The UDP regional chairman for North Bank Region (NBR) Sainey Sabally has said that Saihou Mballow’s boastful remarks that the Fulas occupy key positions in the Barrow government is the apt description of the state of affairs.
Mr. Sabally contended that there is no denying that the NPP administration is a “Fula government”.
“What Saihou Mballow said is the fact,” Sabally maintained. He added: “This government is a Fula government. Saihou Mballow has said it all. If you go to the Judiciary, the Fulas wield huge sway over it. When you look at the top of the police hierarchy, all of them are Fulas, and again when you go to the NIA, the Fulas are the ones there. The composition of the top of things is exactly what he [Mballow] was talking about.”
In an attempt to contextualise Mballow’s remarks, Mr. Sabally hinted that the Barrow government has given priority to Guinea Conakry Fulas by beating down the alien’s card fees for them from D3000 to D700 while fees for Gambian passport and ID card are still increasing.
“Every Gambian boarding a flight and disembarking from a flight must pay money.
Secondly, there are citizens, whose great grandfathers were born here but cannot have a voice in this country. No court case was ever diligently prosecuted in this country. That’s what Saihou Mballow is talking about,” argued the UDP NBR chair.
He urged Gambians to be mindful of [the direction of] their country.
“The utterances of Saihou Mballow are the truths. Let Gambians of all tribes, within and outside the country, be mindful of[the trend in] their country. There’s an ongoing battle, which is a very dangerous battle, no gunfire or fistfight involved but it’s a battle more dangerous than those involving missiles,” Sabally pointed out, adding: “The war fought by tongues and through clever machinations is the most dangerous form of war.” For Mr. Sabally, what Saihou Mballow said is what was oft said in Barrow’s inner circle privately.
“It’s just like all those things that were said and done behind-the-scenes have now been exposed today. These are the kind of utterances they make privately. And this is not the first utterance of its kind. This kind of utterance was not new, Sabally made a similar utterance, Demba Sabally uttered similar remarks as well as Hamat Bah but the President will never come out to condemn their remarks,” Sabally stated.
“This is what obtains, let us not be flabbergasted by what Saihou Mballow said. Let’s analyse the context in which he said what he said, the intent and what necessitated the meeting [meeting with a Fula collective]. What took Saihou Mballow to the venue? Be mindful, Gambians.”
Sainey Sabally stated that Gambian Mandinkas are being tormented in their own country while they remain scared.
“All this cold war is directed towards Mandinkas,” stated Sabally. He continued: “That’s the main war goal. What’s going on is a fight against Mandinkas to destroy The Gambia. Fulas are not a problem in this country. Mandinkas are closer to Fulas than any other tribe you may know of and Jolas and Wollofs, too. We’ve co-existed with all these tribes, including Serahules [and] Manjagoes. They [the tribes] farmed together and inter-married but when Yahya Jammeh came, he detached Jolas from the Mandinkas and made Jolas the enemies of Mandinkas.
He [Jammeh] started berating and insulting Mandinkas, there is no demeaning word that he did not haul against Mandinkas. How did he end? The same trend has returned. Let us not be surprised, an elder should not be taken aback. It’s just that we tend to forget about the things going on but the insult against Mandinkas has been going on and Mandinkas are still silent. We all built this small nation and called it Gambia, but you are set to set it on fire.”
Mr. Sabally said life has now become difficult for Mandinkas in a country in which they form the majority.
“Whenever Mandinkas say they form the majority or what Mandinkas are in this country, that to them is like throwing gas on fire. This is why they are battle ready [for Mandinkas]. The Fulas here are not a problem but to bring in a Fula from Guinea and tell him/her that we are all equal here is the height of mischief no matter how much you yearn to eliminate another tribe. You bring another tribe from your neighbour just to damage another tribe? That’s what’s happening now. That’s the objective of the whole fight,” he stated.
“The tribalism they are talking about is all directed towards the Mandinkas. Mandinkas have become so timid that even declaring themselves as Mandinka is like you’re uttering something disastrous.”
