Lawyer Ousainou Darboe of the United Democratic Party (UDP) has paid tribute to the late Femi Peters, describing him as a devoted man who was determined and selfless in his desire for a better Gambia and humanity.
Mr Peters, 72, a senior executive member of the UDP and Gambia’s ambassador to Sierra Leone died last week in Freetown and was laid to rest on Friday in Banjul.
He was an active player in Gambian politics since in the 1980s and was jailed twice by the previous Gambian regime of Yahya Jammeh for campaigning for democratic freedoms and respect to the rule of law.
Paying tribute to him, Lawyer Darboe, UDP leader and minster of Foreign Affairs said Mr Peters name is etched in the history of Gambia’s liberation efforts. He added that Peters had the sense of purpose in his doggedness in seeing the end of Yahya Jammeh regime in the Gambia.
Writing on his Facebook page, Mr Darboe said: ” As we are mourning the death of Femi his life should also be celebrated for he has accomplished a lot in his life. Femi was devoted, determined and selfless in his desire for a better Gambia and humanity. He had the sense of purpose in his doggedness in seeing the end of Yahya Jammeh regime in the Gambia.
On the fateful day of April 16th when the UDP executive went out to protest the death and the return of the body of Solo Sandeng, I asked Femi to go back to the house due his medical condition he replied back to me and said “wayten you dae think? Me no fraid foe die”. He could not be denied in taking part in the protest and was prepared to die on that day. His imprisonment on this occasion was his second time in defense of the right of Gambians to their constitutional right to free speech and freedom of assembly.”
Mr Darboe added: “Femi was not only a revolutionary in the Gambia but a true Pan Africanist. When Saikou Touray died, he went to the Guinean Embassy to deliver a condolence statement in solidarity with a fellow Pan Africanist. His name is etched in the history of Gambia’s liberation efforts. We will strive, in his memory, to deliver on some of his dreams for the Gambia and humanity. I have lost a comrade, friend and a brother.”
Thank you Hon Darboe.You haved said it all,he is really a panafrican and one of Gambia,s great son,may his gentle soul rest in perfect peace
Indeed, Femi embodied the spirit that triumphed over Jammeh’s spirit of one man tyranny and divisiveness. It is also remarkable to note that Femi Peters was part and parcel of UDP, a party Jammeh branded tribalist all along. Therefore, as we celebrate the life of Femi Peters, we must remain steadfast and resist gullibility. Let’s continue to distinguish between common sense and fallacy. Let’s continue to create the enabling environment so that all within our borders, irrespective of their background, may contribute their share in national development. We are bonded beyond separation. That is our destiny and that is great!
Kemo, shared beliefs and vision must be guided by a clear conscience and a sense of honor that tells us how to live our lives. We honestly don’t need religion to tell us how to live our lives. You may also recall your high school teacher(s) telling you that, there’s nothing as uncommon as common sense. Nothing rings truer than this statement in The Gambia.
Also note that gullibility along with selective amnesia may also be self imposed to serve one’s purposes. In our Gambia, it’s mostly to serve our greed and selfish interests. Especially where the majority of folks do not aspire to attain self-actualization or leaving a legacy for the next generation. Even our daily prayers are driven by greed!
Femi Peters held TRUE to a creed that epitomized a belief in human decency and accountability for one’s actions.
To truly set ourselves up for progressive thought and success, Gambians must shed code words like, NYENYO, KAARI MANG KEH SAA MUTA NYO TI, NNA YAA, KAARI MU LANGSARIO LEH TI (Manding), LAKA KATT and DOHANDEYM (Wollof). Code words that are crafted along ethnic lines to shore up the ethnic divide as in one cannot run for public office in Kombo Brikama unless one is a Langsario/Langsaro! Hasn’t Kombo Brikama been overrun by KIANG?
This is a learned thought process that may be passed on to subsequent generations if Gambians of all ethnic shades do not commit to reaching out for the good that’s in our hearts to shed the canker of ethnic divisiveness as Femi Peters was able to achieve!
