Echo Analysis

The Gambia- Where We Want to Be

 By Hamadi Maatong, Gambian Affairs Contributor

The Gambia has for long been a country basking in the limelight of a mature democracy gained from years of encouraging a thriving multi-party democracy and a full fledged democratic process on the ground from the post independence era up until the mid-eighties when the democratic process and the rule of law was trumped by poor governance, ineptitude and partisan politics. I refer back to the eighties because that was clearly when simple men and women from humble rural and Banjul beginnings started getting fat headed, walking around town with chips on their shoulders, Sir Dawda pins on coat lapels and losing sight of what they had promised themselves to do for their beloved Gambia while attending Western Colleges and Universities at state expense. Indeed in the post-independence era, we did witness vibrant political discourse and chants of opposition parties along the lines of “president bondooh te bayilaa”. Meaning, the removal of the president (Jawara) is imminent. This, of course did not happen through the ballot box.  Poor Sir Dawda became a lone visionary with no shortage of self-serving cohorts that he had to persistently work to bring in line playing the role of both boss and parent.

I wish to strike a lighter note with this piece (before I loose my cool self) as most often the readership is dealt a bunch of disheartening and fiery stuff that leaves one aggravated and edgy. Therefore, ratcheting down the tone may be more apt this time around.

The sixties kids would recall the sixties cool and everyone offering the next fellow “kuru songo”. Songs like “asiko Gambia, eh kampo to ppp-oh, fine Jawara”. “Ndarr-a-wach gaindeh njai ndarawach” party faithful would sing for P.S. Njie and the United Party (UP) against the backdrop of “ndenda-ya”. I must add that after years of singing “God Save The Queen” within and without school, it was refreshing to join the Gambian flag waving, chants and fanfare of the day!! I must confess that my grandparents belonged to the Ndara-Wach camp that staunchly believed in the strength of the Banjul Soldier Town “UP fortress” or “tatagi” that was ultimately overrun by the PPP. I vividly recall the words of my uncle, “tatagi toch-na”! (in Wollof, the fortress has been shattered.) There was the added excitement of the rallies, the party colors, the seas of blue and green, party insignia (the UP umbrella and the PPP axe), the blue Land Rovers, the “Asiko” or “Siko”, the “Sewrubaa’s” with the attendant traditional dances such as the trade mark Bakary Marong and Fabakary Naarang “Fereh Dongo” where the young ladies would deck them with the colorful scarves laced with old school fragrances. The “Mbo Jalolu”, Boma Naaro of Jarra and others from Kiang were featured acts at local functions. The Mbayen brothers’ trade mark Half-Die “SABARRS”, the “MBABASS” that was a favorite of many high-school boys and Yundum College students at the time, the “PAKINS” or masked dancer street shows where young men and ladies not only went to be chased by the “BAYGI” but also show their outfits, colors and beauty. In the words of my friend Mr. K. Jones, “DEM YELLA UMANNE DEM FINE OH”! (Creole for the light-skinned ladies are really pretty. (Incidentally, African American men also label very light skinned women as high yellow”). Is anyone thinking “musu koyo sasaa boro”? Perhaps a “Jaaranko”!

These activities would go on as usual and largely devoid of acrimony and political influences. The events were mostly staged by social groups that brought together folks from all facets of Gambian society. Yes, Sir Dawda may take a smidgen of credit for the tranquil atmosphere but this peaceful atmosphere prevailed largely because of the Gambian way of life at the time. Yes, in the Kombos there would be the usual saber rattling after PPP victories in the form of “SUNKUNG NDIRO” celebratory dances. The waving of broken tree branches about town accompanied by the improvised songs would go on for hours into the wee hours of the morning. A few fences of UP supporters would be knocked down and trashed but there was seldom any bloodshed!! The periodic acrimony between parties did not stop the good neighborliness or provincial boys coming to live with guardian families in Banjul in order to attend high school. Provincial traders would adopt and sponsor kids from the provinces to help them attend school and provide much needed hope in the process. Folks like the late Mr. H. R. Monday Sr. would selflessly fund the education of numerous young fellows from all backgrounds without much fanfare. When high school kids head back home to Niamina Kudang B.…., (excuse the liberty taken here with the B as I am aware that I will draw profanities here from the Marenahs and Kurangs) and other locations on vacation, they would meet throngs of excited friends and family asking “Banjul be nyadi”? Then the narratives begin according to students that hail from Jarra Barrow-Kunda and Ballanghar. That was The Gambia at the time!!

