Gambia
Opinion

Gambia: No Agenda Can Remain Hidden Forever: UDP Hegemony Declared!

(JollofNews) – Since the declaration of the “tactical coalition” by the United Democratic Party leadership as a guarantee for the survival of their party and consequently, the death of “Coalition 2016”; all of the characterizations of the Barrow administration as a UDP government, even though dismissed as inaccurate, are now an open secret, even as those, who are raising the alarm, are being attacked as “tribalist” and or disgruntled.

Ousainou Mbenga

On September 23, 2017, in New York City at the Town Hall Meeting with president Barrow and his staff, the co-master of ceremony Lamin Drammeh made the first “public-official” announcement on behalf of the party: “since this is a UDP government, we will now introduce”…… Naturally, the damage control theatrics ensued but the cat was already out of the bag. Whenever the Jinni is out of the bottle, it’s always problematic to put it back in.

That announcement drew a comment from Kawsu Badjie saying:“time out, this is not a UDP government” which did not sit well with some party supporters that attempted to charge at him. I intervened in his defense and in unity with him that it was inappropriate to have made such an announcement. But besides the public announcement of a “UDP government” the town hall meeting was a misrepresentation of the “one Gambia” — “one people” slogan commonly uttered in speeches. Talk is the cheapest commodity on social media, at conferences and meetings, anyone can talk.

Jammeh’s downfall and Barrow’s “lift onto the saddles of power” is only a starting point towards genuine freedom. Freedom has never been free, the cost is all the consequences that come with the genuine struggle for revolutionary social transformation of our beloved Gambia. For all intent and purposes, the genuine struggle needs to intensify hundred-fold to prepare the Gambian masses with an unshakable fighting capacity to build the “new Gambia” rooted in our national advancement and not ethnic or tribal loyalties.

The genuine struggle for revolutionary changes in our beloved Gambia and the African world will continue until we are free from the need to be free. Yes, the struggle continues. But against what? Tribalism and all forms of reactionary ethnic affiliations against our national interest. The struggle continues, against ignorance and most importantly against any “elite” interested only in a meaningless regime change in contrast to us who are determined to uproot the rotten neocolonial system once and for all.

What is abundantly clear with the Barrow administration (UDP government) and its hell-bent-supporters is the flawed believe that UDP won the 2016 elections, which explains the “winner takes all” attitude while hiding behind the inclusive “new Gambia”.

Lets assume the claim that UDP is the majority party and won the elections. Does that mean that everyone should be under their boot? Conversely, so what if any one of the ethnic groups in the Gambia constitute the so called “majority”? Does it means you have absolute power with total disregard for the rest of us? In my view, this arrogance is more destabilizing than the mere constructive criticisms made of the regime.

A HISTORY OF SACRIFICE VERSUS BETRAYAL                                  

The masses never betray the cause!

Lawyer Ousainou Darboe

In the past 52 years, there has never been a period in the history of our beloved Gambia when the people (masses) were called upon to rise against oppression and exploitation and they didn’t respond. The most fresh in our memory is the February 18, 2017, independence celebration following the “impasse” with the Jammeh regime. Approximately 60,000 critical mass (inside and outside the stadium) were in attendance. This unprecedented response of the masses can only rival the first call on the masses for “flag independence” during which the entire population was mobilized.

The genius of the masses was at its best. Inspirational – Nationalist songs and music with pulsating rhythms punctuated the rallying cries for “independence” not only in Gambia but across the African continent. The youth and women, the bedrock of all resistance were jolted into an awoken consciousness to shatter the colonial chains of the mind and body, creating a reservoir of resistance from which every government with its opportunist politicians draw support from during political campaigns for local and presidential elections.

Then came the post “independence” call for “Tesito” (organized production) and the masses rose to yet another occasion with the hope for a better life and a bright future. But again betrayal raised its ugly head and tentacles to strangle the people’s hope. As the “Tesito” years went by with its one sided sacrifice from the masses while the “elite” became oblivious of the suffering in the land, the social conditions for anarchy, adventurism and coup d’etat were inevitable.

