‘There is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things’ Machiavelli
(JollofNews) – Mr. President, I am cognisant of the fact that there is nothing more difficult than managing a transition from one government to another, especially ours which was truncated or rudely interrupted by the Chief Priest of yore when the old order changeth and yielded place to the new.
That notwithstanding, we need to complete this transition if our revolution is to come full cycle, if it is not to remain a mere ‘rebellion’ or a semblance of the past we replaced. We should ensure that the old structures and processes, all the relics of the past, all that sustained the old order, are ‘dismantled’ and replaced with ones which reflect the aspirations of the freedom we fought for, the New Gambia we cherish for ourselves. If we do not have a complete break with the past, if we just put the old structures and processes under the carpet and rechristen them under new names, if we put old wine in new bottles hoping it will be fresh, then we will never realise the fruit of the revolution.
We will have the old government merely dressed in new clothes, just a change of guards, no more. A New Gambia is not possible without a roadmap, without strong leadership which is armed with faith and facts, with new Gambians who truly believe in the ideals and spirit of the revolution and imbued with the drive to achieve these ideals, armed with a map and compass and ready to steer the ship of state through the rough weather of transition. The rebirth cannot come without the birth pangs, without a revamping in shape and content of institutions and processes inherited from the past, without the Government treading on toes, with the President taking hard and tough decisions which may alienate and anger others but which are necessary for the growth and success of New Gambia. It is cliché but a veritable one that we have to break eggs to make omelette just as we cannot fly by rooting our legs firmly on the ground.
Mr. President, expectations are very high from the Government and from your person. We want you to accomplish a lot within a short span of time. We know you have inherited a broken system, a broken economy, broken infrastructure, and broken people. All these will need fixing. All these would need money to fix and our treasury is dry and empty, completely and thoroughly milked by the former President. It is natural that we have high expectations from our new Government, having endured indignity and brutality for nearly a quarter of a century. It is the Government which should tamper these expectations and channel them through avenues which would make them realisable. But much more, it is the Government which should tell the people what its priorities are harmonise these with the expectations of the people. The Government’s priorities should align with the expectations of the people. That the Government would fulfil their expectations may have made many to cast their votes and put their all for New Gambia. Managing these expectations is therefore crucial
Mr. President, there seems to be a disconnect between the people and our new governors. The people seem to be in the dark about what the governors are doing, about what is happening in the corridors of power. The Minister of Communication, who I assume is the Government Spokesperson, is not talking to the people. State House is not talking to the people. When the people dearly need information, when they need to be comforted or their fears assuaged about the happenings around them, the response is a blank, a news blackout. The only one who is talking to the people is the Minister of Interior; the only one apparently busy and having a ‘work plan’ to implement.
Opening up lines of communication between the governors and the governed should not be difficult. In a fragile situation as ours, when things are trying to fall into place, the President can be addressing the nation at least bi-monthly and answering their concerns, putting paid to whatever fears they have. The social media provides a great avenue for dissemination. The Radio Gambia and the National Television, being state owned, should take the lead. Every man and women should feel connected to the Government, should feel the presence of the Government in his or her life, should feel that she or he matters in the scheme of things and that this is a Government which belongs to him and her. 
Mr. President, effective communication is the bedrock of any long lasting relationship and ineffective communication its death knell. It drives away suspicion and unnecessary speculations as well… Without it, misunderstanding grows and relationship is strained between people. When the communication link between the governors and governed is effective, open, transparent, strong and live, horizontally and vertically, top-down and down-up, frequent and broad based, the nation’s sense of collective self-efficacy, of ownership, of social cohesion and capacity and capability increase in leaps and bounds. We grow in the belief and confidence that together we can success; that Sovereignty lies with the people and the government is responsive of and responsible to the people.
Mr. President, the Gambia decided on 2nd Dec 2016 but it seems The Gambia has not, to all intents and purposes, decided in greater part. There is ‘motion’ but slow action. The ASSED, the Think Tank you talked about, should accelerate its work so that it produces whatever blueprint it is working on. For development to happen, to become sustainable, the Government will have to provide the framework, the roadmap and vision within which such development must take place, aligned with the initiatives spelt out in the Coalition’s MoU and the promises made during the elections. Apart from the blueprint, every Ministry must develop and implement its own Strategic Plan which would serve as a vehicle for the actualisation of the national blueprint. We have a terrible habit in this country where Plans that are drawn are put in the back burner and rarely influence work that is done on the ground. In fact, there is sometimes a disconnection between what is planned and what is implemented. Setting up a Unit or a body which would engage in performance monitoring and policing and making implementing bodies fall in line with the vision of the blueprint may be necessary.
