If you take a look at our situation in The Gambia
closely, a few things stand out and they are unmissable, but you have to look
very closely, draw parallels and you will be able to see the correlation.
Noticed how just a few years ago some of us shied
away from acknowledging we are from the provinces? For some it got so bad they
will not even visit home. If there wasn’t a stigma/negative stereotype attached
to it, why would some of us do so. That negative stereotype and stigma has to
do with how you were made to feel inferior and uncultured. It was a defense
mechanism against bullying to say you were from Brikama rather than admit to
actually being from Basori or Jambanjelli.
You’d say you were from Kerewan or Farafenni rather than say you were
from Jajari or Duntumalang; Basse instead of Fatoto, Bwian instead of
Sutusinjang etc. These major towns were relatively well known if not the
administrative capital of their regions, so that gives some sense of esteem
rather than saying you were from a village whose very name will invite ridicule
alongside you being labeled all but a village idiot. Here’s a reference point
for those who disagree that such acts of condescension actually took place in
pre-independent Gambia and beyond.
These of course are not unique to The Gambia, ‘City’
folks have always had a sense of superiority over country folks everywhere in
terms of how civilized they see themselves. Power is the most coveted commodity
in all of modern human civilization; whether that be brought on by wealth,
knowledge, political power, or any other forms in which it may manifest itself.
There is, it seems an innate need in humans to be recognized and held in
esteem. That sense of status elevation and superiority is hardly ever absent in
any human endeavor. We simply want to be recognized, celebrated and even
revered. There are very few among us that are immune to such desire.
Let’s see how this may; just maybe, have a correlation
to our politics and the political landscape. Sir Farimang Singhateh was a Santonko, Sir Dawda Jawara is a Santonko, Yaya Jammeh;
Santonko, and now Adama Barrow; another Santonko.
Before native-led politics took root, the positions of power and influenced
were all claimed by the colony (city) native, and it largely remained so under
the first dispensation due to the need for ‘educated’ folks to steer the
nation’s affairs forward. Yaya’s ascension disrupted that otherwise
oligarchical system where people in positions employed and created opportunities
for their families and relatives giving them head starts over others. Following
various social media discourses from a distance, it seems the prevalent feeling,
albeit not openly admitted is that “we cannot keep having these ‘illiterate’
(translates – Santonko) with their
pea-sized brains (yes, that actual adjective was used) rule over us; we also
have a say in this country!” This is part of the reasons why you hear “this
country belongs to all of us”.
In addition to the fact nepotism is already an entrenched
problem, some throw another contentious issue into the mix; “tribe”/ethnicity.
The ethnic composition of Santo vs Douma (I guess that will suffice) is
prominent, not in composition but in the lingua franca. That fact, some use as
an appeal to emotions in their political discourse to garner the sympathy vote.
Therein lies our problem; ENTITLEMENT, period. “We are the educated, we should
be in charge.” Education being relative and usually means literacy
We’ve seen how the civil service was personalized so
much we had a de facto oligarchy under the PPP. It was worse under the APRC
when Yaya took it to another level by singling out his kinsmen as the most
disadvantaged by virtue of their ethnicity rather than the fact all rural
communities fared exactly the same. He injected the ‘tribe’ component into the
mix to consolidate himself.
Here’s a simple experiment; filter your friend list
on social media based on political leanings. The pro-coalition government aka
CDL and those discontent with the government and gave up on all hopes that any
good can come of out of the government, aka DSS. Now track them based on
geography and you will see very distinct political leanings; the geographical
locations being two; Banjul and Kombo St. Mary’s Division (KSMD) being one and
the remainder of the country being another (colony vs protectorate). Make Foni
an exception as they were forced to be loyal to one party and largely see
things from only one perspective, virtually cut off from the rest of the
country thanks to coercion to a large extent.
Even in the case of so called independents, those
that are from the colony have silently lost faith in the government and those
from the protectorate are silently sympathetic towards the government. Of
course among that group too are those who sincerely stand the middle ground
criticizing when called for and acknowledging good strides with complements.
The rest you can decipher for yourself.
Only two of the current key political players are
from the KSMD region who are either shielded, hailed, or turned a blind eye to
although polar opposites in political ideology. Same goes for the other camp
too. Mama Kandeh and his team are a counter weight, the swinger vote if you
like, so he is tolerated but not fully embraced. Follow the political debate
closely and these divides emerge; take for example the foul mouth who recently
did a video calling the President an uncultured provincial from the dust laden
Jimara. The same person is a self-proclaimed GDC supporter, party leader having
hailed from the exact same area as the president; speak of an irony. It says a
lot however one looks at it; and to think people ‘liked’ her comments and even
encouraging her to the point of casting her as a victim also speaks volumes;
one such being an aspiring mayoral candidate under the same party platform.
There were others before her too.
This current rivalry, almost toxic between the UDP
led camp and the Independent/PDOIS camp plays into that scenario in more ways
than one. The UDP’s politics and strategy has never changed except to adjust to
new realities. The PDOIS likewise; the two parties have been on polar opposites
in political ideology. Why is it that for the almost 2 decades that Hon. Sidia
Jatta headed the PDOIS its platform was less appealing than it is now? PDOIS’s
ideology and politics has never changed, why the sudden surge in sympathizers
and die hard supporters, who until very recently were establishment
sympathizers? A lot of these sudden PDOIS members will be at a loss when asked
who the late Dr. Omar Kumbamang Touray was. The only thing that changed in
PDOIS is leadership roles; by all accounts he and Hon. Sidia Jatta both
excelled in academics and obtained more credentials thereof than Hon. Halifa
Sallah. And no, tribalism is not what’s to blame, all these gentlemen named are
patriots and way above such sentiments, the question is the supporters who
until very recently would not be caught dead near a PDOIS event. Why the sudden
love affair?
“We want educated people in office!” They exclaim,
but why now and not then? I still don’t think even the supporters are motivated
by ethnic/tribal sentiments; at least not the majority. Those favored
politicians share close kinship relations to either them or an extended family
member; relationships that can be potentially tapped into for opportunities. To
some it is not a case of being in favor but rather being against a UDP
dominated political environment.
As P.L.O Lumumba said; if you want to be rich in
Africa, join politics/the public service. Although that that argument does not
hold true for all public servants and politicians, the characterization holds
true for most.
What we’ve had in the Gambia is a problem of
nepotism. Who you know gets you to where you want to go faster than what you
know, so we see government as a form of
an oligarchy; a fiefdom if you will. After the fall of the PPP government and
the subsequent Alghali Commission, we witnessed the level of corruption in the
junior levels of government. We also noticed the family relationships and kinships
of the people facing the commissions. So it is not farfetched that as a country
emerging from such a biased environment, some citizens view all politicians
with suspicion as being cut from the same cloth; that is until they prove
themselves different. That feeling; that “it’s the same old game at play,
people empowering their relatives and since we are not related to them, there
is no hope for us.”
One Gambia, one people has sadly just dawned on some
of the ‘educated’ literate folks; the ordinary ‘illiterate’ Gambian has not
only believed that, he lived it and is living it. That poison pill has just
been prescribed for our social relations and some have swallowed it thanks to
the same bunch – the ‘educated elite’. The more we sing it, the more life gets
injected into it. If people internalize that notion of ‘us against them’ not
along political affiliations but along ethnic lines; we’re in for a very
long and rough ride ahead.
Let sleeping dogs lie!
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