I have had many comments with regard to my suggestion, partly tongue in cheek, that Ebrima Chongan should become President Jammeh’s Prime Minister. Someone has even demanded to know: “How can Chongan become Prime Minister when Darboe has remained and fought Jammeh in The Gambia for 15 years?”

The first thing I can say is that Thabo Mbeki was out of South Africa for 29 years, only coming back to the country when Mandela was released and Apartheid was on its last legs. Secondly, I have met both Darboe and Femi Peters on many ocassions, and Darboe seems to me like Kenya’s Human Rights Lawyer Paul Muite – who fought Presidentn Moi’s 22 year dictatorship. In 1991 Kenyans demonstrated to try and bring down Moi and 100 or so were shot dead by the police. When Muite was asked why he did not support the demonstrators, he answered: “I cannot support such demonstrations because these people would not distinguish between Moi’s Pajero and my Pajero”. Lawyers in The Gambia have made an excellent living under President Jammeh’s rule, and they are much richer than they were under President Jawara. Lawyer Darboe himself talked of his “lucrative” business a few weeks ago. So it is not fair to expect lawyers to risk their businesses for politics – and the common man.

Femi Peters, on the other hand, is a very common man living by the open sewers of Bakau (I say this respectfully!). So he talks and writes for the ordinary man. Readers will remember that I once challenged Darboe to give me an interview for the Daily Observer – when he said that the Daily Observer would not publish his comments. I promised him I would publish and said so in the pages of the Daily Observer. Darboe suggested I interview Femi Peters instead and I refused: why interview the servant when you can interview the master? I must also admit that I was slightly worried about publishing an interview with the fire-brand Femi Peters. I knew Darboe would be “safe”.

Coming back to Ebrima Chongan, let me put here this quote from Colonel Samsudeen Sarr:

One must acknowledge that Gambians are never committed to their political beliefs beyond the trouble it takes to go to a polling station, once every five years to cast a vote for the party or candidate they support. To think that they will come out in massive numbers to confront the government or the security forces for denying their leaders their constitutional rights for political activities when the majority of the electorate doesn’t even know the existence or meaning of the Constitution tantamount to self deception. Just wait and see.  

Samsudeen Sarr,

Newark, New Jersey.

posted @ Sunday, November 01, 2009 11:48

I have to say Sam Sarr knows his people far better than I do! And in politics you will never get any meaningful change until you get leaders who believe in what they say, people with political principles. That is why I argued that both Jammeh and Chongan are principled people and would make an excellent pair to develop The Gambia – as long as they respected each other and their differences!

Look at Kenya. Kibaki replaced Moi and became WORSE! When the report into the HUGE Golberg scam (a whole year’s GDP - $12 Billion was stolen) found the loot, President Kibaki simply phoned the thief – ex-President Moi – and said “Not a good idea to bring all that money back to Kenya”. Moi agreed and said “Let us keep it in Swiss banks and share it”. Then Kibaki called the Anti-Corruption Boss, John Githongo to State House. Githongo ran for his life to UK where he remains.

Well, readers, I think The Gambia is nowhere as bad as Kenya and Chongan would make an excellent and UN-CORRUPTIBLE Prime Minister, just as Neneh MacDoual-Gaye would make an excellent and UN-CORRUPTIBLE Vice-President!

Still dreaming?