As adventurist as the July 1981 coup was, the fed up masses responded to the call in defense of the motherland with tragic consequences. At least a thousand people died resulting in the first mass grave in the Gambia. As it has shown to be in Africa and other oppressed countries, once a coup, twice a coup. Thirteen years later it repeated itself with consequences beyond tragic.

We thought coup d’etat were permanently aborted in the womb of our beloved Gambia. And because the PPP government never learned from its past complacencies, they ignored the wretched social conditions that bred the aborted coup of 1981 and subsequently the coup that ultimately lifted Jammeh onto the “saddles of power” for 22 damn years

The year was July 22, 1994, when the “soldiers with a difference” called on the masses to support their deceitful program to entrench “transparency, accountability and probity after 30 years of the corrupt and cruel Jawara regime. The mass jubilation and support for change was phenomenal but short lived as betrayal raised its ugly head yet another time.

The July 22, 1994, coup happened under the most bizarre circumstances and remained shrouded in “coincidental mysteries,” thanks to the USS Lamoure County naval ship that just happen to be in Gambian waters at the time of the coup and offered Sir Dawda Jawara, the president safe haven until negotiations with the coup plotters were settled. That negotiation lasted for 22 years until the Gambian masses imposed the “Coalition 2016” on the pussy-footing “opposition parties” to make our determination of “No fifth term for Jammeh” a reality.

The masses are to sacrifice as the government and its treacherous politicians are to betrayal. We have entered a new period of genuine struggle with rekindled optimism and vow to end this history of betrayal. It is because of this history of betrayal that we refuse to give the Barrow administration, its “tactical coalition,” Coalition 2016 and subsequent administrations a CHANCE. From this point forward every administration and representatives of the people will be put to the TEST.

We must win the masses of our people to revolutionary politics to cultivate revolutionary leadership as oppose to “leadership of entitlement” grossly impregnated with tribal / ethnic backwardness. The Gambian masses must know where their interest lies and who serves their interest. Has “tribalism” ever served the interest of the down trodden masses who are historically misused as cannon fodder by the opportunist elite politicians? Never did, never will. Let’s take possession of our brains and never relinquish it to opportunism.

ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE! ONE GAMBIA INDIVISIBLE! DOWN WITH TRIBALISM!

18 Comments

  1. Mbenga,
    You’ve come up with your usual rhetorics about Gambian politics. Whether you like it or not, Barrow is no longer a “coalition” president, he’s a UDP “president”.
    UDP is not a homogeneous Gambian party, it’s a tribalist MANDINKA party, you like it or not! It’s played its card wisely by fooling the other”coalition” parties into assisting her bto get to the summit. Once they have achieved their aspiration, what else would they do? Play the JUDAS card of TRAITOR!
    It hurts to tell the truth about such things, but we have to be candid. That’s how the political outlook is at present!
    Find ways and means of flushing out this bipartisan party, this INEPT, INCOMPETENT, SELFISH, CORRUPT, TRIBALIST, ILLITERATE, INCAPABLE “president” from such a glorious seat. Don’t waste your time on a bunch of selfish administrators who will NEVER respond to the wishes and aspirations of our country and her poor people.
    They have already filled their pockets: Mai fatty has just returned with a large entourage from a useless trip in Rwanda, conclusion; to receive fatter per diem emoluments, flat-faced Fatoumatta Tambajang took about 100 people to Dakar on a weekend visit (tilted bilateral meeting) to allow them receive the usual fat per diem emoluments.
    While our women are still struggling to make ends meet, while armed robbers from Senegal struck at a bank and shop in Kuntaur and made away with over D500,000 and unaccounted amount of material, these TWO POMPOUS, SELFISH and CORRUPT elements continue to shuttle the world at our cost.

    • I agree with Mr. Mbenga, we must help bloom a political leadership that is opposed to the [“leadership of entitlement” grossly impregnated with tribal/ethnic backwardness]
      Tribal/ethnic backwardness I believe, are mental sicknesses that needs to be cured first of all by individuals themselves whose brains are sick with the nation wrecker disease.

