(JollofNews)- A heated English pub discussion on a Sunday evening, my dear readers, is brought to you as a “London Letter”. It all began with a consensus that we Londoners DO NOT want The Donald to visit our city.
Allowing him to address the Houses of Parliament would be sacrilege, we all agreed (the pub phrase was “it would be like allowing an un-wanted visitor to pee in our living-room”!). But we also know that London is ruled by Non-Londoners from the lily-white “Home Counties” and our views are mostly over-ridden: we Londoners voted for a Labour government which we didn’t get, we voted to remain in Europe which we didn’t get, we voted to bar The Donald which we will not get – and we want our very own Bernie Sanders for Prime Minister which we will not get (Jeremy Corbyn, the ex-lover of the vibrant black MP Diane Abbot). And we voted for our London Mayor, a Pakistani ex-bus driver’s son, but the expatriate colonial “Home-Counties” foreign rulers of London ignore him!
So, despondent, we all ordered another round of drinks and turned our minds to wishful thinking: Obama Will Be Back! Oh Yes, He Can! Now that The Donald is proving to be horrible, we are all reassessing Obama more positively (Gambia’s APRC should not take heart here – Jammeh was too horrible in his last decade and last few weeks in power!).
Oh No, He Can’t – opined yours truly, the Dr^2 Henry DR Carrol – like pretend legal wizard. And unlike the voluminous double-doctored Gambian legal wizard, I am on simple and clear legal grounds here: the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution States as follows:
“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.”
Gambia relevance:
Firstly, the above sentence from the US Constitution must be inserted into the Gambian Constitution as soon as possible (and with express RETROSPECTIVE effect so that the very thought of a Jammeh-comeback is consigned into the dustbin of history. I hear that the double-doctored Dr^2 Henry DR Carrol is the Jammeh-appointed Chairman of Gambia’s Law Commission but he has now expressed allegiance to the Barrow Administration and will, if left in post, undertake the urgent task with “due diligence” (lol, I am a lawyer too!).
Secondly, Barrow’s government must be sooooo different from Jammeh’s that Gambians will never need to compare the two (“chalk and cheese” is the analogy). Barrow must also keep his distance from the Jammeh “baddies” so that he does not get to be contaminated with the negativity attached to Jammeh – it was a delight to see a utube video in which former Jammeh VP Isatou Njie was being booed by Gambians! Now that is something – Gambians are normally so polite that a booing from them is the equivalent of a full-scale Parisian Riot!
PS: The appointment of Hassan B Jallow as Chief Justice of The Gambia is simply inspirational.
Dida Halake,
Notting Hill,
London, UK.
Right now we pray for a wonderful Gambia
I still ask myself why has Jammeh not prosecuted? What are they waiting, we don’t want a soft president, Yahya has killed Gambians and non Gambians, he has to face justice. Why the delay, the victims are crying out for justice
Jobe, it seems to me that the Barrow Coalition is handling this matter very carefully – and correctly.
Let us remember that OJ, Darboe, Finance Minister Sanneh, Interior Minister Fatty, and Chief Justice Jallow were ALL (amongst others) also VICTIMS of the Administration of Jammeh and Isatou Njie.
The issue is how to go forward BUILDING THE NEW GAMBIA and addressing the INJUSTICES of the Jammeh/Isatou Njie Era – without setting a DIVIDED NATION on fire.
Remember, roughly speaking, the results of the election were: ONE THIRD BARROW, ONE THIRD JAMMEH, ONE THIRD KANDEH (With Barrow the winner because he had a few thousand votes more than the other two … but if you add Jammeh and Kandeh, their votes added are almost double Barrow’s: so, in terms of votes BARROW’s Govt is a minority one – and has only got so much Gambian & International support because WE ALL WANTED TO SEE THE BACK OF MONSTER JAMMEH).
The Parliamentary Elections in a few months will be in a Jammeh-Free environment and that is where the Coalition needs at least TWO thirds of the seats – to be able to change the Jammeh-Era Constitution.
To win more votes from Jammeh and Kandeh voters, the Coalition will have to show that they are here for all Gambians – in other words the Coalition need to build CONFIDENCE in the Jammeh and Kandeh voters … and that is why the Coalition needs the former APRC Ministers to come on board and support the New Gambia (people like Seedy Njie need to be isolated).
But in the end Justice will be done – just always remember Lawyer Mandela Darboe’s words: “Solo’s Body, Dead or Alive”. Be patient Bro. Assalam.
Dormu Rewwum Gambia, you have once again made some good points here. However I think you are forgetting that the defeat of Yahya has resulted in a new political re-alignment in the Gambia. The APRC has always been a one man show and now that man is not there the party cannot function well. APRC relies heavily on the state apparatus to mobilised it’s support base. Without the state machinery behind it the APRC is as good as dead. Besides, most people support APRC simply because they fear what failure to support AFRC will mean for them. Now that that fear factor is not there some will switch their allegiance to the coalition. The die hard APRC supporters who are there for their own personal interest may support GDC and some will support GDC for other reasons but just because someone had supported APRC in the past does not mean they will support GDC. The national assembly elections will be decided on whose support base is more enthused and who can tell their story better and can control the narrative better. Incumbency has it’s advantages and President Barrow and the coalition have a good story to tell. It is a feel good story, a story similar to David and Goliath, a story that most Gambians can relate to because it is a story of hope.
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Can’t disagree with anything you say above Buba. But the “feel good story” would have felt so much better if the HERO of the hour – Halifa Sallah – had got a deserved post in the Coalition Govt.
My brother, I have asked friends about Halifa Sallah but none of them seem to know why he’s not in the cabinet. Some said it is his choice not to but I find it hard that there is no one in the cabinet who is a member of PDOIS. You are absolutely right things would have been much better with him in government. I hope in the next coming days and weeks we will hear some good news in that regard.
It is one of those things Buba – whatever the reason, the fact that Halifa is not at the top table will be disappointing and takes away from the Coalitions victory. It is as if a favourite Uncle is missing from the naming ceremony or the wedding. Whatever the reason, it is sad.