Think about Femi and where he hailed from. That, I believe, largely drove his mindset and sense of honor. Who said that The Gambia doesn’t have honorable sons and daughters? They are here albeit that they’re just few and far between!
We can’t be heaping praise and eloquent eulogies on Femi without looking to draw lessons from the way he lived his life in modesty, honor and humility. Indeed a point of reference for Ousainou Darbo and the UDP hierarchy.
Femi’s life history is a shining example for Janjangbureh, Fulladu, Niani, Niamina, Kiang, Jarra and indeed Kombo (where falsehood thrives) to emulate!
We can’t as Gambians profess to be a certain way in public but then choose to wallow in the mud in private. My two cents.
Andrew, I concur with you that heaping praise without drawing lessons from the man’s living examples is hollow and aid no impetus in the furtherance of the bonding in progress. I do believe that Darboe and UDP leadership share the legacy Femi has left behind. I would suppose that Femi was absolutely in knowing why he was in the UDP and I suppose also that without the shared values, he wouldn’t have risked so much.
As to the Code connotations. I am cognizant of the divisive compartmentalizing these codes bring forth. But I am equally relieved to know that they are nothing but words void of concrete effects or influence on our social bonding nor on the political dispensation. I remain confident that the concrete realities of our daily lives are determined not by code words but what we contribute to each others lives.
As to the reprimand about preaching water in public while drinking wine in private, I would just counter by saying: elimination of such a double standard was the reason why countless Gambians died in the course of ending Jammeh assault on our existence as a nation of diverse peoples.
Andrew, I agree with you that Gambians must shed code words like you mentioned above, codes which have their variations in almost all the country’s various languages.
However, I’m somehow intrigued by your apparent obsession with Brikama particularly, when all parts of the country are chronically affected by the same cankerous infection. I haven’t seen a region or village in the Gambia where the people are not being misguided by the idiotic Langsaario, Kaari Mankeh Saa Muta Nyooti, Nna Yaa nonsenses. I have been inspired by you Andrew to assign my self to a Gambia languages course over the past week and it has benefitted me indeed.
To be frank, your comment above is really educative, and hardly anyone can deny but, hoping you’ll be an example
yourself in holding high and true to Hon. Femi Peters’ statesmanlike creed that “epitomized a belief in human decency an accountability in one’s actions”. This advice to you Andrew, should be no indication of declaring Brikama unaffected by the deadly “canker” of parlance in various Gambian languages that has in them divisive and ethnocentric undertones. I hope Brikama finds a remedy for this typical chronic “canker” as well as every other region, district and village.
Hope we all will be urged as citizen to make Hon. Femi Peters legacy an example, in our efforts in giving to the beloved Gambia, and may the stateman’s soul rest in eternal peace. Amen.
Bourne, I appreciate the kind words and would add that I aspire to live a life filled with charitable giving, self-actualization and working to leave a legacy for others to follow. I only wish that more Gambians will subscribe to that credo.
I believe that you, Bourne, could be a reflection of that belief system.
To Kemo’s statement on why he believes Femi Peters committed himself to UDP causes, I’d counter that Femi was a man of substance that was several rungs above what is UDP central committee leadership.
Where the UDP was committed to creating a cadre of younger, more vibrant and energetic leadership, we wouldn’t be seeing what I label the scenario of the MORRY KEBAA AND TALIBOLU. Otherwise said in Wollof as the SERIGN DAARA AKK TALIBEH YI where the Talibolu/Talibeyi exist in the belief that in order to see BARAKO/FIRINGO/NJERIGN/TEKKI (what may also amount to crumbs off of the table), they must tow and must be seen to actively tow the line to keep the status quo going. Here’s the problem with the old PPP, APRC and the UDP. The mindset is that Sir Dawda led the PPP because he had DUWA that no one else in the ranks had. By extrapolation, Ousainou also has special DUWAS that no one else has and must therefore be kept at the helm if the UDP was/is to thrive. That Yaya Jammeh was the Almighty’s chosen candidate, as per Imam Fatty and the Supreme Islamic Council, and therefore cannot and must not be challenged. Otherwise E KA LAKATI LEH/DOR TEKKI. Well now we know that Yaya was never close to the angels leave alone the Almighty.
