliation people are living and dying under in crowded prisons some equate to U.S.S.R’s gulags of the 70s. It is not the duty of the Imam to pray for Yahya Jammeh, rather, Jammeh will only be saved by his own actions. Even if the Imam uprooted the King Faqad Mosque and planted it in the middle of Asombi Bojang’s living room, his prayers will make no difference, whatsoever. The Prayer for Jammeh, apart from opening financial and other reward lifelines for the Imam and his politicized mosque clique, will have no spiritual benefits as far as God is concerned. After all, what does a little mosque prayer do for a person who says he can communicate directly with God, has supernatural powers no other human has, and can see into the future, something none of us can do? Yahya Jammeh does not need prayers, what he needs is to be removed by whatever means necessary and brought to justice for all his crimes. Yahya Jammeh’s death will be the most joyous occasion in our country’s history. If he is sick, what the people want is for him to die and go and meet Idi Amin in Hell. The Iman Ratib must be a part of the solution to putting an end to this “cultivated” Jammeh mystic which is beginning to assume messianic character not unlike Cuba’s Fidel Castro.
But, Yahya Jammeh is playing with the minds of our people and he knows exactly what he is doing and why he is doing it. When Jammeh’s mother got sick last year, he flew her to Brussels for treatment at the expense of all Gambians, and when he gets sick he is flying Overseas for treatment, but when Gambians get sick this clown could be seen with large containers of herbal concoction contaminated with Jammeh’s own faeces, The Holy Quran in one hand and murmuring and spitting his nasty germ ridden saliva into the concoction before giving it to people to take. The Imam Ratib of Banjul and Imams all across our country are challenged to tell their congregations what is really going on in our country. This regime is killing people, others are disappearing at the dead of night never to be seen aive again, children rummaging for food in tourist garbage dumpsters, childhood prostitution has become a reality, rampant corruption is the order of the day with Yahya Jammeh himself singularly responsible for looting nearly 75% of finances taken from our national treasury, police and security service brutality is at an all time high, prices of food are unaffordable for most Gambians, the civil service and civil society organizations have disintegrated, military morale, especially at the lover ranks is at an all time low, the telecommunications system is gradually breaking down, utilities blackouts continue unabated, roads across the country from Serekunda to Basse and Koina are in a critical state of disrepair, farmers cannot sell their produce or are owed monies for three to five years now, the countryside villages are deserted as everyone now lives within 30 square kilometers of Kombo North, South and St. Mary’s Island, and last but not least, a handful of handpicked Jolas are now running the country, occupying the most important portfolios as if The Gambia is a Jola hegemony.
Finally, there are many souls out there deserving of The Imam Ratib’s and his cliques' prayers. They are the children growing up without their fathers; Jammeh killed their dads. They are mothers who lost the breadwinners of the family, their husbands; Jammeh killed them too. They are fathers and mothers still looking for their military and non- military sons vanished from the face of this earth; Jammeh made them disappear too. It is these Gambians and those child prostitutes, those begging children, those hungry children foraging for food in tourist dumpsters, who are in need of a prayer, Imam. It is they and the rest of us who need to be saved from this rapacious brute called Yahya Jammeh. For once get some courage Imam Ratib, and stand for the truth and on the side of the suffering people of our blessed country. Your responsibility is what the people have entrusted in you, and you and your clique are not to line your pockets and bank accounts with monies Jammeh is stealing from the poor and miserable farmers of our country. To take a minute to remind the Imam about all those who lost their lives, below is a list.
A List of Gambians Murdered by Jammeh’s Regime.
Ousman Koro Ceesay: former APRC Finance Minister
Sidia Sanyang: died from NIA torture injuries) UDP
Omar Barrow: Journalist
Dayda Hydara: Journalist
Ousman Ceesay: A UDP supporter
13 Gambian Students Killed on April 10th and 11th. 2000.
Daba Marena: former director of National Intelligence Agency
Staff Sergeant Malafi Corr: Gambia National Army
Sergeant Major Alpha Bah: Gambia National Army
Lieut. Ebou Lowe: Gambia National Army
Lieut. Alieu Ceesay: Gambia National Army
Sgt. Fafa Nyang: Gambia National Army
Lieut. Basiru Barrow: Gambia National Army
Captain Sadibou Hydara: Gambia National Army
Lieut. Almamu Manneh: Gambia National Army
Saja Kujabi: Dobong Village
Haruna Jammeh: Kanilia
Lieut. Abdoulie Dot Faal: Gambia National Army
Lieut. Bakary Manneh: Gambia National Army
Lieut. Buba Jammeh: Gambia National Army
Lieut. Momodou Lamin Darboe: Gambia National Army
Cadet Officer Sillah: Gambia National Army
Lieut. Bassiru Camara: Gambia National Army
Corpl. Mendy: Gambia National Army
Lieut. Gibril Seye: Gambia National Army
Sergeant Dumbuya: Gambia National Army
Yaya Jammeh: Kartong Rebel Attacker
55 Ghanaian Nationals massacred
2 Senegalese Nationals murdered
1 Guinean National murdered
1 Togolese National murdered
Captain Tumbul Tamba: Gambia National Army (mysterious death)
Captain Musa Jammeh: Gambian National Army (mysterious death)
Colonel Vincent Jatta: Army Commander (mysterious death)
Lieut. Solomon Jammeh: Gambia National Army (mysterious death)
Lamin Sanneh: former Permanent Secretary (Died as a result of torture)
Lieut. Biran Saye: Gambia National Army
Pa M. Jallow: former NIA Director (mysterious death)
The total of human beings who were murdered by Yahya Jammeh and his rogue regime totals one hundred and forty-five individual people, which includes a woman and 12 school children from the Serekunda area. Once in a while make it about the people in our country and not about how you can skim some money from Yahya Jammeh, which he does not own, but steals from all of us. And by the way, let us all say a prayer for the Imam Ratib of Banjul so God will give him the courage to speak truth to power. God knows he needs our prayers, poor soul.All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this article or any other article or image, or portions thereof, in any form or context without the expressed permission of The Gambia Echo Newspaper.