The age old Foni ceremonies in the form of the “kasai boyo” would attract young men of all stripes for reasons best known to them. For the life of me, I could not understand why most Jola men making the trip to the “Kasai Boyo” would carry the “kajandaku” and a pair of green knee-length socks!! Some offered that the green socks blend well with red socks to make a big hit at the “bukrabu” or what the Jola fondly call “BUKEREB” but most importantly drew the attention of the young women. But after all, the Jola have always been known to be colorful, bringing us “Bakary Ukat”. Again it was all in good cheer and it didn’t matter that the celebrants were Mendys, Jammehs, Forsters, Jobes, Jallows or Ablie Cha-Cha-Cha albeit that the Jolas (the Badjie-Kundas and Sanyang-Kundas) were known to move all the food to the back houses and left their guests hungry most of the time. All they would offer guests was “mburu ponseh”. That is bread, water and sugar for the traditional “SUKURR-MAA” dip. What the Badibunkas call “Chukurr-maa”!! That worked well for the Nyominkas and the Niaminankas from Jurunku, Thirty Mile, Sareh Gaiinako, Dankunku and Jareng but not the Kombonkas and “Fuutabeh” that expected beef “suboo” or “tewwu” at each meal. It was common knowledge that Niaminankas would religiously buy four loaves of “TAAPA-LAAPA” plus two cups of sugar upon return trips from the Kombos. The “Harr Poularr” would loudly proclaim “Suukarr Nanie”!!

I recall Fabala Kanuteh speaking in parables and harping about “NNA YAA”. Meaning what we are, Manding and beyond. He would also dwell on the word “NAFAA” which came across as a coded word when attached to the praise singing alongside Kora tunes in honor of prominent provincial personalities and politicians. Lalo Kebba Drammeh’s “Jimbaseng” and “Balang-Baa” with coded messages for young and old alike featured prominently on national radio.  It was all in good cheer albeit that one had to be adept at Mandinka to decipher Fabala’s coded messages which of course, most Kombo folks could do. A quick reminder that Sir Dawda Jawara belongs to the Mandinka ethnic group albeit that he navigated the choppy ethnic waters very well!!

Banjul was where everything happened and provincial folks would go to get connected. Provincial and Kombo folks alike would dust off their finer attires and head to Banjul where their willing hosts would label them as the “laaka-kat”. The “BADIBUNKAS” would don their trade mark “Badibunka Fanting Khaftano” aka the “BOTTOM BOX” looking sharp and well-dressed on trips to Banjul. All the while thinking and muttering “Kodo, Kodo, Kodo, Naafuloo”. It is little wonder that all my grand parents from Badibu moved to Banjul selling food bowls “Bolo” apart from the lid (Kubero) to all folks including the self proclaimed smart Bajulians (my other half) and “Kombonkas”. They made good money in the process prompting folks like the Dibbas, Barrows, Marongs, Sonkos, Kintehs and other “Duuringolu” to brag about why the BADIBUNKAS are the smartest breed. They would proclaim in Manding “MMEH TA NYING FOLA-LEH”. Well, the fact is that the Badibunkas and Kiangkas are neighbors and “sanaw maalu” (what sociologists called a joking relationship) that straddle The River Gambia, have traded goods for years and the debate still rages as to what faction excelled in smarts. However, “I believe that the Badibunkas always had the upper hand” says one Mustafa Colley who always maintained that “KIANGKOLU MAY-TA EFANG YE MANAY-LEH” and have consistently been ripped off by the Badibunkas that sold them “neteh kulo” dusted white for medicine (boro) and “boli bitindango” for a separate utensil.

And yes “Nyominkas” of the Essau-Berending lineage, the “Fula Kebbaringo” HAS come of age and has become a full-fledged “Fula keba”. To my buddies, the Jarrankas, that brought us the flamboyant “Jarra boys” in the likes of BABA JOBE, I say look out for my piece on the history of  the Baobab tree (SITO) and “SITA PADONG-LAAALU” the next time around. The reason that most Jaarankas have a longer right arm will also be unveiled. I can hear my Jarra buddies saying “eh nko, alu nying maatong sambang nyeh nang bang” or as DEMBADUU would say “NGA DAA FIX”. The BIG question is what went wrong in The Gambia between the sixties and now that we have lost most of these virtues?

On a more serious note, I wish to point out that this was the cordial relationship that all Gambians enjoyed until the birth of a National Security Service (NSS) that has brought us more misery than we had bargained for at the hands of our own sons and daughters. Again, thanks to the PPP leadership!! Was Ousman Koro Ceesay not an NSS recruit before he left for studies abroad? I recall Pa MK Jallow, Sallah Ndirr, Harry Sambou, Samba Bah, Singhateh and the late Kebba Ceesay being founding members of staff of what was then the NSS. A top public official once complained vehemently about the NSS planting an agent as bartender at the former Teresa’s Bar to spy on the senior public officers that frequented the popular watering hole.  The Gambia has to this day not been able to shed the vestiges of the NSS that have morphed into a National Intelligence Agency and what in Mandinka is labeled “JOLOH”, a tsetse fly on a certain body part. “Ateh lipa-la, ateh baila”!! I have always wondered why the NIA could not be incorporated into The Gambia police force putting much needed resources to where it best serves the Gambian people. Surely once an institution has been created, folks within must find stuff to do, savory or not, to ensure their survival. Our planners and leaders are certainly aware that the NIA is a luxury that the Gambia cannot afford any longer but who dares say that? How about redirecting resources allocated to the NIA to a Land Resources Bureau that serves to complement efforts at agricultural land development that would bring much needed facilities to areas targeted for commercial agricultural production. We all knew that the national police was plagued with corruption as far back as when Mr. Harry Lloyd-Evans was chief but they were relatively harmless and one was able to navigate the corridors to get answers. Thence came the Mboob’s, the Rileys, Gomezes, Kings, Njayes and Gassamas causing everything close to scruples to go out the window. The OSUSU culture took hold and groups like the Lebanese Council held sway with loads of protection monies to offer our newly found, rag-tag Inspectors General. Pitting new Lebanese against the old became the game to watch! Is anybody taken aback at “Jesus” Badji’s current predicament?

