Sections
DONATE
SUPPORT WWW.JOLLOFNEWS.COM
Account Login
Yahya Jammeh Betrayed Everyone and Gambians so Badly
Wednesday, 16 February 2011 20:41
By Sarjo Bayang Gambians and the world listened with keen interest and believed almost everything Jammeh said almost 20 years ago. On youtube is video recording of Jammeh’s own words during the maiden days following military takeover.
Now going to 20 years, the truth about Jammeh’s betrayal is clear not only by his total failure to keep those promises. He has turned into an armed dictator after establishing what is best seen as worst police state in Africa. Many Gambians and non-Gambians have been killed for reasons associated with having
challenged the regime of terror and fraud or simply framed as saboteurs. President Jammeh has turned the entire Gambian economy into his private enterprise for greedy self-seeking personal wealth creation. Those disappointed may not all share similar feelings but they likely experience similar suffering of slow decaying hardship. Now we can go to the specific occasions and circumstances showing how President Yahya Jammeh stands out as the worst betrayer of people within and outside Gambian borders.
Everything started with the very staging of that 22 July 1994 coup. Gambia had a decent and orderly process for selecting political candidates and leaders. That order was violently broken by Yahya Jammeh and his lot. If he was genuine, he would have formed a political party and behaved good rather than using armed violence to seize political power. Doing what he did means Yahya Jammeh could not be trusted from start.
Prior to the coup, even as junior army officer lieutenant Yaya Jammeh enjoyed no lesser privilege. He was given closer proximity to family of his former boss deposed President Sir Dawda Jawara. Those who got to know about the special relations of Jammeh and the Jawara presidential family mentioned about how the children and wives of Jawara embraced Yahya Jammeh not a mere security guard but as part of their household. It was said that Jammeh was given the privilege of exercising disciplinary authority over Jawara’s children. All that trust and confidence was openly betrayed by Jammeh as he conceived and set on toppling the whole government of his former boss Sir Dawda Jawara.
Setting the Betrayal Plot
Soon after staging the 22 July 1994 coup, Yahya Jammeh needed people of certain experience and expertise to spin the wheel of governance. At the time he was like a car thief who could not drive and yet needed moving. For a start it emerged as good idea to keep the government civil service structure after scaring all the ministers away.
Bakary Bunja Darbo (BB) was a suitable target for the junta to track the avenues of state finances having occupied that position for good while. He was invited as if all doing well. Whatever happened between BB Darbo and the junta is still not publicly known. What the public knew was the sudden disappearance of BB Darbo from the junta regime and out of Gambia since then. You cannot rule out betrayal.
After BB Darbo, the junta began scouting around for new civilian entrants into the political arena and key strategic positions all as way of projecting a democratic civilian government on face value. Koro Ceesay, Dominic Mendy and several others saw the opportunity of joining what was perceived a government of an enthusiastic youth regime. Baboucar Blaise Jagne, Dr Sedat Jobe, Fafa Mbai and others all jumped in the ring as breeds of patriots capable of living the July 22 revolutionary dream. Among men and women targeted for the process of consolidating the junta government in transformation (not transition) of the military to what it now turns to be, a spell of disappointment marked the end of their turns.
The story has changed drastic for many of those who once believed they were identified by the regime to pick the nation from what the junta called massive ruins to realising the dream of Vision 2020. Betrayal intensified when the frequency of hiring and firing set on alarming proportion. The first Secretary General lost his job less than a month. Some of the ministers not only lost their jobs but have been arrested and confined to prison terms. Other senior security personnel like Ebrima Chongan faced the arrest for resisting the coup.
The Start of Killings
Worse things began taking form with the sudden disappearance and cold blooded burning down of Koro Ceesay while serving as the junta’s Finance Minister shortly before the first Annual Budget Speech. Koro’s charred remains were found in a state vehicle he used the previous night to see off junta leader Jammeh on one of his overseas visits. The car was burnt down beyond recognition and news of Koro’s death filled the whole nation with dumbfounded chilling impacts. Speculation still rules around that the first year of junta in power left Gambian coffers empty and Finance Minister Koro Ceesay was going to deliver the true state of government finances for public interest. It defies reason how that could lead to someone being snatched away at tender age from his loving family and network of friends. Since Koro’s mystery death the Jammeh government in almost 20 years has still not produced an intelligible report from any investigation over the matter.
