In one of Shakespeare’s most renowned plays, Hamlet, Act III, Scene III, King Claudius lamented, “My words fly up but my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never go to heaven!” Halifa contributed immensely to the foundations of New Gambia. His vision and determination will ever be a lasting impression on every facet of our national endeavor transform twenty-two years of dictatorship to a fledgling democracy.
It is due to his initiative that new Gambia now has a strong and solid base and is a major moral giant of Africa. Halifa is inspired by a durable foundation and represents a renewed initiative towards consolidating the gains of national reconstruction at this crucial stage of our national development.
From the corner of my memory’s eye I catch this movie in which a community decides to collectively hate on this Jewish guy who always wears a hat. The kids are fed a belief that the guy has horns under his hat…. what’s the name of that movie… so a generation of youngsters is growing up hating a Jew (and therefore all other Jews they’ll ever know) because they believe he has horns growing out of his skull as a sign of his inherently evil nature. He’s the boogieman they dare not come near… darn it, what’s the name of that movie… There’s a funny scene where two of the kids who know the truth decide to lure other kids to the Jewish guy’s home so they can see his horns when he takes off his hat. The knowing kids laugh themselves silly when the other gullible kids take off in terror upon seeing the man with the horns approaching… what the devil’s horn’s the name of– forget it.
For now, “the man with the horns” is the real-life movie playing out in the Gambian politics especially in diaspora among a group that believes the man from the shores of Sere-kunda Central is indeed Mephistophelian in nature. He’s the Gambia’s guy with the hat that hides something diabolical, and he is to be greatly feared by the godly and spiritually favored group that has decided there’s only one man anointed to lead the country.
I do not come to judge your faith or to question the veracity of such bizarre claims – heck, I don’t know if the man is hiding a chicken claw that can run all by itself under his hat – but as a human being who refuses to stay silent in the face of crimes against humanity, I will point to the chilling markings of a dangerous collective mindset clothed in holiness and humility.
Somewhere in this political madness that has affected diaspora and Gambian politics, there’s a light, and I know that light well because I have bathed often in its unpretentious generosity. At a time like this, we must dare invade each other’s exclusive spaces even when we’re not welcome, talk to each other long enough, heart to heart, across the divide, however difficult the conversations, and only then will we begin to find each other’s shared humanity.
Halifa will never repent like King Claudius who killed for him to ascend to power. He tried to kneel in prayer, but couldn’t feel any sense of comfort, mercy and Claudius soon realized that because he had no intention of confessing the crime or changing his earthly status, his words were empty and meaningless. Consequently, the weight of his sin kept him bound to earth, with no hope of touching heaven.
Brilliant piece bro, I have not an iota of doubt in my mind that halifa is the best man to lead us out of the wilderness and turn Gambia into heaven on earth.
I would stand by him irregardless of which party he represents, he can be udp or GDC or other parties but I will still see him as the man to trust.
Halifa is sankara,
Halifa is mugafuli.
We sing praises of these unique leaders but we have one in our midst who is being ignored, ridicule,insulted, vilify, victimised, infact am suprise that he is still alive and not been assasinated yet.
Hon. Halifa, cannot be bought by false promises mirrors, beads or anonymous cars.
He could be Gambia’s Nye Bevan,,,,if only.
One of your finest pieces Alagi. am impressed. What was that movie ?
Don’t believe a damn thing y’all have to say about this man. He still can’t answer one simple question. Why he didn’t accept any post in the coalition government? To you he is the right man that’s your opinion, but to the majority who is seeking to rule sees him from a different perspective
Nice piece bro,truth will always prevail over falsehood,no matter how long it takes.God bless you
If he match those names you mentioned why not he take responsibilities in the government of which he and his party were among the builders, so that he could be also accounted by Gambian as his fellow politicians from the other parties do .
Damn it!! I wish I could help you with the name of that movie…but you know what, Alagi? It doesn’t matter, the message is loud and clear….and the piece: simply brilliant.
We know why the king makers are shaking in their kaftans: they feel threatened by the statesmanship demonstrated by Hon. Halifa during the impasse and were waiting for any opportunity; just any opportunity at all, to begin their vilification campaign. It wouldn’t have mattered one little jot whether he served in cabinet or not. They would still have found an excuse to begin their project of clouding the minds of the voters….because for these people, like you stated, only one person deserve to be anointed.
Hope it wasn’t “Marathon Man” starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman.
That movie always gives me toothache.
For those who still castigate Halifa for not been part of the the cabinet of the transitional government I plead to them to go and read our constitution and see for themselves why the likes of him are much more needed in our National Assembly than in the cabinet. Please read through the role of the cabinet and that of the national assembly.
Cabinet.
There shall be a Cabinet which shall consist of the President, the Vice-President and the Ministers.
The Cabinet shall be responsible for advising the President with respect to the policies of the Government and shall have such other functions as may be conferred by any other law.
Responsibility of Cabinet and the Ministers.
The Vice-President and Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the National Assembly for any advice given to the President in Cabinet, and the Vice President and each Minister shall be accountable to the President and the National Assembly for the administration of the departments and other business of Government committed to his or her charge.
Additional functions of the National Assembly
In addition to the other powers conferred on the National Assembly by this Constitution or any other law, the National Assembly may-
(a) receive and review reports on the activities of the Government and such other reports as are required to be made in accordance with this Constitution;
(b) review and approve proposals for the raising of revenue by the Government;
(c) examine the accounts and expenditure of the Government and other public bodies funded by public moneys and the reports of the Auditor General thereon;
(d) include in a Bill a proposal for a referendum on an issue of national concern defined in the Bill, or
(e) advise the President on any matter which lies within his or her responsibility.
By having Halifa and the likes of him in the National Assembly the cabinet and the country is not deprived of their ideas. The cabinet can take their ideas and transform them into policies and have them implemented. And they will be there in the National Assembly to ensure that those who are suppose to implement the policies do so effectively. Therefore if this transitional government of President Barrow fails, it will not be because of lack of good ideas on all aspects of national development. No, it will be because the lack of will to take them on board or the inability to practicalize.