I am not targeting Ousainou at all but merely trying to unravel a mindset that has been perennially predominant in Gambian society. So there’s no need for militants to go to bat for him here and go on to ask for my skin. I am also confident that Femi Peters, being of impeccable moral values, must have held several private discussions on UDP leadership with party membership. What concerned Gambians would like to see in the UDP leadership are younger faces and folks of substance that can articulate the plans and vision(s) of this government. Not spent forces that may be walking their way to the grave.
I will challenge seemingly well spoken UDP folks, typified by Kinteh (Kemo), to prove that an overwhelming number of UDP stalwarts aren’t there for FANG KOTO BANG BANGO or RAACHA TAYE SA KANAM (Wollof) that was the way of doing business in the PPP and APRC regimes. Kemo, “Femi risked much on account of his commitment to the UDP”? I’d say that Femi acted in consonance with his true character than for show! And Femi would also have asked for the disbanding of the NIA and what’s now the SIS that pose moral questions for this administration.
I will boldly say that folks are now coming back in their true colors and in true Gambian fashion. All one needs to do is make a quick trip to observe all the jostling and jockeying for clout and opportunity. Even the supposedly refined PhD folks are not above the fray but in the thick of it. All the while professing to be acting and speaking in the interest of our dear nation.
Great insight Andrew; where I may beg to differ would be ‘disbanding SIS’ (NIA) but rather (calling for) reforming realistically for the purpose, effectively for security essentials necessary & other counter espionage, etc etc going-ons abound; this constitutional provision is purely provided for, in parity with ragards to the overall intelligentsia for the Gambia, just like CIA, MI5 & 6, & MOSAI (US, UK & Israel)….
The country too needs such apparatus to catch up with the sophisticated rest of the world; it’s rather what the NIA has been reduced to under the manipulative kanilai Evildoers, in my opinion, which must change at all costs…
Rectification please – MOSSAD for Israel – thanks…
True Andrew; the old fashioned notions on the Langsaro/reh concept is outdated & doesn’t (shouldn’t & mustn’t) hold anymore in this time & age; for every citizens are all equally Langsareh anywhere in the country one may find yourself (oneself) in at anytime/s; either by settling in the area, on visiting &/ passing through in transits…
But Andrew, with all the fuss by some of those ‘trivialisers’ still irrelevantly visible as you wrightly referenced but I believe in their dwindling minority; I would’ve thought the general majority of Kombo nkolu are welcoming & accommodating as kombo being an integral part of the Gambia & therefore belonging to us all; Babung Fatty, a notorious kaabu nkolu, for that matter, have lorded over us for a considerable time; & he used the very relevant joking-relation fraternity family bond positively; to navigate through & settle down some very deep routed disputes between divided communities, slipt over longstanding animosities; some of which were thought to have been impossible to crack through successfully if not for the specific fraternity-ties harmonising communities across the regions in our part of the world; Ebrima Mballow current Interior minister, formally in charge of the West Coast Region & others too, were all cordially accorded with hospitalities…
Nmangtarra, Fangkoto bangbangola deh, Andrew, dukareh Song nna kumola…
A Badibu nka friend said that, the first Kiang nka to resettle in Brikama did by mistake; thereby triggering the overan of the place by all the rest in their numbers who followed since then; he said the first Kiang nko fell asleep in the vehicle on his first venture out for the capital (Banjul) but awaken by the time the vehicle reached brikama on the way & asked the driver to set him down; thinking he had reached his targeted destination, assuming Brikama was the much talked about capital Banjul, which he used to hear about all his years through childhood…
Andrew, Brikama nkolu, wangteh, Kombo nkolu buloo beh see/futah leh nmaleh Ning E mang fatta Chonchong-To yaa tonyehroo maa/laa…
Bajaw, you may have hit the nail on the head about the first Kiangko in Brikama. However, the copycat Kiangkas came in their numbers to find the proverbial NETTEH KULO that the Badinunkas sold them for SITA MOLO (for Paracetamol).