To add insult to injury, today, in the post 1994 era, small fry in the form of untrained, unrefined security officers find themselves in positions where patronage and jockeying for clout trumps everything else. They put themselves at the service of the regime and willingly offer to undertake unsavory tasks at all cost, with or without specific instructions, to stay in place. They would rather spend more time shuttling between Foni and Banjul than attending to more pressing matters that need urgent resolution, even where there was absolutely no need to consult with the Chief. The same syndrome has permeated all state structures to the extent that nothing gets done in Banjul and all senior officials that seemingly wield any influence are constantly shuttling between Banjul and Kaninlai at immense cost to the state treasury. The whole process is so chaotic that one has to literally keep an ear to the ground to stay connected. However, in the Gambian public servants’ mindset, chaos is good as it brings rewards, albeit temporary.

One sure clue to the chaos is the persistent hiring, firing and re-instatement that sends the message that the leadership is not au fait with events on the ground and that the show is being run like the public corporations where the philosophy is that one needs to visit daily with the boss to reinforce allegiance to your “master/Kelifa” to secure a spot in the good books. A scenario modeled after the Daraji and Serign-bi syndrome where the talibehs must confer daily with the Serign after FAJRI prayers for orders, blessings and “Radio Kang-Kang”. One finds that delivery and productivity are relegated to the sidelines and the best schemer wins.

Development programs for the good of all Gambians become favors offered to loyal subjects in the form of water improvement, rural electrification and a provisionally paved road while dissenting regions see naught. Something akin to the Badibu Central scenario in the PPP era becomes the default status for doing business. Can’t we take pride in bringing Gambians what they should have had from way back when but for the plundering of national coffers taking precedence over national development?? When we were growing up, Banjul had street lights and paved roads with policemen/women directing traffic in sharp, well kept uniforms and looking well fed. Even the lowly Haddington Street was paved at the time and “Talli 8” was the make shift paved soccer field. Today, Banjul has only two paved road from Arch 22 to the Quadrangle and Marina Parade. GPA the supposed hub of activity in Banjul does not have any paved roads leading to the facility. Serekunda, the growth center, has but a handful of paved roads and Brikama, another nerve center that sees all the revenue from quarries and sand mines has not seen its share of good roads in ages. Yes, there are a handful of traffic lights but our police folk look horrible, emaciated, donning pale, weather beaten, unkempt uniforms and boots that are falling apart at the seams. Thanks to Shell LLC and NAWEC for the first ever streetlights to work in The Gambia!! Meanwhile, all the roads in Banjul are dusty, unpaved and muddy roads riddled with potholes. Campama Estates/Tobacco Road with the perennial flooding is yet to be addressed. Roads in the greater Banjul area, constructed under the woefully run UNDP Urban Management Development Project just a few years back are being swept away. I am not being callous here or attempting to denigrate efforts toward development but merely putting things in perspective.

The provincial regions with buffoons of Governors, empty bags with haughty titles and hardly a standard college education are not faring any better. Development projects that bear fruit are few and far between. “We will discuss the matter with H.E.” (meaning Yaya Jammeh) the Governors routinely tell anyone who cares to address a pressing issue. They are bereft of initiative and logic and don’t care that they offer some form of motivation to regional staff or not. Meanwhile they will send their own drivers to trade government fuel coupons for cash at private gas stations where the sales clerks, mostly pretty looking ladies with fancy hairdos, make decent commissions on the illicit transactions. The same scheme prevails in The Greater Banjul area and it is little wonder that these young gas station attendants can afford a new hairdo (Mesh) every week or enjoy a good serving of the unaffordable and elusive “AFRA” at the end of each shift. Folks, this is our country and our sweat and sacrifices plus hard earned remittances from abroad are keeping the cog wheels moving in The Gambia. The highly touted revenue collection (NRA) efforts and IMF endorsed measly efforts at revenue management, PAGE or MTEF are merely a front at disinformation. Meanwhile, the drumming and dancing, public threats with the attendant party rhetoric goes on. There’s little tolerance for political dissent and one quickly draws an “invitation” for a visit from the NIA by being vocal and speaking one’s mind. Part of the issue here is the current leadership but there is also the pervasive culture of public service graft and ineptitude that we will have to deal with even where another leader was at the helm. It is a canker that has taken such a strong foothold in the Gambian public service, it will require more than strong leadership to remedy the situation. I have seen young men graduate out of elite universities only to be transformed into hyenas within a few years. Frankly folks, this is not the making of the APRC but an ingrained public service culture from 1965 to date that does not seem to go away. I know this first hand for unlike most of the Gambia Echo contributors, I have worked in the Gambian public service and have seen first hand how otherwise decent people from decent homes can persistently milk the system without ever thinking of giving anything back.