      Babu, the mad professor, what do you mean by “Glorious seat”? Your type of English is not the one the Dutch would love taught to their political knowledge. I personally would have used a more democratic version of the phrase for not having those characteristics of a power hungry undemocratic demon.

      Armed robbers from Senegal ..? Senegal is large! It includes Cassamance too where all types of nationalities and cultural groups are out like unleashed outlaws, armed and dangerous. That place is badly infested with dangerously armed thugs who should be disarmed like in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Senegal needs the logistic support of the regional community to massively search that jungle with many many men and very advanced technology; from night vision and de-mining equipment, to underground metal detectors, drones and solar powered cameras that can be installed on tree trunks and tree tops, with direct base monitoring systems.
      These suggestions may not sound very peaceful but all the same if the region let on its own, armed bandits will make the place a safe haven for killing and looting of innocent people in the name of a struggle that is not at all representative of the Southern Senegal population’s consensus.

  2. It pains my heart to see people who were at the fore front of the anti-Jammeh struggle in the diaspora, and who should be jubilating at the gigantic achievements recorded in December 2016, now being “forced” to declare a new struggle against the very government they fought so hard, to bring about.
    The concerns he expressed here, regarding the belief that the UDP has high-jacked the coalition victory, are genuine and widespread, and it is too simplistic on the part of the UDP to dismiss these as coming from tribalists, disgruntled or hate filled people who are antagonistic to the UDP.
    We need to prevail upon the UDP and urge them, as the dominant party in government, to put the breaks on and re-examine the situation and the direction we are heading, for without doubt, we are heading towards impending calamity, if we get to multiparty elections in 3/5 years, with the same polarised and toxic environment.

  3. I have great respect for Mr. Mbenga and during the fight against Babili, he was very instrumental in rallying the diaspora behind a unified opposition for the common goal of getting rid of Babili.
    I still respect his opinion – I share his consternation at what in his eyes is the blatant arrogance with which some udp supporters showcase their ownership of the coalition govt.
    However, I choose to differ in the portrayal of the UDP leadership as being collusive in this enterprise.
    I took tìme today to watch Darboe on Kerr Fatou- on YouTube. My impression is that Darboe is considerate and very economical with political rhetoric. And the leadership cannot be held responsible for the utterances of their supporters and even if their is a will, which I think is at hand, UDP cannot be expected to go after so-called “lose canons ” in social media with the goal of silencing them. In that case, you will make Darboe a one-man party autocrat. I doubt that is in the interest of the country.

    Let me give you an example. My local association just held an election to elect the entire executive committee including the president of the association. This is a Gambian association and perfectly representative of the cross sectional Gambian society. The president is not mandinka but majority is. He was re-elected unanimously. After the vote, we stroll home with spme friends with mixed ethnic background invluding the president and on the way political discussion on Gambia ensued. A man bluntly say that there is ethnic war and as mandinka he will defend his ethnic group. But earlier he voted for a man who is not from a mandinka ethnic group to head the association – they perfectly acquainted. So the example shows that what people would say and what decision they effectively make is not always straight forward. And asking UDP leadership to control the emotions of its members, is not doable no sustainable. Where I would lend support is to hold party leaders to account for their utterances. And inflammatory language has not being darboe or barrow’s credo – yet.

    I can imagine that Mr. Mbenga expect Darboe to exercise extra goodwill and magnanimity towards the other political players- by virtue of UDPs assumed political prowess and darboe’s personal appeal to many people who suffered terribly under Babili. Here I think we have a classical problem of politics. Should Darboe be the most magnificent spiritual leader and stand above politics? I would think No! we expect him to bring to table the interest of his party and together with the other party leaders find a compromise for the common good of the country.
    We want darboe to be a normal politician and we want UDP to be a normal party. In that context, upd need to be seen as diverse party with different players and sections. In that way, the party is not at the mercy of one man. Nevertheless, the important thing is to watch the language and action coming from the official leadership. Not some emotional outbursts of some supporters in social media.

