The Political Hyenas: An Indictment Of Gambia’s Opportunists — The Carrion Feeders Of Our Democracy !!!

They do not hunt. They do not build. They do not create. They wait. They watch. They circle. 

And when the scent of power rises, they descend — laughing, scavenging, devouring the moral carcass of a nation for their own gain. 

These are the political hyenas — the skunks and dregs of Gambian society.

The soulless scavengers who trade conviction for comfort, principle for privilege, and patriotism for a plate at the banquet of power.

They are not patriots. They are predators of principle.

And they are devouring the integrity of our democratic transition from within.

– The Legacy Of The Laughter 

Under dictatorship, the hyena learned a single, corrosive lesson: that survival belongs not to the principled, but to the pliable.

That loyalty to power, no matter how blind or grotesque, is rewarded with scraps from the table — contracts, appointments, protection, prestige. 

So when the dictator fell, the hyenas did not disappear.

They simply changed their feeding grounds.

The same mouth that once cursed tyranny now sings its praises.

The same tongue that once demanded accountability now silences it as “divisive.”

The same hand that once pointed at corruption now claps for its continuation. 

This is not evolution. It is expiration of conscience.

– The Anatomy Of The Opportunist 

The political hyena has no ideology. He has only appetite.

He has no north star. He has only the wind of power, and he turns wherever it blows. 

Yesterday he called for reform.

Today he declares that reform is rebellion.

Yesterday he condemned nepotism.

Today he sanctifies it as “tradition.”

Yesterday he accused a leader of arrogance.

Today he calls that same arrogance “divine mandate” and insists the leader is “Yowrek”— indispensable, infallible, untouchable (to borrow the expression from local parlance).

This is not conviction. It is convenience.

It is not loyalty. It is leasehold — a temporary tenancy in power, paid for with the rent of one’s soul. 

The hyena does not stand for the people. He stands for proximity to power.

Because proximity means access. Access means contracts. Contracts mean comfort. And comfort means he can finally escape the sea of ordinary humanity that he so despises being a part of.

– The Rot That They Spread 

The political hyena is no comic figure. He is a cancer in the bloodstream of our republic. 

He poisons public trust until citizens believe that every voice of criticism is a voice for hire.

He breeds a culture of cynicism where the youth conclude: “He only speaks out because he is not eating. The day he starts eating, he will start singing.”

And in doing so, he kills the possibility of genuine civic engagement. 

He fights tooth and nail to legitimize what he once condemned, and to condemn what he once championed.

He is a hired champion of the status quo — a rented mouth, a purchased conscience, a mercenary of morality.

And with every flip-flop, he turns politics into a cesspool: dirty, dishonest and devoid of dignity.

– The Unmasking Of The Carrion Feeder 

Let us call it what it is: moral prostitution.

The political hyena sells his voice to the highest bidder. He auctions his conscience for a government vehicle and a title. He mortgages his integrity for a seat at the table — fully aware that the same hand that feeds him today can discard him tomorrow. 

He is the embodiment of self-inflicted amorality.

He has buried every whisper of conscience and replaced it with the doctrine of expediency.

He wraps himself in the national flag while picking the nation’s pockets.

He invokes God while trampling justice.

He speaks of national interest while guarding only his personal interest, now fused to the whims of his patron. 

And the most damning truth?
Power-hungry leaders love him.

Because he is predictable. He will recant. He will applaud. He will defend the indefensible.

And they know that fear of being thrown into obscurity makes him even more desperate, even more subservient, even more destructive.

– Conclusion: The Scourge That We Must Expel 

The political hyena is the greatest traitor — not to a party, but to a people. Not to an ideology, but to integrity.

He is the reason young Gambians believe politics is a dirty game, and therefore refuse to play it for the good of the nation. 

– Sobering Life Lessons For All And Sundry: 

1) A man without conviction is a man without a country.

You may carry a Gambian passport, but if your loyalty belongs only to the person in power, you have no homeland in your heart. 

2) Integrity cannot be rented. Once sold, it cannot be reclaimed.

You may gain a position, but you lose your name. And a tarnished name outlives a thousand titles. 

3) The table of power is not permanent.

Today you feast. Tomorrow you are fed to the dogs.

The patron that you praise today will abandon you tomorrow — and no one will weep, for scavengers are used, not honoured. 

4) Consistency is the currency of credibility.

To stand for truth whether you are in or out of office.

To defend justice whether you are hungry or full.

That is citizenship. Everything else is consumption. 

5) A nation cannot rise on rented righteousness.

You cannot build a republic on borrowed beliefs.

You cannot build a future on shifting sand. 

– Final Word: The Choice Before The Nation 

Gambia’s democracy will not be destroyed by dictators.

It will be devoured by hyenas — by those who wear the mask of democracy while gnawing at its bones. 

So let us expose them.

Let us reject them.

Not with violence, but with virtue. Not with insults, but with standards. 

For a nation that tolerates hyenas will never produce lions.

And a nation of lions is what Gambia needs if it is to stand tall, proud, and unashamed before the world. 

Be a citizen, not a scavenger. Be a builder, not a carrion feeder. Be a Gambian, not a colourless opportunist. 

Let the reader, please, understand!

Hassan Gibril
(A Fellow Compatriot)