I take exception from Karamba Touray’s notion that one must have substantive evidence of corruption in order to label one corrupt. So, if one cannot cite corrupt practices by OJ and others, they should not be labeled corrupt? Let’s go back to the books that are sitting in old cabinets collecting dust and the findings would be astounding. What would Karamba say if he was told that OJ hired a shady management company, run by Asian Indians, to manage all rice projects in The Gambia, under the guise of a management contract during his tenure as Minister of Agriculture? The same management company bankrolls OJ in the UK and further pays his children’s educational and other expenses in the UK. Word at the ministry was that the minister felt that Seedy Jarju and other Gambian project managers were in the way and could not be trusted as they could ultimately become whistle-blowers. Thus they had to go!! What would you call that Karamba? Mere conflict of interest!! Do we not have Gambian agricultural experts, trained and paid with national resources to do the same?? Why hold brief for OJ and what is the connection here? Maybe you were raised some place else other than The Gambia which you know as I do is “NYO LONG KUNDA”! How on earth can someone from the “POTO-POTO” of Half-Die that worked all his adult life as a bookkeeper for the United Africa Company (UAC), had not so much to show for it, become a millionaire after  running a public corporation for the short span of a few years? There was and there still is ample evidence. All we need to do is to go looking for this evidence and in some instances we may literally find them under the carpets in old offices as sloppy tendencies often leave strong trails.

Simple schemes such as transfer pricing mechanisms, shady one-man offshore purchasing companies, engaging the services of public relations firms, manipulation of foreign accounts, rigged contract bidding processes, reinsurance fraud and the abuse of development certificates and tax free privileges are popular mechanisms employed to skim off national funds, leaving a paper trail that is still accessible to this day if anyone cares to look. Practices that are reminiscent of uncomplicated Nigerian-style fleecing and old school schemes held sway because all the top schemers were so complacent and never expected change to come any time soon.  Some of the schemers are Public servants that would deliberately sit on and hedge off allocated funds and operating budgets until the end of the financial year and then in a mad scramble, spend on anything that will bring any reward to the key members of the “departmental club”. Did we not know that at the defunct GPMB and GCBD, accountants would painstakingly cut and paste new ledger cards on originals so they would doctor the records to hide malfeasance in the ledger books? Private auditing firms were well aware of these schemes but they could only shake their heads in disgust and the rest gets swept under the carpet. Their job was to do an audit report for the higher ups and not drag employees to court!! How about a nonentity in the name of a Baba Jobe from poverty-stricken Kani Kunda becoming a millionaire overnight??  That’s what is worrisome in our not so well endowed Gambia. OJ is but one piece in this delicate puzzle that fits the same mold as a former military officer turned KMC chairman that got rich right in front of our own eyes and was only held accountable for about D48000 after a long drawn court case at state expense! Yes, they must be proven guilty in a court of law to face jail time but we have for too long allowed one man shows to wreak havoc on allocated public funds. Yankuba Touray may claim to be clean, ordered the commissions of inquiry and called all the shots as de facto leader of the AFPRC transition and reconstruction exercise but was ultimately dragged before a commission. What happened to modesty in the Gambia and why would he, a public official, want to dabble with Lamborghinis?? Well, what he wished for served him well for he was dragged before the same commissions!! Do not get me wrong Karamba. I am all for Gambians making progress in all endeavors and being able to put food and lots of  cheaper food on the family table, move on up, own a home in Fajara and Kerr Serign, a nice car to ferry aspiring, future doctors and lawyers (family) to school and back on their own sweat and income. What I do not stand for is when folks pull fast ones on the Gambian public when entrusted with responsible positions. Do you not see newly appointed government project managers almost miraculously find money to marry two new wives, send parents to perform the Hajj, build two storey homes and have no problems whipping out crisp new Dalasi bank notes? All of this on an augmented local salary is indeed a miracle. Thanks to the Marabout’s prayers plus a few bags of rice and sugar delivered to the local mosque. DUHH!!

