OPINION: The Gambia: A nation tranformed into a country of liars, griots and self-serving megalomeniacs

By Mathew K Jallow

Outgoing U.S Ambassador, Pamela White, was diplomatic and gracious in her unambiguous assessment of the Gambia's predicament under Yahya Jammeh, but she did not mince words in her verdict of the country's sickening political culture and embarrassing governance system. Her contemptuous disregard for Yahya Jammeh was unmistakable and her parting words summed up the mess into which Yahya Jammeh has put the Gambia. It does not take a rocket scientist to realize that beneath the surface tranquility, the Gambia is a country in turmoil. Just two weeks ago, eight former senior government officials, three of them holding doctoral degrees and the rest possessing university degrees in various fields, were remanded in Mile 2 Prisons. At the same time, in faraway Abuja, Nigeria, Gambia's five-member permanent parliamentary delegation to ECOWAS, led by Paul Mendy, was meeting ECOWAS officials to discuss the Gambia's human rights crisis. But, unlike the eight former agricultural officials who were remanded in Mile 2 Prisons, none of the Gambia's ECOWAS parliamentarians has a high school education, not to speak of a university degree. The five Gambian permanent ECOWAS parliamentarians created a public outcry when one of them, Lamin Jadama, declared in Abuja, Nigeria that there were no human rights abuses in the Gambia. The five ECOWAS representatives, it turned out, are a microcosm of the broader Gambian National Assembly, where most of the National Assembly delegates have never seen the inside of a high school classroom.

Over the past decade and half, the Gambia has succeeded in creating the only society in West Africa where mediocrity and amateurism trumps professionalism and excellence; a country that values ignorance and timidity over intellectual curiosity and creativity. Lamin Jadama is a reflection of what the Gambia has become, and that fact that he courted the eerie of a segment of the Gambia’s population after his bold-faced lies to an ECOWAS committee probing into Gambia's worsening human rights violations, is a natural reaction to cultural decadence that has taken root in our country. His denial of human rights violations was particularly perplexing since Lamin Jadama knows the murdered Sgt. Illo Jallow, as his village Katamina and Illo Jallow village Sare Mali are separated by only a hundred meters wide cattle trail. But Lamin Jadama's denial is not a new thing, but he personifies the dumbing down of Gambian society. In lying to ECOWAS officials, he has become the metaphor of how ordinarily decent Gambians have by necessity turned into unadulterated liars. Today, every official of the regime has become a liar; a frightening development has totally changed the character of Gambian society. Gambia is now a place of make-belief; a place where deceptions, deceit and hypocrisy is the new normal. It is a social anomaly motivated by the necessities of self-preservation. It is a phenomenon that is particular to autocratic societies like The Gambia, where the rule of tyranny has replaced the rule of law.

Lamin Jadama's denial of human rights violations in the Gambia which came barely a week after Ousman Sonko's outrageous statement regarding Chief Ebrima Manneh, is a pernicious pattern that harkens back to the days of Ms. Marie Saine Firdaus and Edward Gomez and beyond. In countries ruled by dictatorship as in The Gambia over the past decade and half, the denial of the obvious becomes second nature to officials of the regime. And around the globe and throughout history, it is a practice that has stood the test of time and bought time for regimes that would eventually collapse under the weight of their own tyranny. As in The Gambia, lies, deception and deceit are designed to delay the inevitable day when Yahya Jammeh's regime will collapse, because there is not historical precedence where dictatorship have survived the lies and brutality they visit of their people. But, for now, given the caliber of the Lamin Jadamas and Paul Mendys who represent us at both ECOWAS and at the National Assembly, we cannot expect anything better than the nefarious and self-serving machinations used to drag Gambian in the proverbial mud. Paul Mendy who heads the Gambia's ECOWAS parliamentarians, is also the senior laborer at Yahya Jammeh's Kanilai Farms and his appointment to that position in late 2011, published as a Press Release in The Daily Observer on March 31, 2011, was greeted with absolute incredulity and reads as follows. "The Office of the President wishes to inform the general public that Honorable Paul L. Mendy, National Assembly Member, has been appointed as the Operations and Logistics Manager, Kanilai Family Farms Limited, with immediate effect. This information is also extended to all Farm Managers and employees of the Kanilai Family Farm." If this is not truly the picture of Gambia at its very worst abuse of power, then nothing else is, for we have become a country of liars, griots, and self-serving megalomaniacs 

UTG’s Professor Kah in court

(The Point)The Vice Chancellor of the University of the Gambia, Professor Muhammed Kah, yesterday made his appearance in the trial involving Dr Gumbo Ali Touray at the Banjul Magistrates Court.

