By Lt. Col. Samsudeen Sarr

Jammeh from what I gathered had a meltdown on Gambian TV few days ago delivering a barrage of threats to unspecified roguish businessmen whom he said have failed to conform to market tariffs as should be affected by the appreciating value of the Dalasi against foreign currencies. I think Monday October 8 is the deadline set for traders to comply with reducing prices of commodities or risk being permanently banished from all business rights or opportunities in the country. Sounds fair and logical but when Jammeh makes threatening statements, wiser people aught to stay cautionary and let the gullible elements consume his cool aid.

                           I understand he has also vowed to further depreciate the value of the Dollar to a much lower denomination an economic phenomenon he has credited himself for doing lately. How he does it still beats my imagination. But hey, it is Jammeh again, the politician, farmer, Field Marshal, medicine man, scientist, soothsayer, communicator with Allah and now economist rolled into one colossal Doctor of all. However, from what I heard, Jammeh’s scary TV presentation seemed to have caused a huge panic among the business community a repercussion that I believe would send quite a few into consulting their physicians for urgent supply of high blood pressure medication. Since I don’t know what is exactly going to happen, I will sit tight on those awaited “Bombshells” before commenting. But there are a lot of happenings this week for discussion. Amazingly, for thirteen years of habitual litany of threats from him to Gambians, the results this week show that his impact on scaring them “not to do as he does but do as he says” is minimally effective. Catching his most trusted and long serving sycophants on the diplomatic passport scandal reinforces my conviction that these people behind him questioning nothing he does and acting as if they are the most loyal patriots in the country are more criminal than the cattle rustlers being frequently chased and shot at in forests stretching from Basse to Brikama.

Without doubt, Jammeh’s verbal threats over the years of arresting, imprisoning, torturing and putting disloyal and corrupt Gambians “six feet deep in the ground” have been followed by practical actions on those he has caught and identified in the past as his enemies and even friends. The fate of the likes of Baba Jobe, Boto Sonko, the Kujabis including my former designated assassin James Kujabi, Daba Marena and a host of uncountable victims, must be still fresh in the minds of Bala Jahumpa, Ousman Secka, Lamin Nyabally and the other recent casualties; yet they took the stupid and risky decision of committing the same state crimes that nobody but Jammeh alone could commit with impunity. The discovery of these long-time entrenched white-collar criminals simply reveals the proliferation of corruption in the system that might be by far bigger than what Jammeh knows. In fact, the vast majority of Jammeh’s sycophants, especially politicians, businessmen and civil servants playing the loyalty game in his presence or absence-classic examples are the Jahumpas and Seckas-tend to be shameless gold-diggers supporting false but expensive lifestyles way beyond their earnings. In their positions, they spend stolen money from the state like drunken sailors thinking that if Jammeh could get away with his reckless squandering they could. Wrong thinking! Anyway, while most of them share their loot with personal “Arfangs” who usually assure them everlasting protection in the eyes of the law, Jammeh on the other hand freely acts above the law buffered by his assertion that he is the father of all “Arfangs” (occult scientists) with a divine power that endows him with a direct communication line to God. Was that not some of the things he recently said on Sky TV news?

But let me not deviate from the main subject. My point of argument is primarily to convey my conclusion that Jammeh’s threats to scare the Gambians into blind loyalty and forbidding them from taking what does not belong to them has been dismally failing because of his apparent disrespect of the rules and regulations attributed to achieving that objective. It is obvious that his reckless tendency traceable in kleptomaniacs since he started cashing celestial checks in Allah’s bank years ago and telling everybody that foreign economic assistance to The Gambia came in two folds, one for him and the other for the country signaled the dawn of a regime encouraging rampant corruption and abuse of national resources. And I believe undoing the long entertained bad habit in the country is impossible under Jammeh’s leadership. Trying to maintain the iron grip with poor effects will certainly yield to the ultimate disintegration of the system. Immediate regime change is therefore, the only solution to the decadence, an approaching phenomenon that would consequently herald in a new government administered on the principles of good governance with transparency and accountability not treated as mere bumper stickers.

However, in the case of the diplomatic passport racketeering, many observers within government circles believe Jammeh has been the most abusive of the privilege in the foreign office. I even heard that Cassamance rebels in his good books fighting the Senegalese government for independence are often issued with the special travel document to go wherever they wanted to go. Salifu Sajor, the rebel leader causing the worse havoc in southern Senegal was one time reported to have secured a Gambian diplomatic passport from Jammeh allowing him to travel to Ivory Coast where his credentials were documented as original Gambian papers. His in-laws from Morocco and Guinea are also said to be among those enjoying the free gift of the passports from his office.

But the last time I checked, I got credible information that Edward Singhateh used to have his own stack of the books sold to civilians at $15,000.00 per copy. Jammeh and Edward on the deal clearly mean an irresistible temptation that would momentarily attract the attention of more crooks and violators. Jahumpa, Secka and Batata must have fallen into the trap with perhaps the hope that good old prayers will save them from being caught.

Presumably, as officials at the Foreign Ministry where issuing diplomatic passports conducted on daily basis, the corrupt but lucrative process must have been noticed and quietly exploited, as a means of taking their share from Allah’s ATM machines. What is interesting about it however is the sense of drama at which these thieves cajole Jammeh into thinking that they are hard working, honest technocrats and politicians, the average Joe devoted to promoting the interest and welfare of his agenda and that of the Gambian people. Yet, the fact remains that they are nothing but disingenuous hoodlums trying to maintain a system that if changed will culminate into the discovery of their pandemic crimes. Now people can look back and see why this lewd fanatic Bala Jahumpa was named “Action Man” –a pathetic misnomer, as he hides behind the slogan “hard work and honesty for the APRC government.” Hello!!

The Daily Observer in one of its most obnoxious editorials last week blamed “cyber terrorist” for, among other things, being responsible for disintegrating families. Now let’s pay special attention to what is going to happen to the Jahumpa family who since from day one mortgaged their entire existence to the promotion of the Jammeh agenda? Is Jammeh going to forgive Bala on political reasons like he did in the case of Yankuba Touray who was almost lynched for allegedly stealing millions of Dalasis from Allah’s Bank? Or is he going to fire Fatoumata Jahumpa as Speaker like he did to Peter Singhateh when his brother Edward crashed down few weeks ago? Whatever may happen, in my book, FJC resigning out of dignity and solidarity with her blood brother is completely ruled out. Jammeh holds the switch and will come to the decision of whether to let the Jahumpa light stay on or turn it off finally closing their opportunity gate into his government like he did with the notorious Kujabis.

The Daily Observer will eventually get their fair share of the regime’s unpredictability with perhaps a huge discovery of stolen proceeds from their sales. That will be the day for differentiating terrorists from honest patriots.

The time for the APRC government to quit is here. The signs are all over the place for those benefiting from it to acknowledge the truth and take immediate action towards that; anymore delay of the time to heed the signals means losing the chance rapidly. If lost, recovering it would be a wild goose chase. You can take that to the bank.