So they all settled in Brikama Jidda, Sanchaba and Darsilami (Darusalam/Dar’U Salam). Areas that were well endowed with the NETTO tree. The Kiangkolu then went feverishly to work, chasing the NETTEH WAFULALU back to Foni and proceeded to chase the dream of wealth with the newfound SITA KULO that, alas, was never to be. So the Kiangkas never got to settle the score with Badibu. Ouchhh!
In short Bajaw, that’s how Kiang (CHIANG) overran Brikama and got to settle down in droves.
However, CHIANG did bring to Brikama what wasn’t there before. And that’s Finnesse.
Bajaw, Mo Bulo TEH Sii Lang Nteh Mma. That’s on account of Andrew being a hodgepodge and everyone’s SANNAW MAA in The Gambia. A blend of Badibu, Kombo, Fulladu, Jokadu, Kerr Biram Hoja (Borom Dimba) and La Guinee.
You darn right in your views Andrew. We should be saying a lot but doing a lot as well with regards to ‘shedding’ our backward beliefs and attitudes. Most of those varieties of Gambian parlance are as spooky as you may not be able to imagine, though they may sound jokingly or may seem to hint wisdom. It feels kind of choky seeing people not willing to do away with ways that amount to nothing but to impoverish and underdevelop themselves, whole communities and future generations. But guess what .. some of those ways would be hypocritically accepted as indispensable social standards or formidable inherited cultures and traditions. Isn’t it time that mayorships [Alkaliyaa and Sayfuyaa] require a certain level of education and moral criteria rather than simple “Langsaaria” status or by a mere order of heritage? Or, are they gonna send the ghouls to whoever dares deprogramming that traditional order? Cleanliness is God’s name from Whom I seek guidance and protection. Ameen.
Gambians can’t really prove to have meaningfully embraced this new democratic dispensation without the right attitudes. Merely praising great statesmen’s legacy is not enough unless we live up to their expectation and make them examples in steps we take towards progressing the Gambia. I don’t remember ever seeing Hon. Femi Peters in person but in the country’s political spotlight, I was able to sense his bravery, humility and straightforwardness. Who knows what he may have discussed in private with UDP leaders with respect to the UDP future, or what he may have thought about the terrible Nia/Sis? But he surely, would have had all the good sense of reasoning in doing so without a wee bit of doubt.
Why not a CID attached to the central police headquarters?
Bajaw, please don’t take and example of dangerous structures like the Mi5, Cia or worst of all, what they call Mossad. Those can kill anyone who they feel is in their way of “common interest”. For God sake Bajaw …., Mossad? Right now they would be the ones coordinating the private citizens to kidnap African immigrants for $9000 per immigrant kidnapped. However, the sad reality is, some of those you and I unknowingly generalise to call “Lebanesolu”, who have stores and freaky businesses in West African capital cities, especially in diamond rich ones, are three or more passport holders who support, sponsor and pay tax to finance the Mossad.
Come on Bajaw, i think Gambia has a totally different world view and interest in contrast to what does establishments represent their countries for. We want democracy, love and care for all people across the four corners of the earth. Love of human beings over dollar bill, good over evil.
Those establishments are not just behind those thick walls for the simple idea of national security! If political stability in Africa to them means a failure of their country’s markets, they won’t mind financing and masterminding coups and confusions in the continent. Well, thanks to you yourself, for previously referring us to the sad overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah in detail, the man who was about to set the trend for Ghana and Africa in general. What about Patrice Lumumba? Bro, our national security idea should be globally friendly and not selfish, greedy and polluting. We hope not to ever be playing good on the table and worshiping the devil under it. Just good roads, street pavements, street lights, central underground sewage systems, easy solid low buildings, good school, hospitals, ecological farming systems, non polluting micro industries, largely self-employed citizenry and making those who come from afar feel like home.
