Trust me, I know. I know it felt like I stopped writing. Writing, if you know it, comes with inspiration. I was inspired many times, though, as episodes continued unfolding, but I was preoccupied with other commitments. The Gambia is like a series movie now, with episodes, twists, and climaxes, and you name it. The most interesting issue for me apart from the Kumba Sinyan case, the Aisha Fatty case, the SUV saga at the National Assembly, the dual citizenship debate from the State House, the never-ending Barrow-Darboe political bickering, is the FGM conversation. Damn! I couldn’t understand how a whole nation could be immersed in a conversation involving the clitoris of women. I’m sure some of you participated only to quench your horny proclivities.
Maybe I should have apologised from the beginning, but this article is gonna be wild. So, if you can’t contain it – if you think you can’t stand it – it’s a good time to jump ship, or rather to blackout your screen. Talking about blackout, have you heard about the proposal to cut a percentage from the salaries of the staff of NAWEC due to the dissatisfaction in the services they offer? When I heard, I shouted yeahhhh!, with my fist up in the air. I paused for a moment, and I reflected on the consequences this will have on the lives of the junior staff. If you ask me, I would have suggested a higher percentage for senior staff and very low percentage to the junior staff. I blame them because it’s their fingers that are used in switching off the current sockets or lever – whatever it is – with so much pleasure.
Let’s start with women without having to dive into FGM. I’m glad that the NA has just delivered the coup de grâce on the matter. Its coffin has just received its final nail to the disappointment of the few or the majority, depending on where you are reading this from. I would have poured my mind on the topic here, but it’s now useless to do so. I said women, but first, let’s talk about a particular woman, Kumba Sinyan. Don’t worry, I’m not going to preempt as the case is in court.
Something that stood out in her testimony. Muneh, in her effort to win the trust of her victim, she met a doctor who sealed her. I was like, damnnnn! People go to such length for love? I thought the furthest one could go for the sake of love – or rather to prove love – is to block all the potential lovers for your current lover to see…
If you think that was the end of the story, you’re definitely mistaken. She went ahead to testify that her victim attempted to sleep with her after the seal was done!!! Subhaanallah! Let me hold my comment on that until the court concludes. All I know is that her entire testimony is a roller coaster for me. Wait, guess what her response to the question “how did you get a razor blade to cut through your victim’s stomach”? It’s mind-blowing! ‘Dama ko don watal jaaf,’ meaning ‘I was shaving his pubic hair.’
But seriously, we can’t address these social issues without having to talk about KUSH. I’ll spare you its definition and effects, and sorry to disappoint, but I’m also not gonna join the rest in condemning or sensitising the youth against kush. See, I don’t care what you went through, but certainly self-sentencing – for lack of a better term – is not justification for that hardship. You have been deported, and yes, that’s stressful, but have you thought of the next guy who was swallowed by the deep sea? He didn’t have a second chance like you. So tell me, what reason do you have to kill yourself using kush?
I like kush for one reason, though; usually, the perpetrators are the only victims. It would have been a lot worse if the takers of it only attacked, robbed, and killed people.
Another thing that’s claiming as many lives as the drugs is accidents. Our new and well-built roads have become means of a lot of accidents. Hardly will a day go by without seeing or hearing about some crazy accident. Also, is it just me, or have you also noticed that most of these accidents around town involve BMWs? What’s about BMW and accidents? I will leave that for the experts to digest.
Let’s dive into the topic of women. Of recent, I paid more and closer attention to women and what they go through; the struggle and suffering. The silent suffering. It has now become clear to me that women are stronger than men. Women struggle more than men. Hold on, men! before u give me that steups. Just clasp your hands and listen to this. See, the only men who are suffering are those who struggle to make ends meet. Those who have to work on Monday in order to feed themselves on Tuesday. Women, on the other hand, suffer so much, regardless of their status, financial stability, tribe, class, or cast. It’s sad, though, that most of us are oblivious of these struggles by women and hence limit our kind consideration towards them. They deserve kindness and show of mercy. From the monthly cramps, to pregnancy, to the mighty delivery; breastfeeding, not to mention taking care of the husbands, children and in some instances, in-laws, gender-based violence, higher level of unemployment are some of the pangs faced by women. It’s a never-ending show. Women indeed hold the knife at the sharp end. Each of these points above is a topic of its own, and one can exhaust a whole book on each. Let’s commend women. Let’s appreciate women, and let’s celebrate them. It may not stop the pain or suffering, but it can ease them.
That said, let’s make a quick paradigm shift and talk about the land allocations. Chowli bari na. In fact, let’s leave that for another article and talk about education. I don’t know about you, but our education system scares me now more than ever. It used to be, ‘children of today are not learning to understand, they are learning to pass’. Yes, but at least they had discipline. One of the characteristics of school is that it disciplines you.
Unfortunately, the system has lost that grip as well. Students aren’t only becoming arrogant but very rude and capable. The kind of stories I hear from schools are really a cause for concern. They are rendering schools ungovernable. The other day, we all saw and read how a grade 2 kid carried a pistol into the classroom and had the temerity to use it.
More and more students are threatening and fighting their teachers, whom they in turn expect to impart knowledge in them. Teachers already have a lot on their plates, and the last thing they need is insecurity. With this attitude, it’s easy to guess that the failure rate will be on the rise, more and more dropouts, a sharp increase in unemployment rate, more back way trips, more deportations and then crime rate will multiply. We need to refine the system if we intend to create top-notch leaders, action-oriented, and change-makers. Let’s make sure we teach our children and the next generation the importance of what it takes to have the future in their hands at a young age, to empower them to become the next generation of world leaders. A tree is bent while it’s still wet. It’s my conviction that this is a collective effort. The government, the parents, the teachers, school administrations, and students all have roles to play in achieving this goal. Until this is done, we will continue to ‘kowtow in their powwow’.