Kah, who is regarded as the prosecution’s star witness in the case, gave his testimony before Principal Magistrate Alagbe.

Gumbo Ali Touray, former Director of International Affairs at the University of The Gambia, is being tried for the offence of giving false information to a public officer.

Prof Kah told the court that he is the vice chancellor of the university, as well as professor in the area of Information and Technology at the university.

He added that he was appointed vice chancellor in 2009, after graduating from different universities with different degrees.

His written resume was tendered in evidence, and marked as an exhibit.

He added that he knew the accused person, and that Dr. Touray was no longer in the employment of the UTG.

Professor Kah told the court that the accused person at one time had a contract with the university, and that his contract expired like that of any other staff at the university.

He added that the accused wrote to the university management for renewal of his contract, but unfortunately it was turned down.

At that point, the prosecuting officer, Superintendent Joof, applied to tender email correspondence between the accused and the management of the UTG.

He added that the said email correspondence was very important because it indicated how the accused person’s services were terminated, and that the said documents were prepared by the accused person himself.

Defence counsel Badou S.M. Conteh raised an objection to tendering of the email correspondence, citing the Evidence Act.

Lawyer Conteh further argued that the said email correspondence had no link to his client’s case, and that all what was in the email was about one Kojo.

However, the trial magistrate ruled that the said documents be tendered in court, and they were admitted and marked as exhibits.

He added that exhibit A was the petition letter the accused person wrote to the Office of the President against the Vice Chancellor of the University of The Gambia for frequent travelling, among others.

Prof Kah further in his evidence said vice chancellors all over the world periodical travel on the business of the university at all times, and that he as the vice chancellor travelled not only on the ticket of the university, but when the state asks them to attend meetings.

He added that he had a successful academic career before coming home, in at least three continents in world, such as at the American University, in Dubai, and in a university inNigeria.

He said sometimes when he travels, it is because international organizations needed him as the vice chancellor to attend their meetings on behalf of the UTG.

Designated as the sixth prosecution, Prof Kah added that the public was aware of most of his travels, because there used to be an annual report, and he must seek clearance and other supporting documents from the executive.

He added that the annual report is usually prepared by the management of the UTG, and all the activities of the university must be indicated in the annual report.

He said that the reason for stopping staff loans after consultation with the management of UTG, was due to the financial status of the UTG, which was the duty of any vice chancellor, especially after he took up the office newly.

“I found out that the account was in the red, and there was a big financial mess in the accounts of the UTG. Imagine during my first week in office, the creditors were coming to my office for settlement of their bills.”

He said he realized that the UTG is not there for individual interest, but instead for the larger interest, by restructuring the financial arrangements at the UTG.

Mr. Kojo is a Ghanaian national, he told the court, pointing out that when he worked at other foreign universities, he was never treated like Gambian, further stating that at the university level what mattered was merit.

He added that Kojo’s wife is a Gambian and his wife’s father is a Gambian, also pointing out that professor Stigen (Kah’s predecessor) was not a Gambian.

Prof Kah further adduced that the position of financial director was advertised with The Daily Observer and The Point newspapers, but with the requirement that a candidate graduates from a higher recognised institutions with at least an MBA in finance.

He added that the matter went to the UTG governing council and members included Bai Matarr Drammeh, the president of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce, Baboucarr Bouy, permanent secretary for Basic and Secondary Education, some from the Human Resources Directorate, and the secretary of the UTG.

He added that the vice chancellor was not part of the governing council for the interview.

The case was adjourned till 18 August 2012, for cross-examination.

Author: Bakary Samateh