WATCHMAN: EXCLUSIVE ON ISMAIL K. SAMBOU
WATCHMAN: EXCLUSIVE ON ISMAIL K. SAMBOU
WATCHMAN: EXCLUSIVE ON ISMAIL K. SAMBOU
 
A while ago, I put out an extensive examination of Crispin Grey Johnson, Yahya Jammeh’s former Secretary of State of Foreign affairs now relegated to the portfolio of Higher Education, Research and Technology. While it was obvious SOS Johnson’s machinations were based more on self promotion than patriotism, Ismail K. Sambou is a more complex composition. The honorable minister cannot be easily pigeonholed even though he is a member of a despicable regime. He’s no lightweight like Fatim Badjie who’s had no baptism of fire in life. He’s no propagandist like Yankuba Touray who’s in the cabinet to ensure material survival, and he’s no clown like Ousman Sonko who will get his comeuppance in an international court of justice for aiding and abetting NIA goons as overseer of the Interior Secretariat. Here’s why.
 
In assailing the virtues, or lack thereof, of a dysfunctional junta that is the APRC or another other stunted “government” in Africa, one should take a nuanced approach not only  to avoid self- righteous overkill but also to ably dissect a structure in order to effectively and clinically render it inoperable. Let me begin by saying Ismail K. Sambou for the most part is an honorable individual. Yes, he is in the company of wolves but remember a lot of Hitler’s inner circle was admirable men who in the end were exonerated from severe judgment either in death or after the Third Reich’s demise.
 
To understand the plight of Ismail K. Sambou, one should take a deeper look at the state of class in The Gambia pre-1994. The inept Jawara regime that had been given the rein of power since 1965 was tone deaf to the severe but mostly below the radar resentments other classes (I prefer to use the term class because tribe is semantically simplistic and does the inter-twined workings of Gambian and African relations no justice) had towards the state of inequality that was and still is prevalent in the republic. Just before July 22nd 1994, Watchman visited State House and observed that even though the guards performed the duties required of them, they did so with an edginess and anger that slipped pass the eyes of the resident VIPs they supposedly were protecting. President Jawara was very pleasant and dignified but one could see how he was a sitting duck. A few months later, he was out of power.
 
Continuing on the class motif in The Gambia, it could be said that there was a segment of that nation’s populace that was intentionally and insidiously marginalized by the PPP regime and its cohorts. The honorable Ismail K. Sambou was one of them. Now, his resume says that he was a manager and ILO adjunct at the Gambia Cooperative Union from 1984 to 1988 but Mr. Sambou was effective at his job up to the first 6 months of 1987. By that time, he had been hounded and conspired against by members of another class (and tribes) that disagreed with his policies. A lot of reasons had been given for his dissociation with the cooperative but they are mostly smoke and mirrors. Mr. Sambou was the target of all kinds of rumors and innuendo manufactured to justify why he was ousted from a job his rivals did not want him to possess.
 
In 1987, the Honorable Ismail K. Sambou lived at Pignard Street in Banjul. Together with his wife at the time and 3 kids, one adopted, they occupied a second  floor 2 bedroom apartment on a street that was a reflection of the glorious melting pot that was Banjul in those days. Mandinkas, Akus, Jolas, Fulas and foreigners of all stripes lived side by side with little or no tension. The average age of parents  in families was 32, relecting a surge of baby boomers who were striking out on their own to establish their mark on Gambian society. Mr. Sambou’s wife was Mandinka and the polar opposite of her pensive and thoughtful husband. She was competitive, pompous, charming, and downright unpredictable. In a nutshell, she was a handful. The kids were 2 girls and a painfully shy boy who won’t be named out of respect for their privacy  and who, I think due to their father’s example, were immensely well behaved.
 
After the loss of his tenure at Gambia’s Cooperative Union in 1987, the family went through a  psychic and financial upheaval. Mrs. Sambou worked very hard as the sole bread winner at the time and Ismail K. Sambou contributed what he could via his other intellectual and contractual endeavors. Most noticeably, since he was out of a job, Mr. Sambou stayed home all the time. It could have been very easy for any man in these dire straits to lose it and become extremely bitter but Mr. Sambou had an inner compass and composure that acted as ballasts to his extreme personal turmoil.
 