Many other deaths followed within interval. Deyda Hydara was murdered by gun men believed to be government agents. His killers are still proudly rubbing shoulders with President Jammeh in state banquets. More than 12 young school children were gunned down during a student demonstration. Order to shoot the children was said to have come from President Jammeh. There is still nothing done about government armed personnel who carried those shootings. Several of them later received swift promotion by President Jammeh as compensation for the work of “killing the enemies.” It is certain that some of those killed had family members supporting President Jammeh due to his parade of faked development projects. Now they too stay much betrayed by a president they thought came to salvage. Some of those killed were lone children of struggling couples trying to build a family.
Scheme of Elimination as Strategy of Self Perpetuation
As in the game of one-man-standing, Jammeh was soon to show his unknown colours. One fine morning in 1995, two of his coup mates Sadibou Hyadara and Sana Sabally who served as state minister and second in command to the junta leader respectively, suddenly fell prey to a plot hatched at State House. They were framed in a coup plot and whisked away to State Prison Mile 2 in the second year of military rule. Sadibou died in custody leaving Sana to serve a life sentence. After long prison term, Jammeh released Sana Sabally at a time he felt secured enough that Sabally could not mobilise support from the army they both commanded at time of the coup in July 1994. Since the occasion of arresting Sabally and Hydara, it came clear that Jammeh is ready to part with anyone he considers threat to his rule of tyranny and financial monopoly.
To ensure that he stays in the same position as leader of government but not letting anyone else keep a single position long enough, Jammeh resorted to a scheme of cabinet reshuffles and change of positions in civil service and other public posts. As at now, frequent hire and fire has become a norm in Jammeh’s manner of ruling. Many of those who once thought fit to play the game with Jammeh end up bowing their head down in shame as they faced the sack or gone to jail after being in public position.
Sadly, more people had fallen along the slipway. They have been duped to believe serving the 22 July revolution as outstanding patriots. When they got appointed, these men and women considered anyone thinking different from them as unpatriotic. It is when they faced the sack that reality spells in their being. There are so many of them to fit in these spaces for listing. They feel betrayed and some of them will now wish the earth turns up-side-down to have Yahya Jammeh buried alive.
Excesses of Jola Ethnic Extremism
President Jammeh’s betrayal trail extends in scope and nature, covering personal and national bounds. From his native ethnic group the Jola, he made everything appear as though his emergence to power signified the triumph of Jola minority and least economic power over rest of other ethnics. Until this day, that is still a pride highly embraced by many misguided Jolas whose only gains remain as free dancers and wrestlers while Jammeh continues amassing personal wealth at the expense of everyone in Gambia including the hard toiling Jolas wherever they are. Jammeh’s clinging unto state power and complete monopoly of economic and financial welfare has not translated to better life for Jolas in any way. The best gift to Jolas is by way of organising endless musical shows and wrestling contests. Apart from that the Jolas too are badly betrayed by President Jammeh except for those he placed in key public positions, army, and police roles especially. To that effect, the Jolas have now shown a trait of alienation. They behave as though this temporal occupation of Jammeh as self-imposed president by force of arms is never coming to an end. They too have betrayed rest of Gambians through the false notion of President Jammeh as one who owns.
War on Society Seen as War against Mandinka Ethnic Majority
In the beginning, Jammeh made other minority tribes to believe that he was simply against the rule of Mandinka ethnic group in claiming that deposed President Jawara (Mandinka by ethnicity) overstayed for 30 years. For some time the scheme of alienating the majority ethnic Mandinka against other minority groups paid well for Jammeh. With time, it has now come out clear that Jammeh’s cruel handling of Gambian people is a heavy weight resting on everyone. For some reason some people still take as Jammeh at war with Mandinka majority rule. The truth is that Jammeh has betrayed Gambians and friends of Gambia and not just the Mandinka ethnic group having to face the encounters imposed on all. The highest extent to which some Mandinkas get more betrayed is at the level that a good number of Mandinkas have voted for Jammeh in past elections. A strategy that worked for Jammeh is by choosing people of certain influence in all the districts so that when they vote their candidates, they vote for the APRC party of Jammeh in the process. Another way Jammeh is able to retain votes and allegiance from his many victims is by sacking and hiring brothers and sisters of the same family. That way too, huge divisions have resulted in family relations all around the country. That is another level of betrayal.
Raising False Hopes
Viewed from different perspectives, President Jammeh remains the worst betrayer on Gambian soil. He raised people’s hopes for a transition to civilian rule after 22 July 1994 coup. Later, after taste of power, he decided to stay on with the pretext of bringing development to people. He engages in various schemes and projects as justification for staying on to deliver what he calls needed development. Before his true intentions become clearly known, President amassed so much personal wealth and now the richest person in Gambia with investment in all sectors of revenue potential. That is the biggest betrayal of public trust. The use of public office for personal wealth generation makes President Jammeh the worst betrayer of Gambians.
