The Ugly Face of Gambian Politics

For a work of art to be termed a master piece it has to have distinct characteristics that are unique, timeless and above all, self expressive. Over the years, the loom has woven an intricate fabric with a wide array of colors and patterns on the Gambian tapestry otherwise called our social fabric.

The semblance of social order and harmony prevails when there is an extended lull of harmonious existence. The ugly beast called tribalism has been given a new lease on life to roam about freely in the nooks and crannies of our beloved homeland. Poverty and injustice do not have tribal sensitivities and therefore they are equal opportunity employers who look beyond tribe to unleash their wrath. The million dollar quesion that consumes my thought process begs to inquire who the proponents of tribalism are? Well my limited understanding of our social setup and dynamics convinced me to conclude that our politicians are not only the architects but the sponsors of this ugly beast called tribalism. Naturally politicians are opportunistic beings who exploit the weaknesses and divisions amongst us to create a base. This base feeds on sentiments that drive their quest to acheive their stated political objectives.
Not much has changed from the colonial master/colonised relationship to the new found power structure of politician/supporter relationship whereby the politician build a bridge to nowhere with marching supporters galloping towards self destruction.

Gambians at home and abroad have been consumed with the political events unfolding at the home front and to my utter dismay, the armchair pundits have stolen the essence of the narrative by drawing a wedge against a group of people who should share a common objective. There is no Fula, Jola or Mandinka hegemony in this beautiful country of ours. What we have is a cartel of vested parties (politicians) who prostitute a group of people for their personal gains and objectives. I say no to divisive politics and politics of personal interest. Progressive Gambians are converging to chart a way forward for a new Gambia whereby tribe is not a destructive nomenclature but rather a covetted treasure to celebrate our diversity. Our political philosophy should be centred around economic and social empowerment. The Gambian cannot endure a life of double jeopardy where the colonial master railroaded us and now only to fall in the hands of our kin and kindred once again in mental servitude.

The progressives amongst us must not only speak out against tribalism and all its guises but also any ploy to disintegrate our social fabric. Gambians are drifting away in ways never seen before and this must be halted by the conscientious objectors who hate divisive politics and marginalisation of the polity. Politics must be a civic engagement that furthers the discourse in accumulating socioeconomic dividends not the "say gaal ma warr la" syndrome reminiscent of politics of divide and rule. Thats not what I bargained for and thats not what being Gambian means to me. My sociopolitical  contract with the politicians is to lower my taxes, protect me from external aggression and safeguard my fundamental rights to liberty and self expression. Once these are not safeguarded, my contract becomes violated making it null and void. I own the electrical broom called voter's card and am at liberty to hire and fire through the ballot. I am the boss of the political class therefore I will not bend in servitude to none. My fellow compatriots lets understand our might and dictate the pace, style and form of our governance structure. They behave in a manner consistent with our stated desires or we kick them out of office. We own the Gambia and it is neither a fiefdom nor an oligarchy so lets do the right thing as children of the soil that gave birth to great men of courage, conviction, honor and dignity. Sait Matty, Maba Jahou, Tamba Jammeh, JC Faye, PS Njie and many others of yester years would have added their voice in the burning issues of the day.

What's In It For The Electorate? What Should We Demand from the political class?

The color palette and the canvas are an artist tool kit for a breath taking marvel that galleries and museums fight to exhibit. The inspiration of the artist is translated in a luminescent display of color and graphics. Equally, the tool kit of a politician is displayed in the coherence of his/her socioeconomic programmes and judicial interventions for the fostering of a harmonious society.

Unfortunately in the Gambia, the pundits and electorate have been consumed with the personalities of the candidates rather than the content of their programmes. Hope is a lifeline to no where and in recent times, Gambians have been banking their hopes on a new Gambia but this hope is not underpinned by any tactical or strategic planning that can yield the desired outcome. Therefore our hope has culminated into a mirage in a desolate desert. This brings me to the limited political sophistication of the Gambian and our narrowly defined interest that blurs our vision to see the bigger picture. An alliance of convenience will be short lived as it lacks conviction and a genuine reason d'etre for its formation. The more I peruse through the pages of Gambian social media, the more I longed for a New Gambian whose political horizon transcends tribe and region. I yearn for a new Gambian who has a score card to judge the efficacy of a political aspirant. Personally, I am in search of a candidate that can galvanize our resolve to weave a new Gambia that is socially cohesive and at peace with itself. Yes I mean peace because peace is just not the absence of war but a thriving environment that promotes the human ideal of progress, equality and dignity. My score card will focus on education, health, agriculture and sustainable economic and infrastructural development.