Quite disheartening to see the new Gambia administration still sticking to terror methods of the former Nia, arbitrarily arresting citizens and taking them to statehouse? A very sick and dumb thing that Femi Peters for sure won’t have had a stake in.
Yes Andrew, moe bulo teh E maala freeing (I’m just on the very same Senawyaa sake); we all are Langsareh in any parts of the Gambia one may find oneself in at any given times & under any circumstances; & anyone can vie for any positions one may feel to be in, anywhere in the county as every citizen are equally entitled to if one matches the qualification…
Sure Bourne, every decent human being despise what evil the three cardinal organisations, CIA, MI5 & 6 &/ MOSSAD stands for; or rather are being used for in the evilnesses being perpetrated around the world….
Such are precisely why our Constitution provides for the SIS (NIA) for our safety; contrary to what obtains with the various manipulations of such secret agencies, the various national constitutions, including the Gambia, provides for such counter intelligence units (in good faith) for the general advancements of the state/s; which were purely for counter-espionage &/ counter terrorism & the likes, etc, including the cyberspace for our collective security communally…
So there are quite some essential relevance of the intelligentsia unit in overall security complications of the state/s in the current worldly affairs; there’re no doubts about that in this trying times of this scary world of ours; it’s rather what the agencies are illegitimately turned in to be are the questions…
We are all together in concern for what the NIA are reduced to murderings under the kanilai killerdom; despite some shifts, they still are yet to reorient fully with their nationally assignment responsibilities, from arresting the peasantry, while wanted killers can pass through right under their noses at the airport without them raising a finger….
Probably, if Nkrumah & Lumumba had their own intelligentsia at the time who were truly loyal to state’s advancements responsibilities purely, maybe, those countries too & Africa in general would’ve been steps ahead than currently being the case….
There certainly would be a dangerous void in general overall security of the nation in the current trend of world events & direction we are headed to globally, if the SIS are disbanded completely, instead of reorientation; meanwhile, I believe our current overseeing critiquing & criticisms in continuity, is the remedy to make sure the various state institutions & government in general are held accountable….
Rectification please – moe bulo teh E maala fehreng –
Thanking you…
Bajaw, I refer you to your statement, “Such are precisely why our Constitution provides for the SIS (NIA) for our safety; contrary to what obtains with the various manipulations of such secret agencies, the various national constitutions, including the Gambia, provides for such counter intelligence units (in good faith) for the general advancements of the state/s; which were purely for counter-espionage &/ counter terrorism & the likes, etc, including the cyberspace for our collective security communally…”.
I’d ask Bajaw when has the NSS (under the PPP) or NIA (Jammeh’s creation) acted to keep Gambians safe??
This whole charade of creating state intelligence units has been designed to protect the interest of the leadership at the expense of Gambian taxpayers.
And you know what, Gambians, through elected legislators, must start asking the GRA, Area Councils and public corporations to religiously account for monies collected from ALL sources and how these monies are spent.
That way, we will do away with the odious business of embellishing budget reports, tinkering with books of accounts and the whole gamut.
The NSS, NIA and the SIS have always been and will continue to be terror machines where the leadership puts the annual budget to work for themselves and other security chiefs.
Otherwise, where else would the section chiefs find the money to live the big life with several homes, wives, cars and other assets in plain view of the citizenry. Daylight robbery it’s always been at these day care centers where they all go to be babysat and fed by hard working Gambians.
What intelligence have they been collecting that benefits Gambians today?
