This is what our old guard in Banjul used to call....."Monkey work Baboo Chop"

A plantation in Africa in 2006? Who are the workers? Africans themselves.Who is forcing them to work? A Gambian King called President. When foreigners visit The Gambia they are shown around by hoteliers and Safari tours.They are fed with wrong,correct or exaggerated information. But there are out going tourists who do not take in everything they are told as gullible people do.This is why President Jammeh's campaigns are not too sure of themselves.

What African Americans who come here are not told.

We will never hesitate to say this... if any of those African Americans visiting The Gambia were told the Jammeh farm was a PLANTATION,they would have stopped coming to Banjul forthwith. Few days ago I had a very long conversation with a visiting African American. He was busy trying to buy some roasted peanuts near Arts Cinema Serekunda. He likes buying them every evening. Hearing the guy's accent made me come closer and talk to him. We discussed a lot of things about world politics, Gambian politics and so on. He impressed me so much because he has been reading a lot about African post colonial politics.

When we started talking about The Gambia the guy was interested in hearing more about our people. He also asked me why President Jammeh carries his sheath(sword) and the prayer beads? He was curious to know because he is a Pan Africanist who wanted to expand on how to enrich the African image and its values. I could not explain the rationale behind why Jammeh carries the sheath or the sword.

We then continued to talk about the President's farm. He associated the farm to what Mobutu used to do in Congo.Remember this is a man who has been traveling to and from Africa and he has read a lot about the continent as well.

This conversation spread out.

Isn't Kanilai farm a plantation?

We went through two examples during our conversation.

I was amazed to hear that this man had prior conversations with civil servants who have been to the farm. He narated to me what they told him.He said this..."Jesus! I cannot believe an African brother is forcing people to work on his farm because he is the President?"

He went further down explaining how he saw the controversial stories on the news papers about forced labour at the President's farm etc etc.He also kept on quoting what the civil servant told him,which he believed was true. What surprised me more is when the man showed me a picture where him and President were shaking hands! I was amazed more than ever. Infact I began suspecting the man if he was not one of Jammeh's ordered foreign guards? He reassured me not to suspect him after reading this in my face.He said the same suspicion was seen in his friend's (the civil servant) face when they first met. This guy is amazing and conscious of what is obtaining in The Gambia.

He was in Kanilai and he saw the farm.He strongly believes that the farm makes him recall the old slavery days in his mind.

Intelligent questions from a visiting African American?

The African American I met taught me a lesson because the questions he asked were superb. He asked this first.." If the President really wants to teach Gambian sisters and brothers about farming...why not he distributes the seeds to them, then after a while he travels around the country to see how they are performing?" He said as someone who knows Africa particularly The Gambia he believes the President could have done more on what he suggested above otherwise use some funds to rehabilitate Jufureh. This he said can help revive the ROOTS legacy much better than forcing people to work on the President's farm.

He also asked why the President's own child is not being taught how to farm?

He said he remembers when he saw the children of former president Jawara being taught the basics of farming at Radville farm.This farm belongs to British Indians.

They employed people and paid them.Even if the conditions were not favourable they were called employees. On Jammeh's farm people come to work because they want to impress him.This is indirectly forced labour according to our visiting brother. I will not mention his name here.