Echo Analysis
The Gambia in Perspective-Part 1
By D. A. Jawo, Banjul, The Gambia
Banjul, The Gambia--As we welcome yet another New Year, The Gambia continues to degenerate further into a dictatorship, with President Yahya Jammeh assuming absolute powers and behaving more like a monarch than an elected Head of State of a modern democracy.
D. A. Jawo Ex-President Gambia Press Union
We can all recall that when President Jammeh first assumed power through a coup d’état on July 22, 1994, his first pronouncement was that never again will a Gambian Head of State be allowed to stay in power for more than two five-year terms. “In fact ten years is even too long for one person to be in power,” he was quoted saying. However, quite a lot of water has since then passed under the bridge, and the same Yahya Jammeh has not only been in power for more than 16 years and showing no intention of ever relinquishing it, but he is also suspected of orchestrating a campaign among his numerous praise singers and sycophants (including some members of the National Assembly) to have him transformed into a king, when he would not only remain in power for life, but he would no doubt be succeeded by his son, ‘Crown Prince’ Mohammed Jammeh. It is however hard to see how any progressive Gambian would ever endorse such a backward idea.
Lust for Power
It was indeed very early during the transition that President Jammeh and his colleagues in the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) manifested their insatiable lust for power. They used their absolute control of the state machinery to create the July 22 Movement and used it as a tool to consolidate their grip on power as well as prepare the ground to eventually transform themselves into civilians and contest the elections. It was quite obvious that all their actions and pronouncements, including the suppressing of all voices of dissent and the encouragement of the so-called ‘no election’ campaigners, were all orchestrated and geared towards handing over to themselves rather than to the civilians in whose name they claimed to have staged the coup.
As we approached the end of the transition period, the very first thing they did was to doctor the draft constitution in order to pave the way for then Chairman Jammeh to contest the presidential elections. To archive that, they had to remove or modify certain clauses from the draft constitution before submitting it to the people in a referendum. Those clauses included the minimum age limit of a presidential candidate, which, due to a popular demand, was put at 40 years, but which would have disqualified Yahya Jammeh. They also had to remove the popularly-acclaimed two-term limit from the draft constitution to allow him to remain in power as long as he wished. All that was clear indication that Yahya Jammeh had always harboured the intention of remaining in power for ever, despite all the pronouncements during the transition that he was not a politician and never intended to be one.
To further entrench his insatiable lust for power, President Jammeh used the rubber-stamp National Assembly to subject the Constitution to more changes, including a repeal of Section 48 which called for a second round of presidential run-off if any candidate fails to get more than 50 per cent of the vote in the first round. That he had to urgently do because he realized that in the 2001 election, he received only 56 per cent of the vote, despite all the intimidation and other high-handed tactics against the opposition, and no doubt fearing that he would be forced to a second round in the next elections. He was however able to easily do it thanks to the unwise decision by the United Democratic Party (UDP) to boycott the 2002 Legislative Elections which gave the ruling APRC an absolute majority in the National Assembly and the power to manipulate the Constitution.
Apart from the unfulfilled pledge to ensure that no Gambian Head of State would again be allowed to stay in power for more than two five-year terms, there have also been several other promises and pledges by President Jammeh that were never realized.
Unfulfilled Promises
We can all recall during the transition when as Chairman of the AFPRC junta, President Jammeh went around the country swearing ‘bilahi, walahi, talahi’ and promising so many things, including the unrealistic idea constructing a railway line right round The Gambia. It is however now more than 16 years and there is no indication that such a dream would ever be achieved. In fact, he now hardly talks about it.
Also in February 2004, we can all recall the euphoria he caused when he made an impromptu nation-wide television broadcast about the discovery of oil in the country, giving everyone the impression that it was just a matter of weeks before the oil started flowing, and promising Gambians that they would soon become rich and the country eventually transformed from an aid recipient to an aid donor. However, about seven years later, there is still no indication that such oil even exists. We have for instance, seen how Ghana, which announced its oil discovery in 2007 has just begun pumping that oil in commercial quantities, barely three years after, and yet they never made so much fuss about the discovery.
We can also recall how President Jammeh promised to transform the whole country into a ‘city’ by which he meant that he was going to provide adequate electricity and pipe-borne water supply to the whole country, but rather than achieve that, we are still faced with even more frequent power cuts and water shortages. This is in addition to the numerous other promises and pledges made to Gambians but which have never been realized and never likely to be.