Remember the Manding term, DINDING SILANDI RANGO? To quote the Jarranka that said, MO LEH KA TAA JAY (NIA) E MAY MAA! And that’s precisely the case at interrogations and true to the adage that, TULU BUNDIRO BUKA KUNGO TEYE BARI ASI NYAA YELLEH. Holds true at police and other detention centers where the not-so-well connected are routinely slapped around until they become dazed like a chicken before questions are asked. I have witnessed a human being tied to a mango tree at a police station and being flogged with PVC pipes like a Mexican Pinyada in plain view. The poor fellow could have been killed. I was never so saddened by the message that they were trying to convey to the general public. These are our own Gambian sons and daughters doing evil to their fellow human beings.
Let’s get our security agents trained well and sufficiently educated to understand basic human rights. Gambians should take to suing idiots of law enforcement officers that take the law into their own hands and bent on violating basic human rights. The question is why would Gambian attorneys that are worth their salt not take it upon themselves to work pro-bono to pursue justice for under-served Gambians and set examples that befit civilized society?
Bajaw, why would a police officer impound someone’s driver’s license and walk away with it without court order? Only in Africa!
Why should it be an unpolished SIS officer’s prerogative to detain a traveler at a port of entry without just cause? There’s what’s called a Shake Down!
What’s the role of the Ombudsman’s office in The Gambia?
Bajaw and Bourne, as the population increases, the need to bolster security becomes of increasing value. However, fragmented security agencies with overlapping and conflicting roles do not help anything. Especially when they all wake up to their daily prayers for good luck/HARRJAY/WORRSAGG, TUPI TUPI, hedge their bets, join the hustle and scramble for Chaali Songo from vulnerable Gambians.
Here lies the contradiction between the fellow that claims to pray endlessly to the extent that he has a self inflicted callus on his forehead and then the same fellow heads out of his door with a Bismillah to milk other Gambians. It’s called corruption, wickedness and it is unholy. Now here’s a reason for being LAKATI but not spitting (TANKAAKO) on Yaya Jammeh if he ever shows up on Gambian shores.
So the SIS is only kept around to serve specific purposes that may not be so different from the role of the NIA in the Jammeh era. My East African pal would say, WE SHALLU SEE with emphasis on the “U” after the shall.
Bourne is quite right that a good number of Gambians hold a totally different world view and therefore do not know how to employ powers bestowed on them.
Or Bajaw, did the flogging of young men that came with missing the traditional KAFFU DOKUWO in the Kombos got anything with Gambians’ idea of meting out punishment?
ALAR SABAA, NGA BUUTAY the big boys in the KAFFO would yell!
Or is this to do with what happens WULO KONO with young men going through the ordeal of the NGANGSINGO? What’s also considered a right of passage in Senegambia. Y’all help me find more answers to this conundrum.
EH GAMBIA!!
Andrew, you are indeed spot on as can be; couldn’t have been said better in your quote here-in ‘…must start asking the GRA, Area Councils and public corporations to religiously account for monies collected from ALL sources…”; these & similar areas & the general corruptible endeavours of the selfish Thieves amongst us, in their thieveries who are the very rough edges tiring, grinding & wearing, leading to grounding the collective wheels of development communally; the evidential thievery of the Area Council & fellow domains in particular, are out there for all to see…
In same vein it’s in nobody’s right; be you civilian, military, security &/ so-called intelligence services to even trespass upon someone, more so assault anyone; with our gradual political awareness elevations together, as a community; I believe such acts & other malevolent maltreatment of people would give way gradually with people being made aware about basic rights; Civic Education is the master-key & key-ingredient to progressive societal advancement…
The ‘Kaffu dokuwo & Ngangsingo’ things were truthfully extremisms in the past, which were excessively applied through bullies’ exploitations as you rightly mentioned, no matter how positively intentional the general concepts were initially derived from & based on; which were for adherence to communal development aspirations & discipline inculcations in general…
The rest; you said it all (talk true); can’t agree more…
Andrew Pjalo, you have propounded in detail indeed, what I imply by the term ‘worldview’ in a Gambian situation. Look at the spotted-forehead police officer stepping out with a prayer for Harrjay Firingo….. Of course he wish there are more vehicles owners with broken signals, wipers and worn out tyres etc etc, so he can seize as much drivers’ licences as possible with due process.