Your maternal uncle, Ebrima Chongan (CHONGS) is a fine young professional that trained with The Turkish Army Training Team with Major Karaduman and the French Gendarmerie for over ten years. He was by any measure a competent, well trained senior official with National Security credentials but this did not lead him to rob the kitty. You see Karamba, people from refined homes with any sense of finesse will not only think twice about robbing our national coffers but also believe in what they can achieve for themselves the old fashion way. They earn it!! Surely, every Gambian wants to and deserves to live a good life with the proverbial “MOCHAT” but not at the expense of the public treasury and the poor farmers that toil in the tropical sun year-in-year-out. The Wollof adage “WACHA DAANU-A-CHA GENA GAAW” should not hold sway in refined society and I do not subscribe to that notion either!! In some cases “WACHA-GI DAI GAAW LOL”. Meaning folks literally tip the kitty for their own ends. I recall that in the Sir Dawda era, officials would label honest and hardworking public servants as good candidates for the medal of the Order of The Republic of The Gambia (ORG). Meaning that the only thing that awaits such folks is a measly medal and misery in retirement! Unfortunately, this is the culture, that I alluded to earlier, that pervades the Gambian public service then and now. Let me put it this way. In the Gambian mindset, the plunderer of public coffers in the name of  the accountant, the Nigerian judge, the Secretary of State, the MD or Lieutenant General are said to be “dafa am nyann” or “Ala Duwaalu Jaabi Taleh”, because they seem to be faring better than the average school teacher or the Community Development Assistant . What is going on here?? You summed it up Karamba when you offered in the Senegambia News piece “By participating, we the people can effectively end an ugly era and begin a path towards a more promising future”. SALIENT POINTS! TELL US HOW!!! Don’t just dwell on theory but share the practicum!!

I want to point out Karamba that I do not have an axe to grind with anyone in the previous administration as I have always believed in what I can do for myself and that I am driven by nationalistic fervor and the desire to see my country move forward in stride, creating ample opportunities for growth (the more promising future) just as I hope you do!! Not buffoons and looters that come back to flout ill-gotten wealth in “GAMBIA-NYO LONG KUNDA” and within the very communities that they were supposed to work to lift out of poverty, aka “Poverty Alleviation”. One would think such programs only serve to alleviate poverty in the ranks of program management!!!

On a side note, I wish to add that there’s absolutely no need for Gambians abroad in the shades of the Chongans, Samsudeen Sarrs, Essa Seys, Dida Halakehs (the word is Halaku) and others to take turns at airing dirty linen on the electronic media as what is being offered only counts for hearsay and one’s good word against the other’s. Please spare the readership the agony of going through the jockeying for the upper hand and righteousness!! Consider whatever transpired as been there and done that and take ownership for the good and the bad. OK. What happened to the “SABARRY” philosophy Samsudeen? Remember the Gambian adage “KELIFA DAII MUGN”. It is reassuring to read that The Gambia Echo has chosen not to publish articles that reflect the ongoing acrimony (indeed it is) between feuding former military/security officers as this does not reflect good journalism and I wish to add that it also goes against the grain of  seeking excellence in journalism. Kudos to The Gambia Echo Editor on the sound judgment call! Folks, dwell on ideas and not fear mongering and mud-slinging!!! Gambians are too quick to come out swinging in the guise of clearing their names or getting even with “detractors”.

By the same token, I wish to implore Sana Sabally to reflect on the number of innocent citizens that were beaten, maimed and cast aside by his security detail ostensibly for being on the wrong side of the road at the wrong time. My poor Ghanaian accountant friend still works with a limp after having been dealt a severe beating by the boys on your entourage. The poor fellow, a good Christian that would not hurt a fly, was merely too slow at pulling of off the highway as your motorcade approached and almost paid with his life. Well Sana, good people do change for the better and a positive element about confinement (albeit abhorrent) is that one fortunately finds oneself in a correctional facility (US) that allows for a lot of reflection, prayer, self-correction, growth and the ultimate change of heart and faith. What really happens to the detained is subject to conjecture but it remains clear that only s/he knows what change really took place. Christ did admonish the Pharisees in the parable “woe on to you Pharisees for thou art like graves that men walk on without knowing”. Do we not see so many real life Pharisees today in the Gambia? And please Sana-Bairo; spare us the lessons in “Philosophy”. I would think that bringing yourself to benefit from a course in LOGICS and SEMANTICS is more apt!!

Sana Sabally of the Biji Sabally family with humble beginnings in Kombo Kasa-Kunda, a small hamlet outside of Brikama should realize that he is accountable for everything that he writes in the electronic media. The common Gambian trait if slinging all the dirt that one wants and coming back to apologize for the frailties of human nature (a.k.a “bolo seye) may not fly in certain quarters and surely not in today’s refined society. Again Sana is the only person that knows for sure that he has had a change of heart or faith! It is clear that “Paa Biji”, senior driver agriculture, as he was fondly called in public service with his great sense of humor, kindness and devotion to duty would not hurt a fly. Bless his heart, we would say here!! So my dear Sana, the adage here is a Mandinka one: “kebba dibi-kono lola, ning molu mey jeh, ekeh efang jeleh deh” but again “nyo long Kunda mang kontong nyininkaa sii”. The key question is why should anyone believe what you say??

A lone, dilapidated two hundred mile south bank trunk road and a handful of sliver thin bituminized, CSE constructed connector roads that only last a season or two are surely not enough reason for a million plus Gambians to jubilate over after 45 years of independence. So is a bank of street lights on the coastal highway or anywhere for that matter. Kudos to whoever sealed the project but it is not sound judgment either to compare well overdue development effort that should have happened anyway, to that under the PPP as Gambians deserve more than that!! However, when comparing apples to apples, some credit is due to the APRC as these gains took place under their watch but the fact is that “SUU NYARO LEH YE MOOLU BATANDI” (Mandinka for stealing of wealth is our biggest predicament) in The Gambia to this day. It should no longer be a case of  We are helping you or in Mandinka “m’balu makoye la, while the Wollof bureaucrats call it, “dina nyulen dimbaleh” because this is exactly what our government should be doing for the people and do so with humility!!

