Commentary
Gambia National Army: Allegiance to Yahya Jammeh; but what about our country?
By Mathew K. Jallow, Associate Editor
Afang Ibilis viciously looks on
The enigmatic signs of history repeating itself are manifesting tantalizingly in every facet of Gambian life. The observable and often innocuous signs speak vividly and eloquently for themselves. For from the monopoly of our nation’s radio and television airwaves, to a fistful of extra judicial laws in Jammeh’s arsenal, to his portraits adorning crumbling mud walls, dilapidated office buildings and bowing lampposts overlooking dusty streets, filthy and stagnant drainage water, and listless citizens going nowhere fast; the ubiquitousness of Yahya Jammeh’s symbolic presence, clearly represents an unhealthy dose of political propaganda. The signs of things to come are discernable everywhere one looks. And The Gambia in Yahya Jammeh’s future is already here. The Gambia today is reminiscent of many countries whose rulers have, as a matter of policy, used weapons of violence and intimidation to contain dissidence to ensure survival of their regimes. Libya’s Ghaddafi! Check. Cuba’s Fidel Castro! Check. North Korea’s Kim IL Sung! Check! Venezuela’s Chavez! Check. These are only the few in a long list of other countries where barbarity became a normal political expression in everyday life. In the quest for absolute political domination; murder, torture, maiming, incarceration, and the disappearances of citizens have historically been used as weapons of deterrent against dissidence and insurgencies and Gambia has had its share of these political martyrs. But the deaths of our martyrs, rather than intimidate us, must be the sources of our strengths and resolve to continue the fight for which they nobly lost their lives.
The violent methods that Yahya Jammeh is utilizing to enforce compliance to his dictates in order to achieve total domination over our compatriots, are scripted in the same rogue rule book; the dictator’s bible if you wish. And it is called Terrorism. In every way one looks at it, Gambia today is a terrorized nation, where those who have fled the shores of our country, are keeping the spirit of political dissent alive and well. The terrorism in The Gambia, in its broader definition, can be extrapolated to include more just Jammeh’s use of physical violence; but to encompass the mental torture so often brought on by the fear for ones’ life; a fear that is at once both paralyzing our countrymen and women, in terms of rendering them unable to function in a normal and healthy way, as well as draining our fellow citizens of the impetus to create and produce in service of our country. But, for the most glaring manifestation of political domination in our country, one has ironically only to look at our military and security force; two institutions created to provide security for our fellow citizens. Paradoxically, the military and security forces, out of mortifying fear have abrogated their cardinal responsibilities to The Gambia. Their docility has become entrenched by the perennial fear of Yahya Jammeh; a man whose power derives from the very military and security forces that fear him the most. Without the military and security forces securing his life, Yahya Jammeh’s murderous reign would not survive the anger and rage eating into the hearts of Gambians across the tribal divide. Yahya Jammeh has generated much pain and suffering in our country with hundreds of families across the country losing loved ones to murders, disappearances of nearly twenty Gambians, most for several years now and are now feared dead, and, of course, the hundreds of innocent Gambians imprisoned needlessly across the country.
Of all The Gambians terrorized by Jammeh, our military and security forces are the least able to offer any form of resistance. This is despite Jammeh using them as mere toys in his war against the media, political parties and fellow citizens who pride in their God-given and constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. As O.J. said to a gathering of journalists and media personnel a week ago, our birth and constitutional rights are non negotiable; not now, not ever. When Jammeh and his fellow military officers were dissatisfied with Jawara’s government, they went to Banjul to vent their frustrations with the government. It was their constitutionally protected right to picket their own government, but today, our military and security forces dare not even mention Yahya Jammeh’s name, much less protest the regime, in spite of all the murders committed on behalf of Yahya Jammeh. It is evident now that the overthrow of Jawara deprived us of a stable government and a functioning bureaucracy. In its place, we have a civil service that is totally dysfunctional, and a country where terror by murder, torture and intimidation is used as a mechanism of governance. Jammeh is so comfortable with himself that he now compels citizens across the country to offer free slave labor on one of his numerous farms and civil servants who do not show up are branded enemies of the regime and risk losing their government jobs. As we speak, Jammeh continues to seize the properties of citizens, turning them into his own and making him by far the biggest property owner in the country. Clearly, Jammeh is doing more harm to our country everyday he remains at State House.
Most recently, Demba Jawo in a detailed article informed us that our radio and television stations are broadcasting news about Jammeh around the clock, and Gambians rather turn to Senegalese television and radio to hear alternative news and views. Today, the whole country is one big display of Jammeh’s posters and our prison system is filled to the over capacity with innocent Gambians who committed no crimes. Our justice system is unable to protect our fellow countrymen and women from Yahya Jammeh’s murderous regime. And while Jolas are occupying every major position in our government at the exclusion of all other tribes, rampant corruption is ensuring that those entrusted to enforce our laws, are aggravating the suffering of our people. Our embassies around the world are in the hands of virtual illiterates and classless ignoramuses; apart from being under funded and under staffed with Gambians capable of representing our country. Recently, to make matters worst, Jammeh took over several ministerial portfolios making him holder of most jobs by an individual. The fake Sheik, fake Prof, fake Dr. Alhaji Yahya Jammeh, illegitimate President of the Rep. of The Gambia, is now also Minister of Information, Communication and Technology, Minister of Defense, Minister of Religious Affairs, Minister of Petroleum, Minister of Agriculture, General Overseer of the Gambia Ports Authority and The Gambia Civil Aviation Authority. And now it seems like Jammeh’s propaganda is working with a segment of our population. Below is how a Daily Observer reader described Jammeh in a letter to the newspaper.
“Can you allow me space in your media to express my felicitation, appreciation, recognition, congratulation, satisfaction, gratitude, to my humble and able President, His Excellency, Shiek, Professor, Alhaji, Dr. Yahya A.J.J Jammeh-Musa, Jammeh Geelangkah. Dear Mr. President, allowed me to write these words on just a few of your qualities. As our beloved President, you are rightful, truthful, grateful, tactful, merciful, peaceful, cheerful, faithful, graceful, and respectful, and resourceful. You are the father and the healer of the nation. You have deserve this position as President. “Yala Na Fi Yagga Log Le Weer, Amin.”(May you Live Forever) “Jerejeff, (Thank you) Jerejefati (Thank you). Jammeh Musa Alhamdu lilla for being ours, “Jammeh Geelangkah.”
What a piece of crap! Nowadays, Daily Observer no longer carries regular pictures of Yahya Jammeh in their news reportage; instead, they doctor pictures showing Jammeh looking godly in the sky against the backdrop of the emptiness of infinite blue space, and below him are pictures of little people. It looks more like Kim IL Sung and North Korea revisited. With our military and security forces paying allegiance to Jammeh instead of our country and its population, there is not idea when all this Yahya Jammeh insanity will end.