My vote may be trivial in the grand scheme of things but I will only discharge my civic duty if I see a candidate befitting to my espoused ideals. Lets stop talking about the candidates and worry about what they can deliver for us. That's what the Gambia needs not political jockeying for relevance. Come on lets not allow ourselves to pimped by our politicians. We are not prostitutes but we surely behave like them as we bicker over issues of no significance to our bottom line as Gambian electorates. Good evening from the Gambia to all and we are now at T minus 29 days so lets realign our national priorities to show the politicians where power lies.

In a way Gambians have hinted their desires to the politicians but they refused to take heed as they see us as tools of their trade. This fallacy has to change. We are the masters of the political class so we must not be allowed to be hoodwinked by none of them. The broad consensus for the new Gambian is to usher a new political dispensation that will efface fear and ill will amongst us. We are one family that harbor ecades old ano.osity borne out of our social construct of years past. Reprisal and hatred will not take us far so lets get our house in other and behave like one people under God.

Team Isatou - A Squandered Opportunity

A lesson not learned in the past, will surely be repeated in the future. Gambians hardly indulge in case studies to assess and diagnose the what and why of many things that plague us be it business, politics or otherwise.

Dr Touray's emergence in the political fray has been met with enthusiasm and exuberance and rightly so as Gambians of diverse origins and social standing were looking for that messiah to usher in a dawn of a new day in our political dispensation. Timing and strategy often meet at the confluence of opportunity to usher in success. The stars were aligned in favor of the good old Dr as the oracles of Katchikally, Sani Mentering and Alay Henni Bolong had all given the go ahead for her bid to make history not only as the first woman candidate but the leader of the third Republic. This golden opportunity handed to Dr. Touray is not only a missed opportunity for her but a squandered opportunity. Yes I said squandered because her bid was neither strategic nor tactical from the onset as it relates to the courtship of the political operatives and parties who are essentially the king makers in her bid to become the heir apparent.

Dr. Touray must have recognized from the onset that she lacked a political base/home to use as a launch pad for her campaign. Therefore she had to leverage her goodwill to the existing parties to show her support and for all intent and purpose, she meant well but team composition is key to a successful bid. Once again, my utterances are devoid of prejudice and ill will towards the good old Dr but I was not comfortable with the team that was visible to the general public. She might have had a behind the scene dream team but the public team did not tactically and strategically win the hearts and minds of the political operatives who should have accorded her a platform to operate on. The reason for this in my humble opinion was the gender bias that was evident in her team and the political orientation of her primary surrogates. Dr Touray wore different hats within the community (Professional, Activist and Political) and she should have adopted a team headed by a political prodigy not a novice in the business of politics and negotiations. No party has a monopoly on voters but voters generally have an affinity with political parties and her going directly on the trail to court voters put her on a collision course with the existing parties as they viewed her as a potential competitor. This made it virtually impossible for the parties to surrender their political bases to her gratis.

Listening to Dr. Touray's press conference yesterday was disturbing to say the least as it was evident that she lacked good counsel as they would have advised her to stay clear of such unwarranted controversies that will not only erode brand Isatou but put her at logger heads with Gambians yearning for change. My expectations were not met as I expected her to take the high road in the interest of the Gambia by being a bridge builder inspite of her alleged experiences with the political parties. Being an interested candidate who signed off on the convention process, she was duty bound to get adequate information about the process in terms of cost and procedure. Therefore she has no excuse to blame the organizers as she was fully vested in the process. Secondly, if her team was attending the deliberations that led to the convention the so called breakdown in communication she experienced would not have occurred. With all due respect, I CANNOT subscribe to that premise as her reason for not participating. Great leadership calls for taking responsibility and this process is not owned by GOFER but the aspirants and their political base.

The good old Dr. has a vital role to play in the new Gambia but her botched campaign is self inflicted as team composition was not diligently pursued. We need her to be part of a new dispensation but not finger pointing. Political jockeying and maneuvering can be sleazy but her entry strategy needed a further rethink and I hope she has learned a thing or two about participatory politics. We at #TEAMGAMBIA want a unified front. Great leaders unite people and solidify a common purpose when the going gets tough not apportion blame to others. Gambians are looking for problem solvers not problem identifiers.