    • Very well said Kinteh (Kemo), but whilst I will agree with you that Darboe should not be personally held responsible for the activities of UDP social media activists, I do not think the UDP has done enough to distance itself from these groups. Moreover, some of these are not “some (unknown) supporters in social media”, but very well names and faces who claim to be UDP members and doing what they are doing in its name. I don’t think it is convincing enough for the party to just say that they stand for clean politics, if they are not seen to tackle these “loose canons.” We all understand the helplessness parties face with anonymous online so called supporters, but there is no excuse for “no action”, when these persons are known.
      As for the Kerr Fatou appearance, I think it was a good one, except for one instance: when Darboe was asked about the donated vehicles in a question which was framed from the perspective of the public’s reaction, instead of providing an answer that is limited to informing the public, he reacted in a way that was clearly directed at PDOIS, calling them the “populist party”, though the question had nothing to do with PDOIS.
      I thought that was uncalled for, inappropriate and absolutely unnecessary, as far as the question was concerned. Such attitudes will not help to diffuse the tense political situation in the country, but instead, would increase the tensions particularly the animosity directed at Halifa and anyone perceived as his supporter, like that Foroyaa Reporter who was nearly lynched at their press conference.

      • On kerr fatou, regarding the vehicles, he said the journalist should have asked the press secretary to the president about those questions. And Mr. Njie(co-host)’s questioning strategy was poor. He implied corruption instead of asking plainly where the vehicles came from and why a president donate nams the vehicles. That is public interest not what kind of number plates the cars have. I think the ridiculous manner of Mr. Njie’s questioning undoubtedly made any constructive answer practically impossible.

  4. Well done, the only thing you are good at is to accuse and make false allegations against this coalition government and UDP ”Selfish,Corrupt, Tribalist and etc”. But you couldn’t try to contribute your quarters in this trying time. Please lets joint hand in glove to make effort to rescue our motherland and stop all sort of nonsense allegations flowing.

  5. I acknowledge the part played by Mr Mbenga, but his words were divisive then and remain so again. He has never offered an alternative, only derision. I have never thought of Darboe as anything great, only that his actions were benign during Jammen and self guided, with Barrow. I see little to say he has changed to become anything but a second rate political opportunist, whose luck has been above average.
    Gambia post Jammeh has been left with ageing and un modern political characters, promoting Gambian idea’s that have never worked and never will.
    If Mr Darboe wants to save the UDP he should resign and leave the field clear for the rising modern educated stars of The Gambia’s future. Darboe by his words and deeds can never unite Gambians but Barrow could have a chance without the eternal ghost of Darboe breathing down his neck. If Darboe becomes President, and this is almost certain, Gambia will never succeed for quite a long time. I agree with Bax….It would be a sure fire calamity for Gambia.
    But this is not a question of Darboe>> it’s a question of Barrow and can he ride the problems with a single minded purpose and strength of conviction. On that their is no definitive answer. Maybe he needs Darboe to wipe his bum.

    • You are not sincere with your opinion on Darboe and udp. Luckily so. Darboe was part of an entity called UDP that took up the challenge of defying jammeh-military dictatorship.
      Well at the time there were many”educated” Gambians who choose to work for jammeh and they benefitted from 22 years maladministration. Asking Darboe to resign from the role he played quite well to successfully maintain together a mass political party since 1996, is pure hypocrisy. Darboe has not said he would stand for next election and he is on record in demanding elections to be held in 5 years – against a 3 year term. I think the chances of him winning in 3 years rather than in 5 years is a logical conclusion. I have reason to believe that the UDP is diverse enough to select someone else other than Darboe as their next Presidential candidate. But I think Darboe is a force for good in the udp and gambia generally and his continued presence in the political process is very much necessary. I believe also that you do not know the political dynamics of Gambia. Apart from politics, socially darboe represent the new Gambia in which inter-ethnic relationship is not only preached but lived. His household is an exemplary multi-ethnic one. So the appearance and language he speaks is not the only yardstick you should judge him.

