By Alagie Saidy-Barrow
To my Bandam, Adama Barrow, if you will care to listen to me, let me tell you that those advising you to build on a police state style of government are misleading you. Bandam, during the TRRC, I sat with some people who were extremely close to Yahya Jammeh, people he had plucked out of the wilderness and made them very successful people. I saw reports from his security advisers and sat with some of the people who were submitting these reports to him. Bandam, do you know what many of these people have in common? They all betrayed the trust of Jammeh. Bandam, when confronted with their actions or reports, every single one of them blamed Yahya Jammeh! Some of them who were later victimised by Jammeh made the ridiculous claim that the reason they had problems with Jammeh was because they told Jammeh the truth! They blamed all their actions on Jammeh.
Bandam, imagine the NIA arresting someone and keeping them for months without charging or letting them access family or counsel. When a director of NIA was confronted, he insisted Jammeh wanted them to arrest this person and when they did, they had to wait for orders from Jammeh to release the person. And then this director went into details about the personality of Jammeh calling him a dunderhead who listens to everyone and no one. I sat there shocked at how this person was speaking ill of Jammeh. But he was one of Jammeh’s security chiefs and when things were going well, he had no problems abusing the rights of Gambians in the guise of protecting Jammeh. On the day I sat with him, it was as if he was another person. This guy would not even spare Jammeh’s wife.
Bandam, I tell you this story because I don’t know why but deep down in me, I sincerely believe that you have surrounded yourself with people who are fast-tracking you into a legacy you can never look back on with pride. Bandam, those telling you to arrest people and abuse the law are protecting their jobs, they are not building your legacy. It was what the NIA used to do for Jammeh and what the police are doing for you today at the behest of the SIS. Those telling you to use Jammeh’s dictatorial tools to control Gambians are not helping you, they are blinding you. Bandam, don’t let the comforts of freedom turn you into an abuser of people’s rights. I promise you that all these people will betray you when the going gets tough and you stand accused of human rights violations.
Bandam, do you know how many people currently live with Jammeh in Equatorial Guinea? Even his wife does not live with him. He is all alone in a mansion. Bandam, didn’t you see the last batch of those who ran with him dancing and celebrating when you were declared winner of the last elections? Do you know how many people abandoned him when his ship started sinking including his ministers and ambassadors? Jammeh is not abandoned because he is all of a sudden impossible to live with or work for, he is abandoned because the average Gambian is fickle. Bandam, Jammeh had ministers in his cabinet who were giving information about him to foreign governments. A lot of what was known about Jammeh came from the very people he trusted and surrounded himself with.
Our loyalty is to our interest, not to any principle or value. Those who cheered and supported Jammeh’s abuse of Gambians were never interested in his legacy. They were more interested in protecting their jobs and amassing wealth. For context, listen to some of the people who were instrumental in the dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh as they speak of him today. How many times do you hear such people say “now that we have a democracy..” as if all along they never knew we were in a dictatorship!
Bandam, leading a diverse group of people from different ethnic backgrounds, different religions, of varied knowledge about politics and governance, of varied interests that are hardly ever for the greater benefit, a people with a confused notion of what constitutes free speech, is a monumental task. I don’t underestimate the challenge of leading this little colonial space. But using the tools of a dictator to be an effective leader is an impossible task. Bandam, I know you have men and women in the police and security forces who will do anything you ask them to because they think that’s how they will remain in their palass. But that in itself should be an awakening for you. Do you need someone around you who will do anything you ask of them whether it’s right or wrong? You don’t! Bandam, you don’t need such people around you if good governance is your interest and leaving a legacy you can look back on proudly is your desire. Bandam, on everything near and dear to my heart, those guiding you towards the dictatorial tools of Jammeh are not helping you. In fact, I dare say they don’t care about you because when you care about a person. you don’t advise them to abuse the rights of others.
