It's the right thing to do! Yahya Jammeh's rule will go down not only as one of the darkest in Africa but the world at-large. See, there has been dictators before Jammeh but what brings Jammeh on-par with the world's worst is the treatment of his subjects (The Gambian People). Jammeh didn't only treat his adversaries badly he treat them inhumanely, he destroy them and sometimes destroy their family and everything they care about. When he goes after you he tries to take about your humanity. My principle in life is "kill me but never take about my humanity."
I do not support the banning of any political party or peaceful political activity. However, it's time for the current leadership of APRC to take a hard look at what they represent, the symbol of APRC most only be seen in Museums not in the public domain. Give closure to the many victims of Jammeh and dissolve the party, it's the right thing to do. The pain Jammeh and his government inflicted on our people is real and still raw, it's impact will continue to be felt centuries to come. In the "New Gambia" everyone must be free to express their views because that's the dictate of a free and fair society but it obvious APRC or any government that holds a similar ideology will never ever lead our people again. Ask any Jew worthy of his salt what will you if Hitler were to come-back and try to rule over you, he/she will tell you over my dead body. We the Gambian people will give our lives and happily so to safeguard our new freedom from Jammeh and everything he represented.
I criticize the Barrow government and I probably will continue to do so even if I was the V.President just the way I'll criticize a Halifa Sallah government, a Mamma Kandeh government, even a government of my own daddy because I believe it is important to put pressure on our leadership so they know they have to fight every single day to prove to us that they care and act on issues that affects us. It makes me uncomfortable when APRC sympathizers cozy up to my writings because I criticize this government. Don't get it twisted, make no mistakes, you and I couldn't be more different. If you think what Jammeh did to my people is okay, I put you in the same bracket as Jammeh. I despise everything, everything Jammeh stood for. When I disagree with UDP or other parties it's policy difference, it's like fighting a brother (I enjoy Spanking them), with APRC is like fighting an enemy.
Before Jammeh we disagree but the sanctity of human life was valued in our society. The Jammeh-era brought so much Sorrow and Loneliness to so many homes, took husbands from so many wives. I pride myself for not easily crying but thinking about Jammeh and the brutality of his era roll tears down my eyes. I, like many of you was a Jammeh victim. I was an elementary age kid when Jammeh took power, those days dead was so sacred when a neighbor dies kids like myself were shield from the trauma and moved to a different side of the town. But in Jammeh's era I grew up subjected to the trauma of murder, missing neighbors and neighbors terrified of the prospect of being fired from the only source of livelihood.
He pit us against each other tribe-against-tribe and made our country nearly ungovernable, he almost destroyed us forever.
I live a bless life and consider myself a success in so many ways, but no action gave me more satisfaction than knowing I was among the voices who refused to remain quiet to Jammeh's Dark Age. That fight will be the highlight of my life and I hope to one day be blessed with grand-children so I can brag to them how I was part of the resistances.
To those leading APRC now, you've an opportunity, you've an opportunity to ask for remission for your role in the darkest chapter of our history. Dissolve the party, do it for your own sake and for the sake of Jammeh's victims. Ask for forgiveness, The Gambian Heart is the kindness of all Hearts.
For those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, "may your souls rest in perfect peace!!" To their families we are forever indebted.
Our president (Barrow) was elegant yesterday during the opening ceremony of the National Assembly. He gave a dazzling speech and I got to confess he was sexy and seducing in his Haftan. Hi Barrow, you want a third wife? Holla! Wink, Wink!! He as always was gracious and modest, two qualities I like about him. However something else caught my attention, the beautiful building he gave his speech in. For a country with little infrastructure the new National Assembly building is a master piece and a pride.
But my busy-body mind started wondering, questions like “which administration built this beautiful building?” started popping in my head and I was faced with the hard reality, it was the administration of our ex-dictator. The same answer when I asked about the Airport a classic in African standards, the Roads, Traffic-Lights, Hospitals, Schools etc. almost every infrastructure development seems to have come from Jammeh’s government. This in addition to the many scholarships that allowed so many of our young citizens to get quality education in places like Taiwan, Venezuela, Cuba etc. Considering my antipathy for him, I felt abashed.
This fact puts our current administration in an awkward position, if a dictator who swindle our resources and was promiscuous at times could do all that development. The question everyone is asking is can this administration match the ex-president or do better. Well so far the manifestations are not great, if building Forensic-Labs is this government’s priority then the antics are not looking good and they have lot of catch-up to do. As of now, the only thing Barrow can take credit for is the gentility of his wardrobe, his Haftans without a doubt can match Jammeh’s any day. Sometimes, I get jealous ‘sah’, so cute Mr. President, if I can lay hand on one of those Haftans and Hats, ‘dem’ ladies will lick my face daylight. No kidding!
However, I hope Barrow doesn’t befuddle nice dresses to effective leadership. There is so much hope on him, blaming the ex-government for failures can only work for so long, after a while it gets old and we the Gambian people will say “put up or shut up.”
I am still buoyant though and crossing my fingers, I am putting my buck on this government hoping they won’t let me down. If a dictator can do more for the country than this UDP led government that would be an abomination and total shame. Even worst if every infrastructure this administration balls-in is the work of the dictator we all love to vilify that will call their credibility to question. Hola UDP! Are you really gonna let Jammeh mockingly poke his fingers at us? Do not embarrass us.