One wants to ask how long our parents and our generation have been paying taxes to Area Councils, City Councils, “ALKALI-KUNDA” and the Kanifing Municipal Council to justify the fist waving and jubilation on development that should have happened way back when. The Kombo area that accounts for most of the sub-urban Banjul area is well known for the poor quality of community roads. Residents are left with no choice but to construct nice homes in between massive pools of stagnant, mosquito breeding water at each end of the access road. It is a case of fix it yourself to show your worth or put up with it and hush while the local councils are busy creating task forces and committees that enable them to dip into the kitty. Where local government revenue collectors keep receipt books and books of accounts in their own storage rooms aka “Suntukungo”, it is left to one’s own imagination to conclude what transpires in local governance. The Jammeh government has proven incapable of stemming this rising tide as exemplified by Mr. Babou Ceesay, formerly MD of Senegambia Insurance, being offered the position of Market Master, Banjul Albert Market. Again, the hyena is put in charge of the goat herd as was the case with Alieu Mboge. What happened to “Dirimocracy” bro??

BB Darbo once raised the specter of the mismanagement and graft at the Area Councils but was quickly muzzled by the Babung Fattys and other close Jawara aides that had their mouths on the trickling honey pots. (Dembo surely does not deserve to be in self exile in the UK as I truly believe that The Gambia is where his heart is). I am reminded of my friend’s Mandinka saying “KIDO JUUTO SAMATOO, ABIJEH KIDO YE FAYE, ATI JEH KIDOO YE FAYE”. Why on earth can Gambian leaders not tell the difference between the Kido Juuto samatoo and the “KIDI-KESOH”? Is this a case of apathy or selective blindness? We surely know what fires the mechanism and the common knowledge that there’s no shortage of “Kido Juuto Samatoo”.

From the attainment of independence to date, Gambians have been treated as the simple minded, “primitive”, rural folks that should regard their leaders as “MANSA” (indeed the word is MANSAKUNDA, more apt then because the Queen was our MANSA) that was god sent and would only go when the Almighty Allah deems it fit. Well, guess what? The word MANSA is grossly misplaced as today, in the post-independence era; we no longer have a mansa but a mortal of a President! My elderly Gambian driver took time to advise me not to be too critical or use expletives on Gambian leaders as, in his words, “ning eka mansa neng, e ka lakati-leh”. Meaning that if one keeps hurling insults at “Mansa”, one does not see any blessings from the Lord!! Well, has anyone seen the Iraqi journalist that hurled not one, but two shoes at President George Bush (aka Mansa) in Iraq? The fellow is doing just fine and is still alive and kicking after his release. So, I know this notion to be unfounded and I have lived to see it. In The Gambia of old, our parents were led to believe that Mansakunda was everything, the panacea to all our miseries. Thus politicians and officials would visit our humble rural dwellings, throw a few Dalasis at us, slaughter bulls, “Benachino,” Jollof rice galore with endless drumming and dancing. They leave with promises of we (the government) will help you. “MB’ALU MAAKOYE LALEH” they would offer! Ordinary, humble folk took their word for what it was worth and kept their hopes alive. It is more of the same misconceptions in these modern times as we are still led to believe that Mansakunda holds all the answers, must keep a finger in each stew bowl and the go-to for good fortune!! We know that too to be untrue as everything that goes well today in The Gambia is private sector initiated while public servants, with their sharp knives, sitting on their behinds on the misguided belief that “NAFAA” is to be found in Mansa-Kunda, are ready to carve out flesh. Meanwhile the government continues to callously tax and spend!!

It is common knowledge that the local shopkeeper (aka Fulandingo) is the go-to and a significant source of informal lending in The Gambia and Senegal and also the source of the “Sutura” for most Gambian public servants. S/he is not part of government but a private operator, ad hoc lender, and the go-to for “Sutura-Si”!!

The TDA and other businesses will readily attest to this reality. A sixteen ounce bottle of soda pop/soft drink at a five star hotel in The Gambia will cost the unsuspecting patron D80 (Eighty Dalasi) before a tip is offered!! The average steak dinner at a TOURIST CLASS RESTAURANT in The Gambia is easily D500 a pop!! A garnished Gambian fish Benachin goes for D250 a plate. Are we pricing ourselves out of the market or do we want to heap the blame on current policies “(the enabling environment)” in support of the tourism sector?? Meanwhile the Tourism Development Authority (TDA) goes hounding business owners to fork out D30000 apiece in TDA dues alone each year. Now, this is aside from the Annual Income Tax Assessment, the National Sales Tax, KMC Duty levies, daily charities, free meals and perks to TDA officials, Security chiefs, Public Health and Social Security Inspectors. How businesses survive in this environment beats my imagination!! I sympathize with a young business lady in the Senegambia area that has a real hard time keeping up with all these visitors and to make matters worse, Gambian public officials always come hungry. You can tell from the look in their eyes! My take on the TDA fees is to discard the tax and let the businesses keep these monies for reinvestment that not only grows businesses but also creates employment. I am confident that businesses are better served with a tax break than propping up a Tourism Development Authority that serves no visible or tangible purpose other than creating jobs for a few overpaid public servants, stashing loot away and offering inflated lease payments/office rental for property owners.

