By Amadou M Jadama
The Deputy Amir of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at in the Gambia, Ebrahima Mbowe has denounced recent comments by Madi Jobarteh that Gambian people and not God removed Yahya Jammeh and gave us Adama Barrow.
Jobarteh made these remarks at a recent civic society organisation forum in reply to Hamat Bah, who observed at a recent forum that God intervened to remove Jammeh and gave us Adama Barrow.
However, speaking to The Standard on Friday, Alhaji Ebrahima Mbowe said: “I am not speaking on behalf of the Jama’at but in my capacity as a concerned Gambian and I am must hasten to say that I am very disappointed to hear such remarks from Madi Jobarteh,” he said.
Mr Mbowe said contrary to Jobarteh’s views, Allah or God has said it in no uncertain terms in Sura Al Imran in the Holy Quran that:
“Say, O Allah Lord of Sovereignty, Thou gives Sovereignty to whomsoever Thou pleases, and Thou fakest away sovereignty from whomsoever Thou pleases. Thou exactest whomsoever Thou pleases and Thou a basest whomsoever Thou pleases. In Thy hand is all good. Thou surely has power to do all things.” (3:27 Thou givest to whomsoever Thou pleasant without measure.” (3:28).
Mbowe said it is clear from the above Hon. Hamat Bah wasabsolutely right when he said Allah or God removed Jammeh and brought Adama Barrow..
“Let me ask Mr Jobarteh the following: How many times have there been coalitions against Jammeh, all of which failed? Was there no Coalition in the 2006 and 2011 elections? Was the NADD Coalition not in fact a better arrangement and preparation? Did the Diaspora Gambians not help the opposition during all those attempts against Yahya Jammeh? Were Gambians in the Gambia not sensitized on social media on the need to oust Yahya Jammeh all that while?”Mr Mbowe noted.
Going further to illustrate his points, Mr Mbowe reminded Mr Jobarteh that in fact Gambians have voted in even larger numbers previously than in 2016 but all that did not succeed in removing Jammeh.
“Yet, a haphazard Coalition 2016 whose MoU is still a subject of daily debate on social media and with a vast majority of the electorate not even knowing what they were voting for, was able to remove Jammeh in a flash. This should be enough to convince Mr Jobarteh that it was the design of Allah that Jammeh has been ousted this year,” Mbowe said.
He further asked what has Gambians, including Mr Jobarteh himself done from 2006 and 2011 to oust Yahya Jammeh.
“Where there not the same old faces in the political field with only a few exceptions?” he asked.
Mbowe said he would like to enlighten Mr Jobarteh on the fact that “Allah did not send us Prophet Adama Barrow, but he brought us President Adama Barrow to work with the Gambian people to steer the country in the right direction for development and progress.
“President Adama Barrow is so far on course as the captain of the Gambian ship that is navigating on very rough seas and hazardous conditions. His calmness and composure earned him the confidence of the world we are dealing with, and he is proclaimed by many to have brought back respect and honor to The Gambia, which it had lost. A case in point is his current trip to the UN where he addressed the General Assembly in an acclaimed speech and among many other things, giving audience to a Gambian disabled graduate lawyer to lay future plans for addressing the issues of disabled women and youths in this country,” Mr Mbowe said.
Mr Mbowe also stated that the mere fact that president Barrow had not even been known or heard of until recently only for him to come from nowhere to unseat Jammeh is enough to convince one that God has indeed intervened .
“I can go on to justify God’s presence in this in many ways leading to the defeat of Yahya Jammeh. Allah created the enabling environment for “Yahya Jammeh himself to change the electoral laws of the country from 50% majority to simple majority, thinking that no one could beat him in elections in this country. He also tried to make it difficult for anyone to contest by raising the presidential contesting fee to D500, 000.00 thinking that no one will be able to afford that to contest him. It was alleged that that Yahya never won elections and that he only told the IEC Chairman figures and the latter would announce it. The IEC chairman overstayed his mandate and he (Yahya) selected Alieu Momarr Njai thinking that it will be business as usual. Alieu Momarr Njai was quoted as saying that “Jammeh and his men tried to change the election results but he had integrity and refused, it was no longer business as usual. Jammeh starved the supreme courts of judges calculating that that will prevent any losing opposition candidate from contesting the votes in court only for his own whip to beat himself. He even declared the Gambia an Islamic State thinking that that will entice votes for him. He did not calculate that such a move will hurt others of different faith. All these can tell you God was behind Jammeh digging his own political grave,” Mbowe concluded.