Cult Syndrome
It has now become a tradition to give the credit to President Jammeh for every good thing realized in the country while others are made scapegoats for everything that goes wrong. There is a tendency to not only treat President Jammeh as an infallible being, but also as a super human who has the answer to all the country’s problems. We have for instance seen how he had been building a cult syndrome around himself by claiming some super natural powers such as the power to fight against hostile demons in order to construct bridges against the hostilities of those demons, thus earning himself the title of ‘Babili Mansa’ (the King that bridges the River Gambia). We can however also remember with shame, the exorcism exercise conducted by so-called ‘witch-hunters’ escorted by heavily armed security forces, during which several innocent Gambians were subjected to all sorts of harassment and indignities after they were accused of practising witchcraft.
We also continue to witness the frequent sackings and re-instatements of civil servants and other public service employees, which have eventually, virtually transformed all of them into zombies who would only say and do what, would satisfy President Jammeh rather than what is good for the country. A good case in point is the sort of musical chairs that go in our diplomatic missions abroad, particularly in the Washington Embassy where officials are frequently fired and re-instated just like under-wears.
Square Pegs in Round Holes
While in all democratic countries, the legislature and the judiciary operate parallel with the executive, in The Gambia, these two institutions have been transformed into playing second fiddle and are behaving more like subordinates of the executive. It is only in The Gambia that the Head of State reserves the absolute power to appoint and sack the parliamentary Speaker and his/her deputy as well as the Chief Justice and all the judges. Obviously, such a scenario renders the two institutions quite impotent to operate independently, conscious of the fact that they owe their jobs to the Head of State that can sack them anytime he chooses. That of course is quite reflected in the performance and operations of the two institutions, and virtually all other over-sight institutions in the country.
Such a scenario is even more evident with the so-called Independent Electoral Commission, with the Chairman and all the Commissioners being appointed by President Jammeh, who also reserves the power to sack them. Under such a situation therefore, it is nigh impossible for the IEC to operate independently, with its Chairman and Commissioners knowing fully well that they can be sacked whenever they did something that did not please the Head of State, and we have seen that happen several times.
With the frequent sackings of senior public officials, there is a tendency to end up appointing less competent officials who hardly know their responsibilities, virtually ending up with the ‘square pegs in round holes’ syndrome that we now seem to have in this country. Recently, for instance, the IEC Chairman was quoted as calling on the opposition parties to also contribute towards the running of the IEC, adding that the government (state) could not do it alone. By implication, he considers the ruling APRC to be part and parcel of the state rather than a separate entity as per the Constitution.
Also, it is only in The Gambia that one would see senior security officers as well as other senior civil servants openly manifesting their support for the ruling party, with military barracks and police stations, as well as other public institutions openly displaying ruling party posters and flags during election campaigns, with these senior officials unashamedly donning scarves and other party paraphernalia like party militants.
Display of Wealth
Another interesting aspect is President Jammeh’s open display of wealth. In addition to the frequents gifts of large sums of money and other materials he makes, he is also now the one who virtually ‘donates’ vehicles and other working tools to all the security forces as well as other government departments, in addition to private individuals and organizations. This is no doubt why several musicians and other artists, as well as other shadowy individuals and groups from the sub-region and beyond, are now frequent visitors to The Gambia, composing songs in his praise, as well as awarding him dubious medals and accolades, no doubt receiving large sums of money from him in return.
We have, for instance, seen quite a large number of government vehicles now marked with the slogan; “Donated by H.E. President Sheikh Professor Dr. Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh”, making him appear as the most benevolent Gambian ever born. However, it is now obvious that there is more to the situation than actually meets the eye. There is for instance, a story about a government-assisted health project that was dished an old, dilapidated government vehicle to salvage, and after they spent a lot of money to put it back on the road, they were compelled by a directive from the Ministry of Health to mark on it: donated by the Sheikh Professor, and they had no choice but to obey, even though not a single butut of his ever went into its rehabilitation. That is no doubt a clear indication that there is a conspiracy amongst some sycophants to achieve cheap popularity for President Jammeh, which indeed tells quite a lot about the falsehood that Gambians seem to be confronted with on a daily basis.
If indeed, President Jammeh has any more regard for his regime’s original sing-song; transparency, accountability and probity, he should tell Gambians where he gets all that money he uses to buy such cheap popularity, which seems to make him far richer than the Gambian state. It is however quite obvious that his monthly salary, as well as his numerous business interests including the ‘free’ labour that he gets from Gambians on his numerous farms across the country, are far from sufficient to earn him all that money. This therefore, means that he has other means of income which he is constitutionally obliged to tell Gambians. There is even a high possibility that some of that money is coming from the national treasury while his sycophants unfairly giving Gambians the impression that it is coming from President Jammeh’s pocket.
