Not worth celebrating

On July 22, the Gambia will be commemorating the 15th anniversary of the military coup which brought President Yahya Jammeh and his AFPRC/APRC regime to power.
by PK Jarju

The ceremony which will be held at Arch 22 in Banjul will cost the poor Gambian tax payers millions of Dalasis which could be better spent in improving their poor living conditions and services.

The anniversary is not worth celebrating because Jammeh and his cronies committed treason by overthrowing the democratically elected government of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara. The revolution we were told, was conducted by the soldiers to eradicate rampant corruption, nepotism, favouritism and retrogression. We were also told that the coup was justifiable because the 30 year old regime of Sir Dawda was rotten and not fit for purpose.

However, 15 years on, there are no meaningful changes in the Gambian society. Corruption, bribery, nepotism and favouritism are still very alive if not more well rooted in the Gambian civil service. Jammeh and his associates are unaccountable and are living a flamboyant lifestyle at the detriment of the people. Whatever was bad during the Jawara era is at its worst state.

The revolution we were again told, was conducted to give power back to the people as well as to restore public confidence in government. Instead, the Gambian people are governed by a dictatorial regime that does not give a monkey to the rights of the people and the rule of law. The regime have eroded the civil liberties of the citizenry including the right to freedom of speech and assemble.

Its does not believe in democracy which is a government by the people through elected representatives, political, social or legal equality. Power in the Gambia is vested in the hands of the head of state who sees himself as a master of the people.

The head of state is controlling every facet of the Gambian society and the fate of Gambians are no longer in their own hands. Gambians cannot start a business or find work without paying bribes. Opposition sympathisers cannot find work in any government department or public sector without joining the ruling party. Journalists and activists cannot criticise the regime without being killed, arrested, torture or prosecuted for sedition.

The regime have snooped into the lives of the Gambian people and violated their space. Our movements are restricted by numerous military check points. We cannot wear a yellow t-shirt without being accused of being UDP supporters. We can be arrested and tortured by the NIA for whatever reason without having a right to seek redress in court.

We are today living in a Big Brother state and everyone is living in a state of fear. We are all afraid of our ruler because he can do anything to us. The Gambia which was previously known as a land of no problem is now a land of big problems.
Despite being in power for 15 years, Jammeh still wants to remain president despite the deleterious effect his rule is having on the lives of the people. Part of his desire to remain in power is due to greed and fear. He is afraid of losing his wealth and power and being dragged before a court of law for the despicable human rights abuses he has committed.
You can see this when you take a deep look at him. Jammeh is very afraid of the future and it is driving him insane. The fear in him sometimes turns to hate, which often gives him a desire to harm anyone he sees as a threat by using his ever loyal security officers.

The July 22 revolution is not worth celebrating because it have not succeeded in alleviating poverty in the country. The gap between the rich and the poor is wider than ever and many Gambians are continuing to be born in poverty, grow up in poverty and die in abject poverty.

Also, I don't believe that the July 22 revolution have registered significant success to be worth celebrating. Of course, many will disagree with me. The reason being, the Jammeh regime have built schools, airport, roads and health centres. To these people, the mere building of schools and roads is a sign of Gambia's development.

We should not measure development the number of infrastructures built by the regime but how well the average people Gambian is. It is misleading to call the Gambia developed while over 55 per cent of the country's population is living on less than one US Dollar a day.

Secondly we need to remember that the building of basic services is the responsible of government. That is what our taxes are meant for. Therefore, the Jammeh regime is not doing us any favour as it is our money.

Thirdly, we should not only focus our attention on quantity but on quality. Has the building of many junior and senior secondary schools increase the quality of education in the country? The answer is No. Has the building of health centres reduced the number of death from preventable diseases? The answer again is No. Have the Jahally Pacharr project minimised the importation of rice? You answer that question.

I therefore think that the only people who should be celebrating the July 22 anniversary should be Jammeh and his associates. The revolution have made them the most powerful and richest Gambians. Take for instance, Jammeh was a poor guy prior to the coup. Today, he is the richest Gambian owning millions of Dalasis, lands, aircraft, companies, nature reserve among others.

How he attained all this wealth is very questionable because he could never be able to acquire all these assets with his salary and allowances. Let him explain to us in the name of accountability and transparency how he acquired them.

To conclude, I think that it would far far better if the money being set aside to commemorate the revolution is use in creating job opportunity to the thousands of school leavers who are hanging at the beach sides and ghettos.

For comments, write to papak196@yahoo.co.uk.