Arts — theatre, paintings, storytelling, dance — can be used as channels of communication through which people can express reality.
While the music scene hasn’t been as dormant as other
forms of art, Gambian musicians mostly settled for uncontroversial and self-censored music that was palatable to the APRC government. Dictators understand the power of music and its ability to galvanise people and inspire them into bold and courageous action. Due to their fear of the power of music, dictators often enlist popular and spineless musicians to hail the greatness of the tyrant and amplify their propaganda.
In Haiti, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier financed Bossa Combo, which was then known as the “orchestra for the president,” before it eventually changed its name to Big Band Bossa after the fall of the dictator.
As with many opportunists under a dictatorship, the orchestra wanted nothing to do with the dictator after he fell from power. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s son, Uday Hussein, headed a media empire that controlled what music was played on air.
Patriotic songs, almost always paying homage to Saddam Hussein, were the favourites. Saddam was Iraq after all, just as Jammeh was Gambia therefore, one was only being patriotic when expressing love for Jammeh.
In The Gambia, music that was even remotely critical of the APRC or Jammeh was simply not allowed. While Jammeh commissioned musicians to dedicate songs to him, some of the more exuberant, spineless, and greedy ones took it upon themselves to venerate the tyrant in songs.
Several female Gambian musicians were also honoured at Jammeh’ s State House and feted to his largesse, and at least, one of them reportedly got secretly married to the tyrant. Other times, Jammeh would organise musical competitions in which the winners received huge sums of money; and competition at such performances was cutthroat.
For many artists, performing before Jammeh and being well-paid was the ultimate dream. Some musicians were given large sums of money to record albums or buy instruments they needed. Artists would come in from; Canada, the UK, the United States, and Jamaica to grace various parties in The Gambia, and none would leave without expressing gratitude to Jammeh, their benefactor.
Prominent artists from around the subregion also visited the State House to entertain Jammeh, and he rewarded them handsomely.
Prominent among these artists were some Senegalese singers who had no compunction coming to promote the dictator, who was killing Gambians.
People of the subregion often say that Gambians and Senegalese are the same. While that is true, artists like; Fafadi, the late Thione Seck, his son Wally Seck, Youssou Ndour, Coumba Gawlo Seck, Ouza Diallo, his daughter Adji Ouza, had no problem embracing the dictator next door; even as some like Youssou Ndour railed against injustices elsewhere.
On one occasion, Youssou Ndour signed a D3 million deal with Gambia’s Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation to stage a three-day concert. According to sources I spoke to, when the Democratic Union of Gambian Activists wrote an open letter asking Youssou to reconsider, based on the human rights violations of Gambians, he responded that he did not want to deny Gambian “brothers and sisters” the cultural exchanges! Youssou, conveniently forgot that he boycotted a concert in the USA because he felt going to America would somehow be seen as supporting the decision to invade Iraq.
Another Senegalese artist, Ouza Diallo, who called himself a friend of Jammeh, claimed that Jammeh was a Pan-African. He even defended the dictator’s unlawful killing of two Senegalese nationals because, according to him, “They broke Gambian law.”
The UCAS Band De Sedhiou, from the Casamance area,
followed Jammeh to almost all his appearances, singing and entertaining him until he got tired and discarded them. Fafadi, another artist who projected himself as a “conscious” artist, also presented himself as a huge Jammeh supporter; and sang the President’s praises at any opportunity.
Jamaican artists like Sizzla and Luciano, who often proclaimed “righteousness,” became regular guests of Jammeh and Luciano proclaimed, “I will come and participate in the Roots Festival because President Jammeh has already invited me, and I told him that The Gambia is my second home.” By then, Jammeh had hijacked the “Roots Homecoming Festival” and turned it into a praise fest centered on his greatness, instead of an annual event for African descendants in the Diaspora to discover their roots; through cultural pilgrimage and awakening. Jermaine Jackson, who attended one of Jammeh’s birthday parties, went on to proclaim that Jammeh was a wonderful and genuine person. He continued to hold brief for Jammeh, and said it was the people abroad who were tarnishing the image of the country!
Certain government institutions, such as the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) invited artists to come and perform in The Gambia, all with the blessing of Jammeh himself, who was often the chief patron.
On one of the musical parties so organized, The Point reported: Sheikh Tijan Jobe, president of the SSHFC Staff Association, said the association has invited Viviane (Senegalese singer) in a bid to raise revenue for; contribution to President Yahya Jammeh’s Back to the Land call on agriculture, to support the University of The Gambia, and hospitals in the provinces…Part of the activities that we [are] going to have will be the launching of our staff association logo, the launching of our magazine, as well as the launching of the newly created Viviane Fan Club – which is going to be launched by the Gambian leader, who is the Chief Guest of honour.
Pa Bobo Jobarteh and Killa Ace, were the only famous artists, that I am aware of, who released songs that spoke critically of the dictatorship. Both of them were forced into exile. The rule remained that musicians should either focus on matters not related to Jammeh in any way or sing his praises. Singing anything Jammeh did not like, could result in one going into exile! Gambian artists, even those based outside of The Gambia, shunned saying anything that would jeopardise their ability to come home for holidays; or perform in The Gambia. To many artists, it was too risky to use their art to say anything about the suffering and plight of Gambians. So, what the people heard was mostly what was supposedly positive about Jammeh. In the end, Jammeh’s control of freedom of speech was near absolute.
