People should be able to pursue their dreams.
Constitutionally, we all have a choice to follow and support any political party and or candidate. This is about basic human rights and freedom. Free(dom of) Choice in a Multi-Party politics – Democracy (plus intention, via our choices.)
All Gambian citizens have a right to belong to a(ny) political party and support (and vote for) any candidate of their choice(s) according to the constitution of The Gambia, and that’s just the way it is, should be, and must be; passed by the people of The Gambia (1997 Constitutional Right). The political parties: – A follows Red. B follows White. C follows Blue. D follows White. E follows Green. Each person has a reason to follow his/her choice (of party and candidate) that nobody can or should question. Then, why would anyone try to frown at another´s choice? If we closely look at these “Colour Political Parties” that “Alphabet Citizens” have chosen to follow; their choices are different, except for “B & D” (white), but in the end, all of them; their choices together represent one thing; they stood for the colours – The Gambian Flag: “For The Gambia Our Homeland”…. More important; is that humans have put the letters in a fixed order of position in the Alphabet and so had The Almighty Allah already decreed the winner from the 6 eligible contestants. And that verdict no one can change: “When Jesus saaaaays “Yes”, no one can saaaaay “no”!”(song). After voting and the declaration of the winner (Sat 04.12.2021); it can be ONLY ONE WINNER, and all else come back to follow this winner as the Nation´s new “President Elect” for the next 5 years.
I will begin my brief remarks by denouncing the fact that some Gambians and members of the political parties were turning the politics into “a forum of Partisan Tribalism Political hatred and designed character assassination.” I urge and earnestly call for an unreserved renewal of “the right to independent responsible thought” and a return to the principles of the Gambianism as “the nation of unity and prudence.”
We all have graduated with PhD! But from which university?
PhD – Political harbingers of Disaster at the Partisan Tribalism Political branch of the Political University of The Gambia – PUtG.
(noun: -ology; plural noun: ologies; a subject of study; a branch of knowledge.)
(suffix: -itis; forming names of inflammatory diseases. “cystitis”)
According to Jesus, it´s a bad idea to major in “speckology” while suffering from “plankitis.” “Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Holy-Bible, Matthew 15:14)
BE QUICK TO JUDGE YOURSELF BUT SLOW TO JUDGE OTHERS. “The pot calling the kettle black.” The Great Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis), a thorny species of flowering plant visited the Genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae, and complained of her “thorny nature;” stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Surprisingly, they all form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing, or trailing, with thorns and beautiful flowers. Such are our Gambian “insincere” politicians.
During his Sermon on the Mount, our Lord said, ‘Why do you look at the speck in your brother´s eyes, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Holy-Bible: Matthew 7:3).
If speckology were listed in a university (PUtG) catalog, the course description might read: “The identifying and criticizing of small shortcomings in the lives of everyone around you. Very popular course; fills early.”
Should plankitis appear in a (Gambian political) medical dictionary, it might be identified this way: “A disease that distorts self-perception and renders an individual incapable of recognizing personal faults. Occurs worldwide.” According to Jesus, the solution is to “remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother´s eye.”
It doesn´t take my Kerewan GrandMa Mama-Daddo, a “Fullani-Gainako” or carpenter or scientist or an ophthalmologist to understand this metaphor of Jesus. We´ve all enrolled in the course while suffering from the disease. But today, if we would shift our focus from specks we see in others to the planks in our own eyes, what a difference it would make for us all! The faults I see in other´s lives are often true of me; so help me, God, to recognize my own hypocrisy. BE QUICK TO JUDGE YOURSELF BUT SLOW TO JUDGE OTHERS.
Judging Others
(Matthew 7:1-5)
“1. Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
2. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother´s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
4. How can you say to your brother, “let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?”
5. You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother´s eye.”
A New Spirit of “We Belonged Together.” God is reminding Gambians where they are scattered. The Gambia is like a marvelous vision of a collection of dry bones littering a valley floor of “partisan political ethnicity.” How can we make the scattered dry bones come together, assembling them into skeletons and growing flesh and skin? The bodies will stay dead, however, until in a dramatic moment when we put breathe (spirit) into them. We, therefore have to stop this needless “partisan political ethnicity” and breathe life into the body nation of “One United Gambia.” Let us unite the nation, the tribes and the minds. Israel longed to be reunited. The Jews had been split into two nations (sometimes at war) since the days of Solomon, over 300 years before. Yet, like East and West Germany, now united again, and North and South Korea today, they had not forgotten their common origin. Genuine Unity is Strength. Peace thrives in a climate of honour, truth and mutual respect.