Mr. President, all the Government ministries and departments must be galvanised and spurred on to move with the tide, the new dawn. Apparently, it seems some of them are still in the Yaya Jammeh mode. Lethargy is enveloping them. They are wallowing in indecision, to change or not. There is the need for you to send a clear, strong and unequivocal message to the Permanent Secretaries, heads of Parastatals and Government Departments and the High Command of our armed and security forces to fall in line, accept the change and work towards the goal of your Government. That the High Command of the armed and security send similar message to all the barracks and Police Stations and to every battalion and platoon commander. It is intolerable to have men and women in the civil or military services still swearing loyalty to the former President or unwilling to recognise the legitimacy of your Government. There is none so dangerous than men and women working in an organisation whose values, mission and vision they do not share and whose leader they do not recognise as theirs.
Mr. President, something dangerous is doing the round and I think it is important that you know. There is an erroneous belief that Yaya Jammeh has gone into banishment with all the laws that were promulgated during his reign or which were governing our lives. That since they are ‘Yaya Jammeh laws’ no one should obey them now. I have been in conversation with people who indicated that crimes and criminals hitherto hidden are resurfacing and making neighbourhood dangerous. Some people reported seeing young men smoking weed in the open. Law and order is taking some knocks. We need a reversal before things reach the lower watermark…. A strong message needs to be out that a regime change does not mean the laws of the land have been jettisoned and that the Police remain the enforcers of the laws.
Mr. President, we are arguably the smallest country on mainland Africa but indisputably home to one of the smartest people who are direct descendants of Adam. In the country and the diaspora there are men and women, some of them retired, who have the genius, the experience and the expertise to support your development plans and make you succeed. You only have to call upon them and assign them work to do for their motherland. I am sure some of them would be willing to help at no cost to the State. All they may need could be some space and independence and valuation of advice they would give. A good coach is often successful with a good team, diverse and focus.
Mr, President, your task is arduous and challenging and listening to all these numerous, conflicting and competing priorities and expectations is certainly not enviable. But this is our REVOLUTION and we can make it successful through effective leadership, team work, consultation and cooperation, inclusiveness and partnership and upholding the principles of probity, accountability, transparency and participation.
Allah be with you….. I pray for you as Dr. Tai Solarin, that Nigerian philosopher, prayed for his people: may your road be rough. And if it is rough, may you have the aptitude and stamina, the tools and resources and the committed men and women to support you calm the roughness.
A Sovereign Citizen
Njundu Drammeh
It will be in our interest to properly digest Njundu letter. Those who are in charge must strengthen our institutions by developing clear standards and enforcement of our laws, with well defined checks and balances, fairness, openness and transparency. There is a need to eradicate poverty by investing in education and improving lives by delivery of quality public service and health care. We deserve that much
God Bless The Gambia
It all takes money; Gambia exported all its wealth to a market gardener in Equatorial Guinea; For a brief moment Gambia exported more than it imports/
Man you must dream/nightmare about Yahya every night.
Mr. Drammeh’s, my “Sanawo”, article not only makes good reading, it also clearly displays the challenges that have to be surmounted for us to reach the promised land.
However, both him and many other authors of similar articles in recent times have for some reason or other overlooked the tremendous role that placing a subject called “democracy” on our school curricula would play in addressing the democratic deficit in the democratic culture that the Jawara regime had set out to inculcate in us for nearly thirty years before Jammeh
I am of the opinion that the minister of education should seriously consider replacing the “civics” curriculum in pre-senior secondary schools with a subject called “democracy in practice”. Scandinavians have been doing just that with success for years now.
Here in Denmark school kids are taught and trained in “democracy in practice” from the age of fourteen to sixteenth. The pupils are in alias taught to group themselves in accordance with their ideological believes, put forward forward proposal as to how topical issues in society ought to be resolved, and back them up by sound arguments. This includes occupying the chambers of Parliament for a given time period and defending their proposals in the face of counter-arguments from their ideological opponents and ultimately voting on the proposals tabled before the childrens’ parliament, so to speak.
Amongst the aims pursued by this subject is the inculcation of democratic values in the pupils’ young and developing minds such that they would be in a better position to distinguish between behaviour that is democratic, and hence acceptable, and those that are not. They are thereby equipped and encouraged to take a stand against undemocratic behaviour of any kind in their adult lives – no matter whether it is from the powers that be at any given time or fellow citizens.
This democratic knowledge is then enhanced by making “government and politics” a compulsory subject in all senior secondary schools. This subject is then taught in an economic and sociological perspective. Thereby reminding the young adults that politics is necessarily practiced in a macroeconomic and sociological context in every nation-state.
