Bulwarks against Executive tyranny, malfeasance and corruption: strong Parliament, independent Judiciary, formidable opposition, fearless media and efficient civil society.
A weakness in any of these fronts would spell disaster for good governance, enjoyment of human rights and establishment of a prosperity society…. The last nail in the coffin is hammered in only when the Almighty People go to sleep, lower their guards, become complacent or nonchalant, are no longer vigilant about their liberties, do not want to sacrifice for the greatest good.
We fought for a revolution but got a pathetic, wishy washy apology of it. Men and women paid for their lives while others endured torture, deprivation, injustice imprisonment and exiled; supplanted in their stead are “summer soldiers and sun shine boys” who never cared and never were in the trenches. From a tragedy to a farce. From the ridiculous to the stupendously theatrical.
Definitely all is not lost. There still are men and women in the public sector who do not have their prices, who owe allegiance to only their God and conscience, who are actuated by nothing but the great desire to see positive changes in the lives of their people, who serve selflessly. They may be in the minority but their refusal to have their voices drowned or silence is our saving grace.
Only time will tell if men and women of goodwill will win the manichean battle against the group of wilful men and women who are pursuing no interest but their own, to the extreme detriment of the general good. Feeling a similar outrage, cynicism and repugnance as S.V. Patel felt of the India of his time, I too do of my Gambia:
“Our public life seems to be degenerating into a fen of stagnant waters; our conscience is troubled with doubts and despair about the possibilities of improvement. We do not seem to be profiting either from history or experience. We appear helplessly to be watching the sickle of time taking away the rich corn, leaving behind the bare and withered stalks.”
A people are under siege when their rulers subvert the public good for the benefit of a particular class of citizens…
A people are under siege when the power is seized by the rulers and dole them out crumbs
And so the people’s revolution is lost when:
it loses the lustre which it first emits
the momentum with which it first started dissipates like steam
the objectives by which it was started get corrupted midstream
the people who were at its vanguard lose the vision and vigour which first galvanised and actuated them.
We have lost the revolution and with it the battle cry #TheGambiaHasDecided