All we have consistently gotten back is one donor “soft” loan on top of the other that has earned the country the reputation of a “hat in hand nation” while our own national resources are squandered right in front of our own eyes on infinitesimal and ego driven escapades. Sidia Jatta, one of the few sane legislators in the Gambian legislature, is rightfully pointing us in the right direction by highlighting the country’s external loan obligations besides the domestic debt and has consistently provided numbers to back his claims. The Gambia has clearly not been able to get itself out of the hole in spite of what ratings the World Bank and IMF has been according the country on the economic front. What happened to the time-honored principle of setting funds aside from revenue for much needed development projects or to provide incentives for productivity? Do we have to BEG for a loan every time an artery road or our water-logged neighborhood roads needs fixing, or when a local hospital needs surgical gauze, a new roof and floor tiles?

What’s happened to insurance companies and other financial institutions putting money in foundations that seek the common good and teaching the hungry to feed themselves rather than doling out money to soccer clubs and fund-raisers that have absolutely no bearing to the realities of the day? A foundation that awards grants/seed money to bright ideas from all walks of Gambian life targeting food production could, within a short span of time, boost food production and overall food security in the Gambia. We just have to bring ourselves to do this!! A six hundred dalasi bag of rice or millet is untenable on the average Gambian salary. It begs the question of whether the Gambia needs another civil service restructuring or downsizing to put our house in order.

Today, of new, we are still led to believe that the government holds sway in all matters of state, and that our leader is a person that knows, through extra sensory perception and other powers, that which is best for the citizenry and must never be second guessed as he also holds super natural powers. It used to be that when one was summoned to the Commissioner’s Office or the traditional Chief (Seyfo), verses of prayer would be recited up front and in the words of the “KRIO/AKU” elder, “WAIT MAKE A GO LATRINE FIRST ME BELLEH DE RUN”. The belly literally runs!! We now know that we must ask why the authority is asking to see us as we are protected by stipulated legal rights and protections.

Super natural powers?? Give me a break!! We know that the “MAMA KUNG-KOYO”, “SANG FITO”, “SING JANGO”, the “BADIBUNKA MANANG KAASO and JAMBA KATANGO” bear medicinal properties. Part of the reason that the Badibunkas are also “Manang kasi domolaalu”! We also do know that if one’s drink is laced with derivatives of the common plant “KUUBEH JAARA” (Datura spp), THE COMMON TABANANEH (Jatropha curcas) touted for its value as a bio-fuel source, the lowly Cassava plant (Manihot esculenta), Nyambo in The Gambia and the BLACK NIGHTSHADE (Solanum nigrum), dire consequences await and one is apt to behave in a delusionary fashion similar to what unsuspecting Gambians label “JAFUUR” witchy behavior also labeled “GISS GINAY, NGELEW, FONYOO” by religious scholars and voodooists .

These plants are also labeled HALLUCINOGENS that could work wonders on one’s mental state. Unfortunately, ingesting these common plants voluntarily or involuntarily, as is dealt by the Gambia WITCH HUNTERS to victims, can lead to dire consequences such as cardiac arrest, kidney failure, vomiting, diarrhea, blood poisoning, hallucinations and convulsions. By far the most amusing part for the witch hunters would be the hallucinations and convulsions which in their devious minds denote being possessed by the devil with the attendant need for spiritual cleansing. Add the traditional “SINJANG-SULOO” or “JALA-FATOO” to the mix and the poor unsuspecting fellow could be headed to his grave. Well, the witch hunters try to mimic just that and have NO SPECIAL POWERS BUT SECRET HERBS THAT ARE NO SECRET BUT POTENTIAL KILLERS!! Other herbalists and self proclaimed masters at local concoctions (TAADIBOLU) do not possess any special powers either!! Do we not recall non-child bearing women seeking help from local Marabouts (TAADIBOLU) that drench them with smelly potions that induce life-threatening diarrhea? All in the name of enhancing female fertility!! Believe in me when I say that I can make a horse walk like it was wearing high heeled shoes (aka laminitis) or make a bull walk in perfect circles with one of these potions. Heck, I may even be able to make a horse laugh! After all, I am KIANGKA from DUMBOO-KONO!! Does that grant me super natural powers? NO, but I suppose that armed with this knowledge, I could be the STAR OF KIANG and make decent money with my skills from science college rather than hidden skills from Voodoo University!! So, the witch doctors’ secrets are out in the open now!! So Sankareh, the word of caution is not to leave your drink unattended to when meeting unknown persons or else you could become the talk of the local papers and Gambian community as “journalist bi Jafurr America”. Only fear those that can bring you physical bodily harm!!  