I contend that we as a nation would do better to emulate this enviable practice from these mature democracies. Not least, because I am totally convinced it is the only viable long-term defense strategy we can employ against “semi-literate” political adventurers like Yahya Jammeh and the like. I.e. if we take the sustenance of our new democracy in the long run seriously. It important for us to remember that today, it is not only the Europeans and North Americans who are preying on Africa and it resources. Asians (including the Middle-East) have joined them in recent decades. However, the available facts on the ground confirm that the latter are the least interested in developing democratic cultures on our shores, not least in that most of them have much poorer democratic credentials than many an African country today
Similarly, give the Ombudsman Institution the powers to challenge abuse of power of any kind in the wake of the NAs enactment of a democratic Freedom of Information Act. With the latter Act, journalist and the man in the streets should have better access to information from the executive branch and hence be in a better position to challenge abuse of power of any kind. Alternatively, the South African Public Protector’s institution could act as a model as opposed to an Ombudsman institution.
Yes, the democratic deficit of our country are surmountable, but it takes creative ideas to overcome them in the medium and long-term.
Thumps up for Daramehkunda -nko’s article.
For sure Gambia is now a blank canvass where those in power are seeking to build the Gambian house in its own image from the foundations up. It can easily accommodate the very best of experience from elsewhere in the democratic world. But I would think it will follow what was left by the Europeans and build it in the West African style;Nothing wrong with that.
BTW I worked with 4 Danish engineers building a Baby Milk spray dryer of some 60 metre high and 40 metres across all in stainless steel, powered by an atomiser.
What was remarkable is the oldest engineer was only 25 years old. There skill and knowledge was amazing. They worked to a tolerance of only three thousandths of an inch.
Education through apprenticeship/scholarships
From design through to completion. The whole process could be worked electronically by one man. All push button.
and that was from 1969 to 1973.
The Danes are a most remarkable people. A first class model to follow;
Thanks for the perspectives expressed above Mr Scales as well as the good impressions that you had about some of my long-term hosts (Danes) you met in the past.
As a long-term Pan-Africanists, I would wish I could proudly hold out dozens of democratic models worthy of emulation on my beautiful continent. Unfortunately, however, I can at present only name a handful of more or less immature democratic states on the continent. Hence, my decision from the outset to collect as much inspiration as possible from mature democracies – in other words, places where democracy has stood the test of time.
It is herein that Scandinavians stand out as being amongst the “kings”, if you will, of democracies; here the term democracy has with time been expanded to include “economic democracy”, even at the working place. Long before all the others.
True, we cannot uncritically copy wholesale from these territories but as a democratic fanatic, I wish The Gambia in time develops into being one of Africa’s best democracies in the decades to come. As a patriot, I shall spare no efforts in helping the country in that endeavour. Not least, given my academic background and the invaluable practical experience I have gain professionally on these cold shores of northern Europe.
After all, we have slightly different ways of going about things up here compared to commonwealth jurisdictions like the UK, USA and Canada inter alias.
And who said that there weren’t Gambians with a good head on their shoulders that work tirelessly to find answers to what could make this sputtering engine of ours move into sure fire mode!!
Both Saikou and Njundu offer very apt and succinct concerns that we must keep driving home.
Certainly, Mai Fatty appears to be the only leader that has a game plan and goes to bed pondering over what to achieve the next day and going forward. Kudos Mai! Set a bright example for that’s what leadership is all about. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with making informed decisions and taking responsibility for the decisions!
Njundu, your prayer says it all:
“Allah be with you….. I pray for you as Dr. Tai Solarin, that Nigerian philosopher, prayed for his people: may your road be rough. And if it is rough, may you have the aptitude and stamina, the tools and resources and the committed men and women to support you calm the roughness”.
I want you both to ponder over the Manding adage, “LUWO KORMA LO LAALU…”. Smile!
You are most welcome Mr Manneh; My own ancestors were vikings who took root in Normandy and also took the crown of England in 1066. Our castle here in my medieval Town, was built by a dane called Ivo De Taillebois. in 1115.
My Father used the same phrase as you when he enlightened me on British politics { If You Will }
Thank You for bringing back that pleasant memory.
I very much like reading your experienced thoughts. I hope to read more.
Thanks for the compliments Mr Scales. Well, the Manneh/Mane and Sanneh/Sane of Sene-gambia and Guinea Bissau happen to be princes and princesses of an Empire established by former military leaders of the Mali Empire called the Kaabu Empire, 1537 – 1867. Please google it for more information: you would love it:-).
Brilliant military strategists like your ancestors, the vikings; to a large degree, the two had a couple of values in common. They jealously guarded their independence for over three centuries in the face of constant attacks by inter alias “jihadists” and their local allies, they also believed in salvation after death in battle and dying young, hence our nom de guerre, “nyancho”. They also loved merry-making after their frequent military victories over rivals. Praise singers of the Mandingo ethnic group still compose songs in memory of these brave fighters in the Sene-gambian region.
