A Trilogy of Jammeh’s Political

Failure & Fading Historical Relevance

 

 

      BY TIJAN NIMAGA, Bronx New York

 

The failure of President Jammeh’s government has not only affected our nation’s economy but has also tarnished most of our historical monuments, as well as our traditional practices, and seeks to destroy anything that can educate or remind the Gambia’s younger generation of what our country was like before and after the colonial eras.

 

In the first place it is the duty of any nation to preserve its historical monuments, even in the event of national disasters, so that such monuments and traditions can be kept alive for generations to come. The people of modern Greece and ancient Rome preserved their historical monuments and traditions for thousands of years from one generation to another, which is why the wonders of their ancient civilizations are still marvellous today. Had it not been for the unique patriotism of the ancient Romans and Greeks and their ability to preserve those historical monuments, nothing would have been known about them in our modern world. The ancient Babylonians and their wonders survived for centuries because they were, and are still are, well preserved by a proud people.

 

In the case of our own Gambia, our master politician, Alhagi Sir Dawda Jawara, preserved and contributed to help keep our historical monuments safe. During his years of stable rule, he went even further to develop the sites of some of them. He did not tamper with any historical monuments but, when Yaya Jammeh came to power, the wonders of our nation and its traditions started to disappear like stardust being blown away by a heavy wind.

   

Forty-three years ago, on the 18 February 1965, when The Gambia gained its sovereignty from Great Britain, names of historical places remained unchanged and these names helped us to remember our brothers and sisters, all responsible citizens, and those among the colonial Governors who, during the colonial era, struggled to fight for our independence from Great Britain. Yet today, sad to say, almost every single historical monument of the forty-three years after colonialism that contributed to our preserved history has been wiped out by president Jammeh’ s regime. The reason he gave for substituting names of certain landmarks to those of his own was to get rid of colonial memories. This statement, as stupid and ahistorical as it sounds, has left many young Gambians in doubt and anger as to why the names of some of the nation’s most cherished historical monuments had to be changed. Some of the reasons why President Jammeh’s monumental assault has dented our country’s past traditions and history are as follows:

       

MacCarthy Square changed to “July 22nd Square.”

MacCarthy Square is a very important historical monument in our nation’s history. The pivotal landmark itself was preserved for almost every state occasion during the colonial days and, afterwards, it was used as a war memorial ground. The parade park was named after Sir Charles MacCarthy, one of Great Britain’s colonial Governors assigned to The Gambia. MacCarthy Square had seen many of our nation’s finest young men begin their melancholy journey as Britain’s allies in the Second World War. These young men, unlike our military today, had had just few weeks’ training before being transported to Burma (present day Myanmar) where they joined thousands of young soldiers from all the British colonies around the world, to fight alongside Great Britain. I can recall the wonderful impression that the parade ground had on one of our nation’s Second World War veterans during a memorial ceremony in the late 1980s when he said that MacCarthy Square was the one place on earth that reminded him of his fellow comrades who had stood just a few meters from where he was standing before being transported to Burma. In a choking voice he reminisced over so many chilling scenes within the park. On that day, as he continued narrating one incident after another to Radio Gambia’s legendary Lalo Samateh on a live broadcast, consoled him to be calm, but he could not hold back his tears and Lalo Samateh had to end the interview. This incident alone illustrates that changing the name of MacCarthy Square to any other is an assault on The Gambia’s historical legacy. Although there are few veteran survivors of the Second World War today, had the name of MacCarthy Square been preserved, it could have represented all of those heroes who did so much to protect our freedom and dignity, instead of a rebel name that has nothing but a disaster registered as its trade mark. There is one important monument in the park, which is a constant image and that is the fountain erected to commemorate the coronation of Britain’s King George VI, the father of the present Queen. This fountain was erected in 1937. Thus, the changing of the park’s name by President Jammeh was designed to among other things, bury our country’s important past. Certainly, no sane man wanted colonialism. However, the preservation of what transpired in relation with those who colonised us should be preserved for every generation to know our painful past.

 

Changing the names of the five Divisions of The Gambia to Regions 

 

The second stage of President Yaya Jammeh’s political trilogy was to change the names of our country’s Administrative Divisions. During Sir Dawda’s regime, our nation was divided into the Western Division (WD), Lower River Division (LRD), North Bank Division (NBD), MacCarthy Island Division (MID) and Upper River Division (URD) and The Gambia River used as a geographical division of the country. Using the River Gambia as a divider made it easy for foreign visitors, such as tourists, to know where or what part of the River Gambia they were visiting and changing the names left many people in doubt, especially foreign tourists who visit The Gambia on a seasonal basis. Another important factor is that the birth certificates of nearly 70% of The Gambia’s population are registered under the post colonial format and it will be very odd to have your birth certificate registered under the Upper River Division and all your children’s birth certificates under the name of the Upper River Region.

 

Government Appointment of Chiefs Instead of the Conventional Method.

The final act in the trilogy of President Jammeh’s political failures and fading traditions is the recent appointment of chiefs by election rather than by the traditional method. This method will attract more greedy and ambitious politicians to stand, even if they are not capable of doing the job. The role of Chiefs in The Gambia can be equated to traditional monarchy elsewhere in the world whereby the adult members of society choose the most trusted, clever and responsible person from a family, which has assumed the position for decades. However, when the role of Chiefs depends on political fortunes, the traditional values will be lost forever. For my part I will always treasure the memory of the traditional police force with their ruby red hats, kaki pants and kaki shirts. Their role to effect arrest for minor crimes committed by a villager will remain in my mind forever.