Without all the killing of those perceived as enemies, the betrayal of Gambians by Jammeh could have been fixed for down grading. Before Jammeh’s rule in Gambia there was no such rampant occasion of killings and persecution of perceived political opponents. That is now a norm causing great fear in the country. Gambia is now a deadly police state. What president Jammeh has instilled in almost 20 years will take very long time to rectify after he is gone. By using fellow Gambians to kill and torture their own people president Jammeh has betrayed the trust bestowed on that position. People have no trust for security and safety in Gambia.
Wanted Persons List
Publication by NIA a wanted list of person is alarming. The list consists of non-Gambians too. There is nothing to take light about that lists. If any person on that list is caught by Gambian security or their agents, they are sure to face maximum persecution. In extreme encounters, they may be killed. That is because President Jammeh has turned to killing as way of instilling fear in Gambians especially those who feel free to exercise the citizenship right of free association and expression. This recent wanted list is far from complete and totally inaccurate. It is incomplete because there are more people hating Jammeh (if that is criterion) than the list contains. It is inaccurate because there are people in that list who project as Jammeh well-wishers. Still to be counted both incomplete and inaccurate is the fact that some of the people in that list are in total disagreement about state of affairs.
Most critically, the composers of that list have something to hide. They have more people to include but have chosen to cut the list short for fear of raising high alarm. Jammeh will collapse with the full list placed before him. That goes to explain how insincere Jammeh’s own trusted agents are and how they fake him with facts and figures. Considering the compilation of a list on people lined up to be killed or persecuted for doing nothing is another evidence showing how President Jammeh stands out as worst betrayer. All those in that list have some tax benefits to Gambians. Instead of using tax payers’ money to protect everyone, some lazy so called intelligence cohort of agents have nothing to do but sit in those dark corners as ready dead trap setters of innocent persons. All they get from it is crumbs from President Jammeh’s big loot. Those keeping that list and their master, President Yahya Jammeh stand to fail in all regards. They are breeds of nonentities that could not produce for themselves and idly sit by to feed on public resources. That is another dimension of betrayal and President Yahya Jammeh plays as the ring leader of a notorious gang of thieves and killers calling themselves government.
What makes the threat so serious is that President Jammeh has capability of commanding his killers to hunt for their targets abroad. There are talks circulating around that the regime has informers and agents abroad capable of abduction and even ready to kill their targeted persons. Gambians abroad have to exercise maximum caution in dealing with those they have not known full enough back home. All non- Gambians in the wanted persons’ list have reason to report about possible terrorist operation of President Jammeh’s killer agents. These are people of ruthless disposition. Gambia was peaceful and such scale of abduction and killings have never been known. If they can do it in Gambia they can do it outside. They have been trained for it in Gambia, Libya and elsewhere. Host countries will do good job by screening Gambian Embassy staffs in their countries to ensure that the state of terror facing does not infiltrate overseas through the Gambian embassies as hideouts.
What’s in All These?
Considered by many accounts, President Jammeh is the worst betrayer in decades of life for Gambians. There are many good reasons for Gambians to stop this spell of cruelty taking roots, and now is the best time. More than anything, these are to serve as reminders for everyone that President Yahya Jammeh has no intention of changing his dangerous and harmful ways. Voting for him amounts to social and political suicide for whole Gambian nation. So much has been revealed about Mr Jammeh, including recent arms and drugs ventures. Mr Jammeh mortgaged the whole nation of Gambia too long. It is unsafe to have him continue in the seat of president. He betrayed not just Gambia but poses serious risk to the global economy through his dubious money laundering and other nefarious financial dealings. He cannot be trusted. Gambians have a chance to send Mr Jammeh packing and now is the best time.
Originally published on Allgambian.net
Jollofnews Poll
Who do you think should be the next President of The Gambia?
Follow us on Twitter
-
Warsi fails to reveal rent incomeThe co-chair of the conservative party, Baroness Sayeeda Wasri, admits not fully declaring rental income...
-
Egypt candidate to seek election suspension: lawyerCAIRO (Reuters) - Leftist candidate Hamdeen Sabahy will file an appeal for Egypt's presidential election...
-
Bristol Rovers Speed Merchant Could Be Racing To Posh(GamSports) – Peterborough United are thought to be one of a number of Championship sides...
Comments
Comment
Fact! He succeeded in deceiving most, Gambian & friends in the international community; thus he now wants to be a monster that never was. Recent democratic wind of change’s blowing down from Tunis, Cairo, down to the cape; excluding NONE, will ensure yaya’s mad kingship assumptions halted in brake. Days of fake self-perpetuations even in tyrannical Gambia are gone for good. It’s just a matter of time.
RSS feed for comments to this post.