All this came to an end in the wake of the great “Battle of Kansala”, Kaabu’s capital city. The jihadists and their allies defeated us here; but the victory was a Pyrrhic one by all accounts. Our enemies had somewhere between 35,000 – 45,000 troops at their disposal – far larger than ours. But in the wake of battle, only some 3,500 largely traumatized or physically handicapped enemy troops returned home.
Therein lies the very high regard in which the “nyanchos” were held in Mandingo society up to the turn of the 20th. century. I am therefore sure you’ll agree with me that the “nyanchos” actually had a lot in common with your notorious ancestors:-)!
Yes Mr Manneh; agreed; A case of history repeating itself, but in a different theatre of war in another foreign field of conflict; I was indeed fortunate to spend and afternoon taking tea and biscuits with the great, late Gambian historian Dr Faal. He came to the Atlantic Hotel to refill his books in the shop there and saw me reading a copy in Reception. He came over to me and we chatted for over two hours. He was fascinating. He told me about the Sondheim Empire. and how the great King Askia Mohammed had been banished to an island on The River Gambia/ His son had seized power. The old king was reunited with his son aged 99. Dr Faal also explained the different tribes and their relationships, which worked well. I was particularly interested in the Jola’s. They were a tribe who liked isolation and lived apart from the main body. They were considered the artisan’s/ with skills that the tribes paid for. By all accounts they themselves were well considered. My fascination with Africa was garnished from a a small age. I was given a Zulu shield made from a friesian cow hide and a spear, by a neighbour. He had picked them up from a church rummage sale.
I was also influenced by Hollywood movies, such as “Sanders of The River” starring Paul Robeson.
His haunting baritone voice echoes in me today as he sang his battle song, leading a band of war canoes up the river. It was therefore a great disappointment to me, when I first set foot in Gambia on April 7th 2000. I was expecting to meet warriors dressed in loin cloth wielding spears and painted. Perhaps being caught up in the events of April 10th 2000, was a modern classic conflict with machine guns and without pity. I had never heard gunfire before. That day the guns did not silence until 4.30PM. For the first time in my life, I truly understood what war and death was all about. I admit to being terrified.
On that note it’s time for tea.
Mike, what if anything has this offering got to do with with Njundu Drammeh or Saikou M D Manneh’s eloquent position articles?
“Yes Mr Manneh; agreed; A case of history repeating itself, but in a different theatre of war in another foreign field of conflict; I was indeed fortunate to spend and afternoon taking tea and biscuits with the great, late Gambian historian Dr Faal. He came to the Atlantic Hotel to refill his books in the shop there and saw me reading a copy in Reception. He came over to me and we chatted for over two hours. He was fascinating. He told me about the Sondheim Empire. and how the great King Askia Mohammed had been banished to an island on The River Gambia/ His son had seized power. The old king was reunited with his son aged 99. Dr Faal also explained the different tribes and their relationships, which worked well. I was particularly interested in the Jola’s. They were a tribe who liked isolation and lived apart from the main body. They were considered the artisan’s/ with skills that the tribes paid for. By all accounts they themselves were well considered. My fascination with Africa was garnished from a a small age. I was given a Zulu shield made from a friesian cow hide and a spear, by a neighbour. He had picked them up from a church rummage sale.
I was also influenced by Hollywood movies, such as “Sanders of The River” starring Paul Robeson.
His haunting baritone voice echoes in me today as he sang his battle song, leading a band of war canoes up the river. It was therefore a great disappointment to me, when I first set foot in Gambia on April 7th 2000. I was expecting to meet warriors dressed in loin cloth wielding spears and painted. Perhaps being caught up in the events of April 10th 2000, was a modern classic conflict with machine guns and without pity. I had never heard gunfire before. That day the guns did not silence until 4.30PM. For the first time in my life, I truly understood what war and death was all about. I admit to being terrified.
On that note it’s time for tea”.
You may have all the time on your hands to respond to all articles, even when not Au Fait with the subject matter. It is my view, in this context, that you, more than most contributors, dilute the gist of enlightening conversation. You certainly do represent a distraction in the most inopportune of circumstances. English tea and biscuits in serious discussion on a letter to the Gambian President on??
And I do not have any bone to pick with you but just telling it like it is!!
Yes Andrew, even “when not Au Fait with the subject matter”!!
The Great Pan-Africanist and International Revolutionary Paul Robeson was ashamed when his movie was turned, post-production, into a jongoistic tribute to British colonalism. ROBESON actually walked out of the premiere of the movie IN DISGUST! Those are the facts on “Sanders of the River”.
Oh! Dear, and I was having such an interesting and informative discussion with a Gentleman.
Only to be rudely interrupted by the village idiot.
My dear Mr Manneh please pray continue.. You really are a man of the real history.
Mr. Scales, your “Oh! Dear, and I was …” should be “Oh Dear! And I was …”
With compliments.
No ! My dear.