  6. The Barrow /Darboe “coalition” has become increasingly secretive and subject to public concern over its internal use of the people’s taxes on itself. This is a waste of time and money government. Barrow admits the anonymous car donors also helped his campaign for President. The public have a right to know who’s hand is rocking Barrow’s cradle. Barrow has left himself open to intimidation from an outside source {possibly foreign} and has again committed a cardinal sin with The Gambian Constitution.{ Again }Meanwhile the rest of the coalition have been silenced by their wages emoluments and perdiems that they could never hope to benefit from as Party leaders of irrelevant political parties. This exploitation of the poorest and most vulnerable is sickening to say the least. The members of the UDP have every right to be representative of their views and convictions as do all the rest of the political scene. Out of all the political leadership it is my opinion that Hon Halifa is the only Leader whose policies can reach the poorest in society and truly make their lives better. If this make me a hypocrite….then I am proud to wear that crown of impartiality. Someone needs to say what needs to be said. I am not anonymous. As with Mr Mbenga, we did not hide from Jammeh like so many wimpish cyber warriors{ They make me laugh}>>> WE are real. WE are not anonymous.WE are relevant. WE are right !!!!

  7. International monetary and economic history shows clearly, that if you uplift the poor of any nation, you set forth increased social mobility, that leads to a rapid and substantial economic recovery, that can treble GDP< and substantially increase taxation revenue and abundant prosperity for all.
    Do you think any member of this coalition could tell you why ?

    Naaaaa

    • Well, according to this guy called Dr Lamin Conteh, an accountant, this administration is mortgaging our future. That’s what PDOIS used to say about Jawara.
      Dr Conteh reckons that the UDP dominated Barrow Administration will most likely be forced to restructure within 3-5 years, if they want to continue borrowing, because of our debt stress status. He has calculated that this government is more aggressive than Jammeh in borrowing because they borrowed D34 Billion in 9months against Jammeh’s D52 Billion in 22years.
      If true, and he seems to know his stuff, it is very worrying.

  8. According to Jollof news….The coalition are to table a motion in February to the IMF for all its debts to be cancelled. So Gambia’s’ international borrowing credit worthiness will be zero. So why not borrow as much as you can before the financial hurricane hits the streets. ? This is just crazy economics by self minded self serving opportunists . So what are they doing with all this new debt > ???

    Lets all fly business class to any unknown destination and make hay while the sun shines…at the cost and misery of the poorest 71% of Gambians. Its a joke.Really. !!!!!

  9. Gambias’ debt to GDP ratio has risen from 108% to 120% since February, Perhaps they intend to contribute this excessive borrowing to Barrow’s early retirement fund ? Nice work if you can get it .

  10. Bax, borrowing is for all governments currently even the mighty West including US, UK, Europe & rest of the world…
    UK current debt, for example is £1.8 trillion; it’s projected to be £1.83 in 5 months time, by March 2018; while the British revenue is just £744.2 billion currently; & UK deficit will be £1.82 billion…
    What’s essentially in essence is for the monies to mainly be used for communal advancement it’s meant for…
    Governments will come & go gradually; certainly with the term limit reversion in the envisaged forthcoming construction I hope to witness in future more such debates in our mandatory dedication collectively to improve the Gambia for mankind as a whole…
    God bless the Gambia…

  11. Rectification please – envisaged forthcoming constitution – not construction; thank you…

  12. The increase in UK net debt is projected at £100.2 billion…

  13. I’m apolitical & will ever remain so for I only have conviction to Gambia alone regardless of who is to govern…
    Mr Ousainou Mbenga as a politician, just like any other Gambian have right to critique his fellow politicians; & I believe those amplifying the ‘ethnic’ critisms are doing so on genuine concerns only which I’m sure will help rudder the leadership/s to the purpose of selfless dedications towards the greater community but not on political chancing for ulterior motivations among…
    I have been to some homes in Banjul in the past where the general notion was ‘office ya sunnu toll’ Wollof – which translates into – those living outside Banjul have the farms to till & earn a living & Banjulians (without farmlands should) have the government offices as their farms instead…
    Politicians should know better than anybody & everybody else to always make responsible pronouncements to empower the society & not to endanger…
    God bless the Gambia…

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