The argument that we should support the NPP/APRC authoritarian treaty being forced on the people as a draft constitution because it is supposedly better than the 1997 Yahya Jammeh Constitution is nothing short of acquiescing to an impending authoritarian state.
That the foreigner who helped the NPP/APRC draft their authoritarian treaty cleverly edits Yahya Jammeh’s blatant abuse of the people’s rights does not mask the fact that it turns Adama Barrow into a fashionable authoritarian. If the objective was to divorce ourselves from Jammeh’s abusive 1997 Constitution, then settling for the APRC/NPP’s draft is akin to jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
Those of you asking Gambians to give the Barrow draft a chance should have asked the NPP/APRC to give the 2020 Draft Constitution a chance. But hypocrisy can be blinding at times. Yahya Jammeh’s constitution is crude and unabashed in its abuse of Gambians while Adama Barrow’s draft tried to be cute and sophisticated in its pretentiousness, power grab, and greed.
The truth is, this APRC/NPP draft authoritarian treaty is about legitimising self-perpetuation, strengthening the APRC/NPP’s chokehold on the people, and accumulating wealth! If I had any sway over any of our Prado-Parliamentarians, I’d have asked them to reject the APRC/NPP draft and stick to the Yahya Jammeh Constitution because it gives Adama Barrow what he wants: unchecked powers and unlimited control. Sanitising the Yahya Jammeh Constitution a little bit so that Barrow can say he delivered what he promised will not help usher in the new Gambia we dreamt of.
Surrendering ourselves to helplessness will not mean the APRC/NPP will loosen the metaphorical headlock they have Gambians in. Like Yahya Jammeh, who bastardised his constitution over fifty times, the APRC/NPP will do exactly the same! You give them a yard today; they’ll take a mile tomorrow just as Yahya Jammeh did.
This Barrow authoritarian treaty is not about or for the people, it is about power and wealth for Adama Barrow, and privilege and wealth for those surrounding him. That’s why they will say anything to defend it. It is their meal ticket. If constitutions are really for and about the people, why must anyone insist on anything that benefits any individual? The question Gambians should ask is whether they are prepared to be ruled by Adama Barrow and his mandarins for another twenty years! They will tell you that their authoritarian treaty will only give Barrow two more terms and after those two terms, Barrow will keep his promise and gracefully bow out. History will not be on their side. These are the same people who betrayed the victims by embracing the architects of Jammeh’s tyranny. They are the same people who are supposedly engaged in some wayward transitional justice where lynchpins of the Jammeh tyranny come to deliver speeches.
Anyone who thinks the APRC/NPP will not go on to seek more amendments to strengthen their chokehold on Gambians or that they would abide by term limits will only be fooling themselves. Importantly, Barrow and his friends have Yahya Jammeh’s men in Seedy Njie and Tombong Jatta to do their bidding in parliament. And as we have already seen, for the right price, one can easily buy most of our Prado parliamentarians!
To buttress my point, let me quote Ismaila Ceesay who said of Adama Barrow: “He reneged on his three-year promise, failed to deliver promised reforms, and ditched the draft constitution. Adama Barrow will not deliver a free, fair and peaceful election. He will rig it. Pseudo-democracy must not be entertained.”
I completely agree with Ismaila that pseudo-democracy must not be entertained and this authoritarian treaty they are manipulating the people into buying represents nothing but a pseudo-democracy. Sadly, everyone it benefits will say anything to defend it today even if they thought the draft constitution Barrow rejected was a great one. Oh but how people change once they start eating. I pray that Allah continues to keep me far away from this table. I would rather die of hunger and poverty than sell what little integrity I have.