Penchant for Cheap Popularity
In the last year for instance, we have also witnessed how President Jammeh’s penchant for awards and titles has caused some embarrassing situations which tended to make our country a laughing stock on the international arena. A good case in point had been his claim to have received the ‘Presidential Champions Platinum Award’ from American President Barack Obama, which later turned out to be fake, no doubt orchestrated by some smart persons bent on making some quick bucks from him, knowing how much he loves such titles. Even the very fact that Barack Obama’s name was spelt in the award with a double ‘R’ was enough indication that it was utterly false.
At the same elaborate ceremony in Kanilai where the supposedly ‘Obama Award’ was presented to President Jammeh by a shadowy organization called the International Parliament for Safety and Peace based in Palermo, Sicily, he was also made ‘Honorary Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska’, which later turned out to be a tongue-in-cheek joke as Nebraska is a landlocked state which does not have a navy. With already an unprecedented long chain of names and titles, one would wonder what more President Jammeh still wants that he would embarrass himself and the country in accepting such dubious awards.
Iran Arms Controversy
The year culminated with the discovery of a large cache of sophisticated weapons at the Port of Lagos shipped from Iran and said to have been consigned to Kanilai Farms in The Gambia. However, instead of making a public statement on the issue as expected from all accountable governments, the regime just decided to sever diplomatic relations with Iran, giving the Iranian diplomats and the numerous other Iranian government agents in The Gambia, 48 hours to leave the country. However, the government seems to have failed to realize that rather than such action helping to dispel the rumours and speculations pertaining to what those arms were intended for, and to re-assure The Gambia’s neighbours that it is not hostile to them, it would further fuel speculations as to whether those arms were actually meant to destabilize the sub-region, culminating in Senegal recalling its Ambassador to Iran. To add more confusion to the issue, we saw the regime unleash an unsavoury verbal onslaught on President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, describing him as someone who means nothing good for The Gambia. This has no doubt unnecessarily raised tensions between the two sisterly neighbours which is likely to have some negative consequences for the peoples of the two countries who share virtually everything in common. It could even cause more inconvenience to Gambians especially, in view of the fact that we depend on Senegal for so many things, including the use of the Leopold Sedar Senghor Airport facilities to fly to several parts of the world. There is therefore, no doubt that we have still not seen the end of the fall out from that arms cache as both Nigeria and Senegal are said to have reported the matter to the United Nations.
A Pariah State
On the current stalemate in Cote d’Ivoire arising from the disputed elections in that country, rather than endorse the position of ECOWAS, the African Union and the international community, the Gambia government has issued an ambiguous statement which seems to support out-going President Laurent Gbagbo, accusing the West and all those who expressed support for Alassane Ouattara as having a hidden agenda for Cote d’Ivoire. What is however surprising is the fact that both the statements on Cote d’Ivoire and the verbal onslaught on President Wade were read on national television by the Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service, Njogou Bah instead of the Foreign Minister. These are indeed policy statements that everyone expects to be handled by a member of the Executive rather than a civil servant, thus projecting Njogou Bah in the eyes of ordinary Gambians as the defender of the indefensible, when in reality, he is merely acting as ‘his master’s voice’.
Indeed, The Gambia’s position on the Ivorian crisis has once again put this country as the odd one out in the sub-region, with such isolationist policies no doubt making The Gambia more and more irrelevant in international diplomacy. As a result, this country is gradually becoming a pariah state that no other country would want to be associated with.
Opposition Complacency
It is quite unfortunate that while the rest of Africa is embracing democracy and good governance, with many countries acceding to the African Peer Review Mechanism, The Gambia seems to be going the opposite direction, with the government, bent on clinging on to power, and in the process making life more and more unbearable for members of the opposition and the independent media.
However, while the regime has largely succeeded in gagging all avenues of dissent in the country and exercising a tight control on the public media, hardly leaving any space for those who have different opinions, the fragmented official opposition also shares a lot of the blame of the prevailing situation. Rather than come together in a strategic alliance to fight for positive change, they seem to be engaged in a personality contest for supremacy, thus giving a false impression that the APRC is quite popular amongst Gambians. As a result, most Gambians have now become so disillusioned with the prevailing political situation that they have chosen to be less interested in politics and to stay at home instead of voting during elections. This is no doubt responsible for the ever dwindling voter turn-out in all recent elections. This is despite the huge sums of money being spent by the APRC, as well as the open use of public resources and state machinery to entice the people to vote for them.
Unfair Use of Sate Resources
The use of public resources to entrench the APRC was clearly manifest in a recent statement to the newly set up Lands Commission by the Director of Lands and Survey Mr. Malamin Jatta when he was quoted by Foroyaa telling the Commission that “directives were given that they should give plots to the U-17 football team by the Ministry of Sports…” and “plots were also given to the National Assembly Members and APRC party militants”. This is quite another clear manifestation of the blatant and unfair use of state resources for political expediency which seems to be a hallmark of the Jammeh regime.