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PK’s Beef: July 22 Coup should not be celebrated
Tuesday, 06 July 2010 23:23
By PK Jarju On July 22, the Gambia will be commemorating the 16th anniversary of the military coup, which brought President Yahya Jammeh and his AFPRC/APRC regime to power.
The ceremony which will be held at Arch 22 in Banjul will again cost the poor Gambian tax payers millions of Dalasis, which could be better spent in improving their poor living conditions and services.
The anniversary is not worth celebrating because Jammeh and his cronies committed treason by overthrowing the democratically elected government of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara. The revolution we were told was conducted by the soldiers to eradicate rampant corruption, nepotism, favoritism and retrogression. We were also told that the coup was justifiable because the 30 year old regime of Sir Dawda was rotten and not fit for purpose.
However, 16 years on, there are no meaningful changes in the Gambian society. Corruption, bribery, nepotism and favoritism are still very alive if not more well rooted in the Gambian civil service. Jammeh and his associates are unaccountable and are living a flamboyant lifestyle at the detriment of the people. Whatever was bad during the Jawara era is at its worst state.
The revolution we were again told was conducted to give power back to the people as well as to restore public confidence in government. Instead, the Gambian people are governed by a dictatorial regime that does not give a monkey to the rights of the people and the rule of law. The regime has eroded the civil liberties of the citizenry including the right to freedom of speech and assembly. It does not believe in democracy which is a government by the people through elected representatives, political, social or legal equality. Power in the Gambia is vested in the hands of the head of state who sees himself as a master of the people.
The head of state within a few years of coming to power has become the richest Gambian the country has ever seen. He is richer than a king and is controlling every facet of the Gambian society and the fate of Gambians is no longer in their own hands. Gambians cannot start a business or find work without paying bribes. Opposition sympathizers cannot find work in any government department or public sector without joining the ruling party. Journalists and activists cannot criticize the regime without being killed, arrested, tortured or prosecuted for sedition.
The regime has snooped into the lives of the Gambian people and violated their space. Our movements are restricted by numerous military check points. We cannot wear a yellow t-shirt without being accused of being UDP (opposition) supporters. We can be arrested and tortured by the NIA for whatever reason without having a right to seek redress in court.
We are today living in a Big Brother State and everyone is living in a state of fear. We are all afraid of our ruler because he can do anything to us. The Gambia which was previously known as a land of no problem is now a land of big problems.
Despite being in power for 15 years, Jammeh still wants to remain president despite the deleterious effect his rule is having on the lives of the people. Part of his desire to remain in power is due to greed and fear. He is afraid of losing his wealth and power and being dragged before a court of law for the despicable human rights abuses he has committed.
You can see this when you take a deep look at him. Jammeh is not as bold as he claims to be. He is not at peace with himself as he is very afraid of the future. This is driving him insane.
Sometimes the fear in Jammeh turns to hate, which often gives him a desire to harm anyone he sees as a threat. This is the reason why many top Gambian security officers are being sacked, detained at the Mile 2 prisons or charged with treason.
The political madness in Jammeh often causes him to make certain things that are very embarrassing to the office he occupies.
The July 22 revolution is not worth celebrating because it has not succeeded in alleviating poverty in the country. The gap between the rich and the poor is wider than ever and many Gambians are continuing to be born in poverty, grow up in poverty and die in abject poverty.
Also, I don't believe that the July 22 revolution have registered significant success to be worth celebrating. Of course, many will disagree with me. The reason being, the Jammeh regime has built schools, airport, roads and health centres. To these people, the mere building of schools and roads is a sign of Gambia's development.
We should not measure development based on the number of infrastructures built by the regime but how well the average people of the Gambian are. It is misleading to call the Gambia developed while over 55 per cent of the country's population is living on less than one US Dollar a day.
Secondly we need to remember that the building of basic services is the responsibility of government. That is what our taxes are meant for. Therefore, the Jammeh regime is not doing us any favor as it is our money.
Thirdly, we should not only focus our attention on quantity but on quality. Have the building of many junior and senior secondary schools increase the quality of education in the country? The answer is No. Have the building of health centres reduced the number of death from preventable diseases? The answer again is No. Have the construction of a modern airport increased the number of tourism or created more employment opportunities for Gambians? Have the building of Arch 22 provided employment opportunities to the youths in our ghettos? Have the Jahally Pacharr rice project minimized the importation of rice? You answer these questions.
I therefore think that the only people who should be celebrating the July 22 anniversary should be Jammeh and his associates. The revolution has made them the most powerful and richest Gambians. Take for instance; Jammeh was a poor guy prior to the coup. Today, he is the richest Gambian owning millions of Dalasis, lands, aircraft, companies, nature reserves, among others.
How he attained all this wealth is very questionable because he could never be able to acquire all these assets with his salary and allowances. Let him explain to us in the name of accountability and transparency how he acquired them.
To conclude, I think that it would be far, far better if the money being set aside to commemorate the revolution is used in creating job opportunity to the thousands of school leavers who are hanging at the beach sides and ghettos.
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Comments
Thankyou for your spot on points;and for Chris George,there is no BEEF,but in this forum which JOLLOF allocated us,is for brainstorming ideas and exchanging ideas,and is only going to happen when we stop the petty jabs and rather we should contribute from what we think will create an avenue for a debate,but not fist pumping or telling someone who has the same interest in Gambians politics like everyone of you that my contrbutions doesn't worth saying is an insult to me or probably underestimating my intelligence as far as our coumtries political discourse,but Chris i got love for anyone in this precious forum..cheers
Having said that, Mr Jonga, I have not read where PK called for forceful removal of Jammeh and I am not denyinghe ever said so, but even if he did, his present article suggests a soft approach. Don't you think it is worth it that he is listened to. Or can we just condemn him just because he once call for forceful removal? In that case we hardly have any innocent Gambian left to rule the country when Jammeh goes ... not evn you or me could be qualified. One way or the other, every Gambian has a hand in whatever bad thing that maybe happen to the country today...
This is not about you,because i myself i don't have a job and you telling me to let PK do as he wishes because he is using his own pen. Am i using someones pen? Lets forget about the ME MYSELF AND I attitude and rise up and continue building the Gambia regardless of our differences,bec ause Yahya Jammeh is not going to be there forever and the PK you are defending has once written about removing Yahya Jammeh byforce is that predimeditated actions not encouraging coup,and you are here defending him..I am not a Jammeh supporter,but will defend Gambia if i feel that i should do so and if you think that i don't have anything worth saying,then ignore my postings and cruise forward
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