Look at the fellow citizen tied to a mango tree by law enforcement personnel and beaten with a PVC pipe….
Look at the circumstances in which kids and sometimes even toddlers are initiated in what is called Wula Kono Taa…. Do we still wonder why a fellow citizen gets tied to a mango tree and gets beaten? What we need are curb corruption, good roads, good streets, good sanitation systems, good shelters, schools, hospitals etc.., and love and respect within our hearts for our children, friends, family, fellow citizens and those from afar.
Bajaw, Kwame Nkrumah and Patrice Lumumba might have had their national intelligence chain works but it is unlikely that they will serve the purpose of securing these African figures’ordealsif members of those security agencies don’t have an idea of what human rights mean other than getting Banku by all means necessary, and even much less when they are raised through the ordeals Alar Sabaa or in places where chipping off the skull of a living baboon and eating off the marrow before it dies with belief that kind of ritual will spiritually empower them for life. Andrew, I think this is more than roles overlapping and conflicting; they are messily knitted like a weavers nest. Each one seems to be a result or a product of the other. Anyway knowing one has complicated problems in the first place is a first good step to solving the problems.
“… without due process.”
Sure Bourne; the changes for orientation by adequate indoctrination of our security apparatus are crucial remedial therapies for the proper protection & meaningful security safeguard to the Nation Community; the law enforcement servants must be made categorically sensitised that human sacrosanctity isn’t negotiable on unequivocal terms…
Essential among, that security apparatus are in nonpartisan services to community, whilst the politicians & civil services are in partisan &/ individualists services to the very same communities; all servants from any categories must know anyone whosoever transgresses against someone will be liable for culpable protection for justice as required…
It all comes down to the overall awareness elevation of the nation community; that’s why some illegalities do rear their pungent heads sporadically & intermittently, here & there, doing damages which all would be impossible with the required collective awareness knowledge of the nation community; with proper civic education anywhere, yes, maybe Nkrumah & Lumumba, for example, would have been spared the babylonia pirates gallows; which were done in conduits of fellow ‘African mercenaries (but) with public services faces’…
“Look at the circumstances in which kids and sometimes even toddlers are initiated in what is called Wula Kono Taa…. Do we still wonder why a fellow citizen gets tied to a mango tree and gets beaten? What we need are curb corruption, good roads, good streets, good sanitation systems, good shelters, schools, hospitals etc.., and love and respect within our hearts for our children, friends, family, fellow citizens and those from afar”.
Hallelujah Bourne! Speaking truth to authority should be the order of the day going forward and where the authorities wouldn’t listen, ELECTED legislators will be held accountable for the actions of wayward officials that, if I may repeat it here, are paid handsomely with taxpayers’ money. The icing on the cake comes in the forms of a free vehicle, free fuel and free picks among NNA NYOLU.
So Bourne, where the legislators don’t deliver and become SADAA DAANI LAALU in our midst, like former members of parliament, we just VOTE THEM OUT in the same manner that we did with Yaya Jammeh and his bunch of hoodlums. What I have come to discover is that Gambians in general do not have the word REMORSE in their vocabulary. The general callousness that abounds dictates that they do evil when they choose to and then go on to round up a few scraggly elders to lead in the ludicrous effort to do the BOLO SEYE/TUUBAL thing with a few cola nuts together with the crocodile tears! And that’s after someone is already dead.
Oh no! It shouldn’t be that way. Anyone that hatches the ugly plot should also take ownership in what is called RESPONSIBILITY. Make them pay!
