ENDORSEMENT; Mamma Kandeh or Adama Barrow

I receive this question almost daily for the past couple of weeks. This is particularly surprising considering for the longest I have spoken in favor or in defense of Mamma Kandeh’s campaign. Well maybe your question was warranted, my position has changed slightly but NOT the way many of you expect.

First, I would like to clarify that my loyalty is only to the Gambian people. I do NOT care or align myself to any party at-least NOT currently. I have never been very comfortable with labeling myself or giving a blanket support to any group. I like the idea of being independent minded and from day one I have made it clear my motivation is to see Jammeh GONE, period.




Okay, back to the question. WHO I ENDORSE?

I ENDORSE both Mamma Kandeh and Adama Barrow. You probably are cursing me right now, calm down, I’ll explain.

Based on my observation I have come to the conclusion that we do NOT necessarily need these two campaigns to align. To the contrary, we need these two opposition candidates to take on Jammeh. Mamma Kandeh and Adama Barrow do NOT stand in each other’s way, they COMPLEMENT each other.

The above claim is NOT a science, just the way can’t prove the endless claims you have made in this election cycle so can’t I, so let’s get that out of the way lol... but at the end of this article I hope you’ll find my argument compelling and void of bias.

There is a prerequisite to reading this article or resonating with my argument. I request that you remove your American or Western mentality for a minute and start thinking like the average Gambian voter. Your typical uncle in the village is NOT as sophisticated, he might know things are not right but he doesn’t know why it is so at-least NOT to a deeper level as you do. He doesn’t understand how the economy works and if you try to explain, his answer will be “it’s god who put him there and it’s only god who is going to remove him” annoying right? Well you might think about stopping there because if you press further he’ll remind you that Islam says “Respect and obey your leaders” there is just no way to reason with him. Your idea of a president is NOT like his, he call the president “Mansa, Burr” which means King. While you take that name literally he doesn’t, the president is a king who reign over a people.

Another fact, our country do NOT have Tribalism problem in the physical sense but mentally we do. For the most part, we’re inclined to align with our own tribes especially in Politics. You don’t have to look too far, for the majority of you, you just look at yourself. Truth stings but you’ll never admit it. Am NOT saying everybody think like that but majority of you do and the evidence is YOURSELF. So if you’re NOT immune to such backward mentality why would the majority illiterate Gambian voters. Think about that.

Here is my point, there are many Gambians who have had enough of the APRC government and they want a way out but that doesn’t mean they will settle for any party. Many of these people whether Jola, Wollof, Fula, Sarahuleh or others do NOT necessary see UDP as a party that represent them. Let’s call a spade a spade. These people would rather vote APRC than UDP and the coalition means nothing, it carries the identity of UDP its still UDP to them. While we are addressing this topic let me remind you APRC won 72% of the electorates in the last election, guest what, Jammeh was as evil then as he is today.

See where I am I going with this? So for any chance of defeating Jammeh, you need to cut his support considerably. So far, for the past two decades of Jammeh’s rule only Mamma Kandeh has shown signs of making a dent to Jammeh’s support, people like the dude but more importantly they trust him. How long are you going to stay in your bubble? Quit the denial.

On the other hand, you’ve Barrow. An open-minded fellow who have successfully transform UDP into a more appealing and inclusive party since taking over the reign. He probably command the most loyal supporters than any party in the country. Majority of the supporters see UDP as tribal-honor and a sign of defiance against a Jammeh government who threaten to wipe-out their ethnicity (Mandinkas). This was followed by the arrest of the entire UDP executives for no reason other than a peaceful march to request the dead-body of one of their compatriot. So they have an energize base which is in the range on 15% - 20%, I don’t mean total support but base.

It is safe to say that many UDP supporters are angry and rightly so, only an idiot won’t be angry for what is a blatant attack on their identity. UDP supporters are emotionally attached to the party even Adama Barrow spoke about the “Sympathy vote” during the convention so this not my idea. It would be hard to convince their followers to support anybody but their own. If Mamma is selected to lead the Coalition, I doubt they’ll be inclined to support him. I might be wrong here.

The blessing of this election cycle is we have two very strong opposition candidates unlike the past when the field was proliferated with light weights with zero chance of winning. In one hand UDP has been successful in bring the rank-and-file (it’s not an insult) parties into one umbrella giving it a unified front, excellent.

On the other you have Mamma Kandeh who has the support of all those who had enough of the old parties and the Jammeh government. He leads the most diverse support among the opposition and it is no secret that he is more of a household-name than Barrow. While we are at it, just a side joke, I would also like to point out that he is the CUTEST of them all. Don't believe me, ask the ladies lol.

Here is the take-away from this article. If Mamma Kandeh join the Coalition with UDP leading that equates to handing over the elections to Jammeh hands down. All those who left APRC for GDC will return back to APRC, all those who had enough of the old opposition will stay home. Then what you’ll have is Jammeh winning AGAIN over 70% of the votes. This is common sense and I don’t know why majority of you can’t seem to understand this, gosh am getting agitated.

It’s so hard to deal or work with a REACTIVE crowd, YELLING, YELLING, YELLING, when you don’t get your way INSULTS, INSULTS, INSULTS when the frustration climax ask for MONEY, MONEY, MONEY. WTF!

As sad as this sounds, this is the reality of our politics. I urge you to NEVER ignore the concern of a people genuine or NOT. Donald Trump is a perfect example of what happens when you try to force a candidate down people’s throat they don’t want.

Take a CUE !!

Jollof Nerds