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The Gambia: Battle for control of the embattled GNOC
Thursday, 27 January 2011 22:15
By Mathew K JallowThe illegal arrest and incarceration, over the weekend, of the Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC) executives; the Acting-President, Ms. Beatrice Allen; Treasurer, Ousman Wadda; and Accounting Officer Mohammed Janneh, was not unexpected. In a way, it was bound to happen at some point. The writing had been on the wall for quite a while. It was only a matter of time before the politics of self-interest and greed weaseled its way to numb the operational efficiency of the GNOC. But that day came perhaps only too early and too soon for Ms. Allen and her
two subordinates. To begin with, the organization’s internal dynamics have remained unsettled for quite a while; primarily debased by selfish rancor and gratuitous political interference. Largely due to Sports Minister Sheriff Gomez’s manifest interest in GNOC administrative affairs, his overreach came to a head this week when a National Assembly oversight committee grilled him about his ubiquitous meddling and capricious exertion of undue influence on the international body; in effect frustrating Ms. Allen in her efforts to execute her mandated responsibilities, and by extension, denying her the authority to dutifully steer the organization according to her vision and better judgment. But her gender can safely be ruled out as a factor in the perennial tussle between the two factions vying for control of GNOC; instead it seems financial imperatives and other non-pecuniary economic benefits singularly explain Minister Sheriff Gomez’s insular motivations and attempts to micro-manage the affairs of the GNOC without legitimate authority. The arrest and detention of Ms. Allen and her co-workers, like the arrest and detentions last year, of the GAMCOTRAP duo, Dr. Isatou Touray and Amie Bojang-Sissoho was, it therefore seems apparent now, politically motivated; a sinister witch-hunt designed to exert control and manipulate the GNOC executive into submitting to the whims and caprices of parties whose best interests defeat the purpose and the defined goals and vision of the GNOC body. To put this drama in proper perspective, one just has to look at the minuscule amount of money the trio is allegedly to have embezzled to determine that an insidious agenda and sinister motives belie the trio’s illegal arrest and detention. Minister Sheriff Gomez, as anecdotal evidence clearly suggests, is but an insignificant pawn in this highly charged and toxic battle for political domination of the GNOC body; acting in stead in the behest of an invisible hand, and compelled by the diabolical mechanization of a higher authority in a struggle that could ultimately determine the survival of GNOC as an independent organization free of the frivolous trivialities of external political influence and manipulation. Clearly the powers that be in the regime are decidedly bent on extending their strangle-hold on the GNOC body, which if allowed to stand, will effectively introduce nepotism, tribalism and corruption in the organization and eventuate the defeat of the essence and purpose for which the GNOC and its parent body the IOC, stand. The Gambian regime’s insatiable urge to subjugate independent organizations into complying with its dictates may explain the superficial tiff that has developed between agents of the regime and GNOC executives, but if Ms. Allen, her organization and her subordinates show any signs compliance with unofficial and illegitimate state power, they will subject their legitimate authority and the independence of the GNOC itself to usurpation by minions acting in the political interest the regime. There is no doubt that Ms. Allen by dint of her rich experience, incorruptibility and education can carry her own weight around a regime that thrives on mediocrity and amateurism, but it behooves the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to clearly and unequivocally draw a line on the sand to protect the interest of the Gambian nation and its people by standing firmly and unwaveringly behind Ms. Allen and the GNOC executive. A repeat of the political debacle of YOLOCAMBA, a Spanish organization late last year, which threw the non-governmental institution in turmoil, will have the unintended consequence of creating a liability for and submitting the independence of GNOC to irreparable state intrusion and political cannibalization. In a land where political servitude and ignorance have become inspiring virtues, Ms. Beatrice Allen stands out as an oddity and a magnet for political prosecution by a circus of unscrupulous state Neanderthals acting not in the interest of the Gambian people, but defined by narrow political and economic self-interests. But for Ms. Allen, her least worries are the ridiculous made-up charges of corruption which no one believes anyway, rather, she has her most valuable asset to safeguard from tarnishing by political subterfuge; her integrity, and if she goes to the ends of the earth to protect her integrity and unblemished ethical character, the Gambian people will stand behind her in the interest of the continued success of the GNOC and in their own interest. Under this climate of political witch-hunt, the IOC cannot afford to dither, which will have the effect of exposing the GNOC to the vulnerabilities of Machiavellian state power. As it is, GNOC has wallowed in politically motivate quandary for far too long without any resolution in sight, and the time for the IOC to help check the state’s exaggerated sense of its power and authority over GNOC, once and for all, is now. To say the Gambia needs independent civil society organizations, which for a change, will operate exclusively in the interest of the Gambia people, would be an understatement, because one after another, the agenda of politicizing civil society organizations like GNOC has diluted and misrepresented their vision and mission; to become the true personification of the state’s addiction to the control and micro-management of every aspect of Gambian life. The GNOC’s stalemate, which partly looks like the end result of the arm-twisting and corrupt machinations of Abdoulie Touray and Abu Dandeh Njie, who seek to control the body, is largely the product of unrestrained greed and power positioning. The two, understood to be corrupt and manipulative to the core, and have ulterior motives for the GNOC other than to develop sports in The Gambia. And if they have their way, they will acquiesce to illegitimate state authority and expose the GNOC to nepotism, corruption and eventual failure, and knowing Yahya Jammeh, one cannot bet against the state’s browbeating of, and pecuniary payouts to some corrupt voting GNOC delegates in order to get the outcome the state desires. But Gambian just cannot afford the puppeteering of one more organization from the dark shadows and dank corridors of the State House. Meanwhile, as we congratulate the moribund National Assembly for coming alive if only castigate and reprimand Minister Sheriff Gomez, and in so doing, sending a clear message to other state functionaries vulnerable to overstate and exaggerate their authority, Ms Allen must remain steadfast, unwavering, not surrendering or giving in, in her efforts to secure the future of GNOC from agenda driven political incursion. For once, The Gambia needs principled and honesty-driven posturing for a change. There is no reason why the GNOC saga should continue to remain unresolved much longer. And as GNOC delegated strive to find a resolution for this nagging problem, they need to be reminded of a famous Latin quote; honor est praemium virtutis.
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