Here’s good advice for folks in the diaspora that remit hard earned monies to friends and family in The Gambia for specific assignments. Where monies aren’t spent as directed, blot words like KASARO/KASARA or SATAN out of your minds and make the evil doers pay for it. Don’t go saying, that God will ultimately punish evil doers/BAYI NAAKO AK Y’ALLAH because these folks don’t know Y’ALLAH but only what brings them instant gratification by stoking their ego. Remember a fellow called Imam Fatty and the cabal of evildoers called the SIC that sat Yaya Jammeh on a pedestal and worshiped him as Nasirr Ud Deen? Well now Gambians know better.
Most public officials, long lost friends and cousins that promise, MBAY MAAKOYE LALEH are merely putting up a show to suck you dry. Remember, PT Barnum says, that there’s a sucker born everyday in this world. Yes, Gambians in the diaspora are the suckers that don’t know the value of the Euro and the Dollar. So once you show your back, the cat is away and the mice come to play with your hard earned money.
In a nutshell, the message is that we must all take charge in charting our destiny going forward. Otherwise, nothing changes while we keep hoping for change (WEYEH YAAKARR) WITH THE PITTANCES OF FOREIGN AID that lands on our shores. The sheer numbers of outstretched hands in The Gambia make all foreign aid look like a drop in the bucket.
Tujereng will say, KULUNGO TEYE TALEH DEH, BARI ANING MUNEH NAATA Bajaw?
And I am not going there……Bajaw! Smile. E TEN MBULO BULA LA SAY KONO DEH.
Ning ‘KULUNGO TEYE TA’, ANING NYEEH/NYEEWO LEH NYANG TA NAALA, Andrew; that relevantly revolves principally round the much needed & constitutionally provided National Civic Awareness education; in raising the (our) general perceptions & reorientations of the acceptable ‘dos & don’ts’ in legalities for the effective progression of the community in our various clearly assigned roles & responsibilities in nation building; for the betterment of communal societies together collectively…
Bajaw, E TEH LA NYEWO TO FO DEH in association with Tujereng.
Now you can count on Musa Suso, the Presidential Youth Baffler to bail you out.
SAA BEH KOR DOMO LAKEH SILANG.
Musa JUMAA??????
Andrew, I think Musa’s appointment is got much about party politics in general for canvassing votes; he’s made a mistake in the past when he was younger; but if he’s learned from the youthful foolery & has reformed, he should be given a second & final chance to prove himself like anyone else; I think…
Bajaw, you may have Sabiji connections.
Do I sense a case of FANG KOTO BANBANGO in your response to Musa Suso’s appointment?
Yes, as kombo nka I have a Sabiji connection; one of my late old boys (grandfather) & family lived there; the family are still there; I do have indigenous connections (& direct blood-ties) across the whole West Coast regions; for both the kombos & the kanifing municipality areas too…
But I believe, Musa (like everyone else) have served his rightful custodial sentence (in fact sentences) in the prison by the law courts as (he had been) prosecuted; & he’s most likely not going to re-offend in the very same way again (until he’s done so); so like everyone else, under the humanity rights, he deserve a ‘reform & rehabilitation’ therapy he rightfully deserves as a human being, from the communal society (Gambia) as the overall provider; to be given a second chance to prove himself again….
As fallible beings, we all are prone to mistakes at any certain &/ given times/point in our lives depending on our indulgences; except for EVIL WANTON (calculated & premeditated) destruction of human lives, dignity &/ sacrosanctity (by killing, rape, torture, maim, etc etc), everything (crimes) else depends on correctional punishment/s which Musa has already served in all senses; & therefore, liable to his share of involvement in general inclusiveness in the collective National affairs; after all, he too can relevantly serve a better role model differently; especially for those of us whosoever might have had a day in the criminal courts or in prisons; to say that there’s indeed (some) life after one’s mischievous misadventure; pending one one’s own readiness for genuine reformation in your (our) own deliberation (actions) from thence on….
Rectification please – pending on one’s own readiness –
Thanks…
Additionally Andrew; I got blood-ties in Banjul too; A Faal Insurance broker, is my blood cousin; his mother is an aunt of mine…