To expound further, Mr. Sambou diligently prayed 5 times every day. He was discreet, kind, unassuming, humble and low key. He did his best to put out the fires his wife ignited whether be it in dealing with her in-laws or disciplining their kids. But underpinning all the noble efforts and self-restraint was a rage, justifiable in my humble view, that he was wronged. With this rage on Mr. Sambou’s part,  came an attitude of heavily suppressed but visible hostility towards other members of society he deemed elitist and beneficiaries of a corrupt system: Regime Mandikas, PPP Fulas,  Serahule businessmen in cahoots with a finance sector that favored the connected few, personified by the late  Ousainou Njie, late son of legendary Gambian tycoon, Momodou Musa Njie, and Aku snobs.
 
Mr. Sambou had an inner existential conflict that pitted his contempt for all those who benefited from the  slimy PPP regime against his conscience which realized that people for the most part are decent but  coerced at times to commit acts they normally would not condone if they had control. His neighbors found him an enigma but respected him and his enemies were gleeful that they had broken his will. They were wrong. The point here is  that a conscious effort at equity for all Gambians was not embarked upon by the previous regime that was the People’s Progressive Party. No national undertaking was launched to dent the damage a colonial and feudal social construct that was inherited since independence. The biggest impact on the economic and social fissures that marked the Gambia those days was imposed upo n by international bodies, the most commonly known being the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) of the 1980s initiated by the Bretton Woods Institutions, IMF et al.
 
 
This is not to throw the Jammeh circus’ ignoble deeds under the rug and absolve them from accountability in the name of the social and economic aspirations they claim to have undertaken due to the Jawara government’s gross neglect. This is not to say that Mandikas were/are tribalist. These ruminations go to the heart of an issue that is hyper sensitive to Gambians namely: how one group perceives the resources allotted to another,  the conventional definition of politics. The truth is: ALL Gambians are elitist when given a chance to do so and no one group should point fingers of accusation at another.
 
Here’s a little secret: Do Gambians want to know why elitism, tribalism and discriminations are effective in such a small nation and has the propensity for great inflammation between the peace loving neighbors that live in tolerance up to a point?
It is this: Most Gambians are not exposed to the most basic material luxuries that their privileged compatriots have. For example, China with a 1.5 billion people had a population that commuted on bikes prior to the economic boom ushered by Deng Xiaoping’s liberal economic policies. This was in the early 1980s. How many Gambians ( a much smaller populace) had bikes 20 years ago? Is it not true that a bike was a huge deal back then, second only in status to a car? Exactly.
 
To that point, any shift in resources to one Gambian group is very much noticed because there was little there to begin in the first place. President Jammeh’s harangues against the inequalities of the past in Gambian history are accurate to a degree. One should not be fooled however by the tactics he has taken to remedy the social ill. On the one hand, he is pro-development, pro-investment and pro-law and order. On the other hand, and I bet he does not know this or chooses to ignore it, the heavy handed mechanisms he has co-opted in his desire to move the nation forward are stunting the potential for growth, laissez faire in the economic sector and respect for independent institutions and individual liberties which are hallmarks of prosperous societies. If the Jammeh regime eases its stranglehold on the overall running of the country it will foster a flow of economic and social benefits to everybody and that will neutralize his ability to control the flow of largesse to targeted groups as a means of wielding power. Does he really want this? The answer is a forgone conclusion.
 
The Honorable Ismail K. Sambou is in the Jammeh cabinet due to a combination of tribal grievances, personal redemption and belief in his ability to do a lot of good for his country. He is compensating for all the wasted afternoon and mornings he had to contend with during the during Jawara’s reign. He is in the cabinet not to capitalize on an opportunity to amass personal wealth or acquire titles but due to his firm belief that he is as able as any Mandinka, Fula, Aku, Jola, or Serahule,  who could have had or will have the position of power he now presides over. In that conviction he is absolutely right. Gambians should only be judged on their ability not filial or kinship associations.
 
Honorable Ismail K. Sambou might be the architect of policies some who oppose Jammeh’s regime might criticize but these commentators should hold their horses. The man is more layered than meets the eye and realizes the need to tow the party line for the sake of the common good. President Jammeh might come across this article and keep a suspicious eye on Mr. Sambou but he shouldn’t worry. He is an asset. For him, the only personal motivation he has as a member of Jammeh’s regime is a shot at professional redemption. He should be given the chance.
 
Gambiaswatchman@gmail.com
 
 
 

Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2008 (Archive on Wednesday, April 30, 2008)
Posted by PNMBAI  Contributed by PNMBAI
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