Ohh.. Btw, I was told UDP was upset that Mamma Kandeh upstage and humiliate them on the national stage. GDC, the country's biggest opposition party recently successfully rolled-out an infrastructure project, a bridge somewhere in the countryside in just few months. For a party not in power and with no control of government resources, this was an unbelievable accomplishment. Considering Papa Lawyer Darboe’s obsession with the presidency and his unstoppable impending presidency in 2020, this was a hard-hit and the old man was having none of it. In-fact, grapevine had it that UDP got big plans. The plan a Train that travels Banjul-to-Basse in a single hour by December 2017, this in reaction to Mamma Kandeh and GDC.
So far the UDP led administration has struggled to take credit for a single project since taking power not even a Borehole, it remains to be seen if they can pull it off. I hope they don’t become the party of plenty ideas, no substance. The good news, December is just around the corner. Talk is cheap “we go see.” So far it seems there is a Big-Baboon looming, but it’s not Dictator Jammeh lol.
Couples of weeks ago, Gambia was all over the international media, like months prior, it wasn’t for the right reasons. Accordingly to the current administration our psycho ex-president has pilfered the nation’s miniature resources and basically left us penniless. Like most of you I need not tell you I was enraged and indignant, my hatred of Jammeh was renewed all over again and I can’t recapitulate the insults I directed at the fool.
Fast forward one month it appears Gambia has recovered big time. Who needs Jammeh after-all? We have so much money, white-elephant projects like a Crime-Lab, Forensic-Lab, MaimunaFatty-Lab or whatever you choose to call it, it’s no more a wish, it’s happening bro.
It doesn’t matter that Gambia one of Africa’s poorest have one of the lowest crime rate, where crimes like murder is a rear occurrence. It doesn’t matter that the whole country has one Dialysis center located in Banjul. So if you live in Basse or any other region outside of Banjul and Kombo and need your blood filtered three-times a week because of a kidney failure. You have three options:
1. Relocate to these two regions and live there for the rest of your life.
2. Move to a country with advance medical care and live there forever and hope that you can afford the medical cost.
3. Die (unfortunately this is the option for most people).
Yes, medical issues like these are not in the fore-front of our public discourse, neither are they the main topics in the media but there are real people dying every single day helplessly from preventable/manageable health issues like these. It pains my heart that their situation is less priority than Mai Fatty’s security paranoia and toys meant only to feed his ego.
It doesn’t matter that 70% of the country does not have Electricity Supply and nowhere in the country is 24hrs electricity guaranteed. Imagine what a $40 million investment into a Solar-Farm will do for the country?
It doesn’t matter that the country’s only University continues to graduate medical doctors every second like ants yet none have the expertise to conduct organ transplant neither have the medical equipment. Investing $48 million into a standard medical lab at the University of The Gambia (UTG) makes more sense any day than Mai Fatty’s TOYS.
But wait, don’t tell this to the self-identified, self-appointed "Coalition Defense League (CDL aka UDP)", you’ll get an earful of how it is not an Either/Or. I beg to defer! My granny use to tell me how “it’s easier to wake someone asleep than someone pretending to be.” May her soul rest in peace. How true, reminds me of the no ancient time when Jammeh’s supporters use the same tactics. Blind themselves to the crimes of their master. What an imperfect creation we are, mankind forgets so soon, smh.
I can’t help but wonder down memory-lane, high school days at Nusrat. Nice memories! I still remember the first topic in my Economics class, my Ghanaian teacher when full-blown on the Economic principle of Scarcity of Resources and Scale-of-Preference. The principle states if you've scarce resources you should prioritize your needs according to their importance. How I wish this administration was following this basic economic principle.
Considering less than a month ago Mai Fatty and his cronies were bitching to anyone who cares to listen about how our government is broke, how in the world can they justify such a superfluous project. Who are you trying to impress??
If this is how our government is going to spend our meager resources, we are in deep shit. Like seriously.
Since our secret president (Papa Lawyer Darboe) have decided only his boy-boy Mai Fatty is going to get the money for his department. Can Adama Barrow grow a spine for once and transfer Mai Fatty to the below Government Ministries, I am pretty sure they need that money more:
1. Ministry of Health
2. Ministry of Education
3. Ministry of Agriculture
4. Ministry of Roads
5. Ministry of Electricity
6. Ministry of Internet-Service or
7. Ministry of Trash-Pickup
Before I conclude, I want to raise one more issue: EMBEZZLEMENT. Corruption is Africa’s biggest disease and government officials get away with it usually by signing big contracts or starting such silly projects. The end cost of the project is triple the original amount and we all know where the difference go. I am not saying that’s the motive here but considering the public was blindsided and we still don’t know the details of this misguided the-world-is-about-to-end-project. Our skepticism is heightened, like the Nigerians say “we’re watching you with our naked eyes.”
We know the following for a fact. Mai Fatty ain’t rich, in-fact he was an average Lawyer, so was his master (Papa Lawyer) we also know his current salary, so we’re keeping an eye on him and his master. We’ll be watching how many houses you build in the next coming years.
To some “New Gambia” means sycophancy but to some of us it means keeping our government’s toes to the fire and doing what it takes to lift the country from its current predicament. Who got time to be baby-sitting or praise-singing a government? On a light note, Intellectual Bug is back, no filter; same style, same authenticity. Stay bless my friends.
My name is Intellectual Bug, I am a Jollof-Nerd, a Political-Junkie and a Love-Wizard.
This is a platform for Intellectuals :) but we do NOT discriminate, we suppress no ideas as long as you're cool as we are.
Do you get the chills reading "The Lion and the Jewel." Do you get excited by poems, prose and appreciate the beauty of words. Or get butterflies in your stomach from reading a beautiful Romantic story. Maybe you're the political junkie who needs a proper dose of political cogitation without filter. Jollof Nerds! is the platform.
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