Labeling our fellow Gambians witches and meting out punishment that is pegged onto pure fiction and demagoguery are some of the reasons that it becomes hard to think reconciliation! However, civilized society also dictates that we forgive and let bygones be bygones. Well this is hard to do when families have to tend to those sickened by ingested potions, while other folks are seen celebrating the advent of their new-found authority from public sources and treating our compatriots as guinea pigs in a witch hunting escapade. Meanwhile, Nigerian Judges see these events unfold right before their eyes but they still would not see justice done in court cases that bring “witches” to court albeit that administering a drug to an unwilling person is illegal!! They would rather expend national resources and effort in prosecuting someone that offers a Juju to another party or lobbying the powers that be to oust Gambian judges whose parents’ sweat and tears pay the taxes that keep the government going. How on earth does one prove that a Juju does exist or is indeed effective?? Yes, I may have been in the West for too long some may say but I speak more than seven African languages and I am well rooted in the continent. I also grew up in The Gambia and have debunked the notion that those colorful “Mankano” with the horns and funny feathers on fruit trees do work. There’s absolutely no need to disarm the darn thing with human excrement or bodily fluids!! Yes, we partook of what was not ours at the time but my pals and I wanted to prove a point by consuming fruit that was not ours. Presumably, the same Nigerian judges could benefit from the craft of the witch doctors as the vast majority of Nigerians, including the supposedly educated Nigerian (Wowo, Chenge, Akinbolajeh, Agim, Olajubutu, Amadi, Tajudeen) judges do believe in witchcraft and the fact is that the same judges also believe in the powers of the African “Juju” and “Juju-man” or else they would not waste the time of the courts or national resources in hearing and prosecuting Juju related cases. Why would the police or “Principal Magistrate” Emmanuel Nkea want to drag poor Yusupha Darbo to court for the possession of a mythical Juju? Beats me!! Eh Gambia!! The regime only needs to put the NIA on the Nigerian judges’ tails to unearth the secrets to their evil machinations! Who needs Nigeria to play big brother anyway?

If it is fact, as reported in some certain media that Gambian judges have been barred from presiding over criminal cases, then our collective pride as Gambians is being dealt a severe blow and our integrity is subject to question here. The move represents a sell-out and an insult to all Gambians that tolerate having Nigerians serve on our judiciary. Is this a case of pot calling the kettle black? I am aware of a Nigerian judge whose contract was up for renewal. The fellow practically spent all of his waking moments cow-towing the poor unsuspecting Gambian Secretary of State in charge of extending his tenure. It was all a bunch of “Yes Sirs” until approval was granted to be followed by the celebratory scotch binge drinking!! Frankly, there is the absolute need to impose term limits on these Nigerian judges as the Agims, the Ayolas, and Anins tend to overstay their welcome. If my memory serves me right, these afore-mentioned judges do owe big ones to A.K. Savage, M.N. Bittaye, Joe Ceesay and Raymond Sock. But it is all about the game of survival that tells us that nobody is indispensable. We all know that the primary reason that the Nigerians have staying power in The Gambia is that they bribe their way (as is prevalent in Nigeria) to get roll-overs of contracts that they would never qualify for in Nigeria. Yeah, “Gambay sweet” they would say with the attendant Scotch whisky fest, Julbrew, good food and pretty ladies!!!

The shuffling of Gambian judges (GBS Janneh, AK Savage, Borry Touray, Moses Richards) in the judiciary and their subsequent replacement by stooges of Nigerian mercenary judges does not tell well on the Nigerian image in the eyes of enlightened Gambians and leads one to believe that The Gambia is fast becoming a Nigerian satellite state and dumping ground!! I have seen these judges at work in the Gambian courts and I cannot comprehend how they can bring their arrogant and sleepy selves to deliberate on the bench!! The advent of one Edu Gomez to the Justice Secretariat may have rendered the waters even murkier and the situation untenable. Eh Gambia!!

Folks, it is important to dwell on the Nigerian issue because I have noticed, over the years that Nigerians are working feverishly to edge Gambians out of territory that is indeed a Gambian domain. From the major hotels to small roadside restaurants, supply stores and beauty salons, the Nigerians are taking control and not on account of Gambians sitting on their hands but that public officials are more inclined, than the Gambian small businessman, to prop up and do business with Nigerians that are seen to be quite willing to cover a corrupt official’s behind.  

What is a Gambian rally without a bull horn (loud speaker)? We are yet to learn that the APRC obtains permits in advance of all rallies and meetings that enjoy THE PRIVILEGE of a chaotic “BUKARABU” AND BULL HORNS (sic). What is a “KOTU-DINKO KONO” Bukarabu without a bull horn?? The bull horn aka “loudspeaker” is part of the political fabric and a semblance of importance and clout on the soap box. Are we moving forward or backward?

Editor's Note: Part II of  Dr. Maatong's analysis will be published here on Thursday. Maatong a former College Professor, grew up in The Gambia, attended Universities in Africa, Western Europe and North America and currently works for the US Federal System.