By Momar A. Samba, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.
After reading Lt. Col. Sherrif Samsudeen Sarr's exclusive book with great enthusiasm and astonishment, I could not help wondering what sort of an evil curse has befallen our dear country from the later part of Jawara’s regime to the Jammeh era. It seems as if the country is sinking very fast into anarchy marked by excessive violations of human rights while everyone naively looks on.
On that fateful Friday morning of 22nd July 1994, I was a young boy playing soccer at the Serekunda Primary School (now Serekunda Basic School). On my way home around 1pm, I came across a handful of armed soldiers. Suddenly, I overheard an old woman who had cried " Kukoi Samba is back, the soldiers are after him.'' Hearing about Kukoi scared me to death having heard what he did in the country in 1981 when I was an infant. I ran home as fast as my feet could carry me only to hear from my people that there was a coup by the army. Later that afternoon, I had joined a jubilant crowd of youth and elders in celebration of the demise of Jawara's 29yr regime. However, I did not know what a military take over meant then as I was younger until I started hearing about gross human right abuses in the form of murder, arson attacks on innocent civilians and other crimes under Jammeh's watch. Jammeh's government exposed its most meaning to me when I was chased by six heavily armed soldiers on April 10th, 2000 and the subsequent massacre of more than 2 dozen school boys and girls right before my eyes. This evil government continued to unveil its true meaning through the brutal movie-style assassination of Journalist Deyda Hydara, the attempted murder of Lawyer Ousman Sillah, the gruesome murder of Ousman Korro Ceesay and the most recent genocide by Jammeh's thugs involving fifty ECOWAS nationals mainly Ghanaians who were mistaken for ''rebels '', according to a cover-up story from the Gambia Government. The list of the evils presided over by Yaya Jammeh continues.
Mr. Sarr's book has covered almost all the atrocities and a host of other abuses under the watchful eye of our dictator. The book also exposes the thuggish life in Yahya Jammeh, Edward Singhateh and Yankuba Touray. Other evil elements included in Lt. Col. Sarr's exclusive book are Musa Jammeh who proudly calls himself ''Malya Mungu'' and Kawsu Camara alias 'bombarded'. The latter is someone I know very well thanks to his womanizing skills. He would always come to my former Alma Mater and seek out young girls while riding in Jammeh's private SUVs especially his widely seen Hummers. I will certainly agree with Uncle Sam Sarr that the most evil man in Jammeh's ''house'' is Edward Singhateh. This is a guy who would offer free rides to school children to and from school during the day and in the cover of darkness, he would slaughter Jammeh's so-called opponents after drinking a few cans of beer. Some dogmatic elders for being a highly disciplined soldier/gentleman especially, when he’s with Jammeh and nodding his evil head in acceptance to whatever his monstrous boss says often praise Singhateh. Having read the book, I am haunted by demons at night in my university dormitory reminding me of the numerous times I rode on Edward Singhateh’s ministerial vehicle. Numerous times he would offer us ride encouraging us to enlist in the Army after graduation. I wished I hadn't encountered such a demon in my entire life.
The book also enlightened me on the events and issues that transpired when Jawara's regime was in its deathbed. These include the short-lived Senegambia Confederation, the interference of foreign armies in the daily affairs of the GNA, the subtle tribalism that cuts across all sectors of our society and the Gambian old tradition of "God chose the President for us, so let's leave him until he completes his term".
The life of the author in the USA was not definitely left out. I dearly admire his earlier life in the States which was a career pursuing one, having graduated with a good profession and also his attainment of near military perfection during his subsequent trainings at reputable Military academies in America. Uncle Sam could have chosen to stay in the States and pursue the famous 'American dream' like any other youth in those days when going to ''Toubabland' was seen as a redemption and economic salvation by most of our folk. He, however, decided to return home in order to serve his countrymen, even to the extent of serving two different governments. On the other hand, Mar Sarr's later and current life shook my emotions in the sense that he has left his beloveth motherland and decided to relocate to another heaven with his family. He is likely to agree with me that no matter how heavenly America is to him and his family, there's no heaven like The Gambia with her beautiful sand beaches, muddy village pathways and the green vegetation that clothes the grasslands. The hospitality of the Fula man, the kindness of the Jola youth and the hardworking Serer woman, the faithful, funny and happy Mandinka man and the generous old Wollof woman who would say to her neighbours" Kai Len Ndeewo" are some of the few scenarios one may miss while away from one's home. Leaving away from home is certainly not an easy task but bad situations call for it at times. Many Prophets of the Almighty Lord left their homes to resettle on other lands where the folks did not persecute them therein.
My advise to Jammeh's thugs is for them to cease harassing and killing innocent civilians and their fellow armed men in the name of the dictator. If they do not heed this advice, they may each sit and await their own doomsdays. The evil system that destroyed, Koro Ceesay, Deyda Hydara, Omar Barrow, Baba Jobe and Sadibou Hydara, will not spare those foolish thugs around Jammeh.
The Gambian people should also arise from their slumber and forget the old theory of
" Its God who put him there”. We have been sitting idle by and watched so many evil events unfold under Jammeh's nose and did nothing. Albert Einstein once said: " the world is dangerous not only because of the evil that men do but also because we sit and let it happen". General public opinion and action against Jammeh is badly needed to unseat and prosecute this evil nincompoop. It may be costly but those who live by the sword should always die by the sword. Enough is enough and Yahya Jammeh must be immediately chased out of The Gambia