The Gambia, little Gambia that one of my Ghanaian
friends calls “Gambia Village” has done it to the collective delight and
admiration of most Africans. Determination, mass mobilization, and grassroots
engagement are the watchwords. Above all, a sustained and relentless push back
from the diaspora Gambians, who for the longest time have refused to be silent
about the oppression in their native land. They were called ‘Cyber/Keyboard
Warriors’, but through their sustained campaign, they showed that the pen
(keyboard in this case) is mightier than the sword (guns in this case).
In Africa, we are accustomed to corrupt leaders and
corrupt systems that are sustained by brute force, intimidation, torture and
extra judicial killings. The cycle only changes with another military coup and
a then the repeat button is hit again. With the exception of very few
countries, we as a people do not see hope in the democratic process for
instituting change. With the state machinery at their disposal, incumbents
hardly ever lose elections in Africa, and so the citizens have resigned their
fate to enhancing the status quo through voter apathy, but in fact people power
always reigns supreme if unity is sought.
The Gambian experience is unique in that regard.
Here was a man who overthrew a democratically elected government and set the
stage for self-perpetuation which lasted 22 years. With the state machinery
fully at his disposal, dissent was entirely suppressed, people with political capital
and popularity banned from contesting elections under the guise of preventing
the ‘old guard’ from assuming power and bringing back the corrupt old ways, or
simply claiming age limits as a constitutional, rubber stamped by his ‘national
assembly’. With the electoral commission fully sponsored by the state and the
constitution reformed to eliminate term limits and institute simple majority as
rule, with a divided opposition and a very short (few days) political campaign
window, the stage was set for repeat wins at the polls. And so it was until
this year (2016), when with immense pressure from the citizens, especially the
diaspora Gambians that opposition unity was achieved.
With the odds stacked against them in every way and
a total media blackout, the online radios took the airwaves, the voice and SMS
call apps (WhatsApp and Viber), Facebook and Twitter, were used to set up
‘command centers’ and information exchange platforms. Calls for funding were
constantly sounded and most importantly the need to not be intimidated but to
get out and vote. All these efforts, coupled with the opposition caravans on
the ground doing house to house calls, literally; culminated in a shock defeat
for a 22 year entrenched dictator.
The Gambia was dealing with a dictator skilled at
his trade. He unilaterally decided to rescind the country’s membership of both
the Commonwealth and the International Criminal Court (ICC), declared the
country and ‘Islamic Republic’, and was actively campaigning to wrench
sovereignty from the people and reside it in himself by declaring the country a
monarchy. Many observers saw this election as the last election in The Gambia
prior to the declaration of a monarchy by Yahya Jammeh.
But the Gambian people, emboldened by the sacrifices
of the main opposition party leader and his executive, as well as countless
other Gambians, fearful of a new mandate that could see the country slide down
the path to civil strife with the president’s utterances against the largest
ethnic group; the Mandinka, that many saw as insults, they came out in droves
to declare their dissatisfaction with the status quo. With a resounding NO,
they declared their determination to end tyranny. This, with a steady, brave
and united leadership saw the defeat of a tyrant unwilling to let go of power
no matter the cost.
To this generation and the upcoming generation of
Gambian, no one can convince them that their vote does not count. The greatest
achievement of all these efforts was the unity of purpose and the political
awakening of a generation. With this win, the Gambia is set to never allow any
leader to overstep his or her mandate ever again, people power is real and when
harnessed, it brings about lasting positive change.
In little Gambia, the will of the people shall rule
henceforth, for the vanguards who fought such a hard battle are watching. The
Smiling Coast smiles again and with that beaming smile, every African nation
whose citizens are forced to submit to the whims of a tyrant can see hope and
every tyrant should see an example of what an emboldened people, determined to reclaim their
sovereignty are capable of.
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