Hosea 7:6. What can we learn from the tribesmen – the Fullani – “Tappa-Lappa” -´Local´ Bread bakers? “Smoldering Passion.” In many parts of communities, ovens are made of clay and shaped like a large cone or beehive. The (Fullani) break baker builds a fire inside and tends it until the clay gets very hot. Then, fire and wood ash can be pulled out and the fresh dough placed inside. It rises due to the heat contained inside the oven, which stays hot long after the fire has been removed. Such is “New” Gambia´s lust for partisan political ethnicity: our hearts like an oven; it keeps on smoldering, like a self-fueling oven. Stop the partisan political ethnicity – The Gambia Belongs to All and Sundry. Finally, Gambians, if I have to ask You of something into one word, it might be Sobriety!
A Plumb Line: A plumb line is a weight on the end of a string; builders use it to make certain that their walls stand straight. A wall may look right, but if it doesn´t match a plumb line, it is out of kilter. Similarly, we should use a plumb line (Common National Good) to judge whether any political leader and or political party is “straight” or “is out of kilter” by the standards.
I really want to concentrate on that which I can do better than others: Telling the Truth. “Don’t ask what your country wants to do for you, but what you can do for your country?” We have to realise that we have to turn things around; God was to be the “One who makes things happen.” Be the change you want to see. All Gambian citizens, young and old, men and women, in or not in politics, in or outside the Gambia, should or must be realistic visioners. We must dream of new positive things for our country and we should be ready to expand our brains and brawns to realise our dream. A good citizen should take his/her country positively to somewhere new, better, and more fulfilling. Thus, if you want to be an effective citizen, learn to visualise positive change and do what´s needed to make it happen.
Again, “HOW CAN WE MOVE FORWARD? (When) – “I DON´T WISH YOU WELL” & “YOU DON´T WISH ME WELL”?
“We should turn the page and get back to work.”
(Fullani saying) “Sago hawtube laana,” – Those in the same boat have the same wish. As citizens of the Gambia, we need each other. The Apostle Paul told the Believers in Phillippi to “Stand fast in one spirit” and to help one another as they faced adversity (Phil. 1:27; 2:3-4). Gambians-We too are to join arms and hearts, offering encouragement and hope in our struggles. Work together: “If you want to make peace with an enemy, one must work with that enemy and that enemy becomes your partner,” (Nelson Mandela – South African anti-apartheid activist and politician, 1994-99 president, Nobel Peace Prize (1918-2013), from his autobiography “Long Walk to Freedom” (1994). There is a need for immediate reconciling of a genuine nature, that sincere working together for common causes – our common good. Gambian insincere politicians have a leaf to borrow from Ivory Coast: On Saturday, July 10 2021, in Daukro, central Ivory Coast, the two former presidents of the land; H.E. Laurent Gbagbo and H.E. Henri Konan Bédié reconciled and teamed up to oppose the present president H.E. Alassane Ouattara. Former Presidents, Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bédié have been long time terrible arch political opponents: in the 2010 presidential election, Henri Konan Bédié supported Alassane Ouattara, then Mr. Gbagbo’s main competitor. But today they all see Ivory Coast and not selfishness! They are for Nation and Land; “Working for Nationwide Reconciliation.”
Let us bring H.Es. Uncle “Mandela” Ousainou Darboe (now called and Brother “ADaniel” PORG Adama Barrow to reconcile their ´personal´ political differences for The Gambia´s sake. They simply need to understand each other without sacrificing their individual party politics – that nurture of presidential ambitions. The Gambia is bigger than each one of us. The Gambians will certainly decide who will be their next president on Saturday 04th December 2021… The Gambia needs a government and President with a right value; one that will steer the Ship of State – “a safe voyage through the turbulent sea of dangerous Partisan Tribalism Politics PTP.”
We have so much more to gain by dropping our unnecessary grudges and misplaced anger and extending a hand of genuine unity. Let us unite the Nation, the Tribes and the Political Minds.We all should be able to say with the Jola Old-Pa, “The Gambia is ours – all of us.”
Sana-Bairo Sabally
Germany