Crime and Punishment

So Jammeh’s office announced in a press release that they have discovered “one of the most serious economic crimes” during his nearly 22 years of rule. From the sound of it, this is epic and unprecedented! If this is "one of the most serious economic crimes” under his watch, I wonder how many other “serious economic crimes” are there and what is their level of seriousness? This also probably means that nothing of this magnitude (or even close)  has ever happened in the history of The Gambia. 

When the junta came to power, they claimed to be "soldiers with a difference" and promised to wipe out corruption. This was the basis of their coup. They accused the previous government of all sorts of economic crimes and arrested folks willy nilly. But it did not take long for them to prove that their claims were false and they came in pretense. Soon after, former Finance Minister, Koro Ceesay, was  assassinated for attempting to be an obstacle when the junta wanted to dip their ashy hands into the cookie jar. 

The “soldiers with a difference”, who were God sent under the leadership of Jammeh to wipe out corruption, ended up perfecting it; and now the “most serious economic crime” in the history of The Gambia has happened under Jammeh's watch. Chei lee! Who knew! Somehow, economic crimes have been happening for a while now with folks getting arrested and jailed, but it never ceased, and now the ultimate has happened?  Is Babili sleeping at the wheel or is he the architect and beneficiary of these economic crimes? Remember, this is “one of the most serious economic crimes”, there are other serious ones too.

Now this leads me to my main question: where does the buck stop? Is Jammeh ever responsible for anything besides living a flamboyant lifestyle and chastising Gambians day in and day out? After all, these serious economic crimes have been happening under his watch for 22 years now. Everyone and their mama is getting arrested for crimes they have committed, suspected of committing, or falsely accused of committing. See, no amount of arrest can hide the truth! A system built with lies will crumble under the weight of those same lies.

They claimed to be “soldiers with a difference”, but they never disclosed whether that “difference” was good or bad, and now we know it is all bad! It is that “difference” that brought us the brutality we are now facing, the daily dose of hassteh and disrespect from Babili, the never ending threats we receive, and is now unraveling the fabric of our society. What a difference soldiers can make! Did Jammeh commit any crimes and who will punish him?

A Lost Generation?

As human beings, we are shaped by our environment/culture, especially during the critical period  of

our lives (from early childhood to  before we hit adolescence). We do pick up new values after that (good or bad) based on our exposure to a new culture or environment. And if we are not exposed to anything other than what we know, we don't get a chance to learn something new and different.

For most Gambians that were under the age of 13 in 1994 (when Jammeh came to power) and those born during his rule, what Jammeh brought us is pretty much all they know, for the most part. A culture of public hassteh, intimidation, and crude insults. They grew up watching "dear leader" insulting the entire population while  mothers and fathers clap for him and continue to support and chase him around. So to this generation of Gambians, this is normal and acceptable societal behavior. So unless there is Devine intervention to help one refine their prospective, they stand no chance!

And what we see in Bai Babou's behavior is a direct result of the culture Jammeh brought us. If you watch the video he made claiming the audio was fake, and the subsequent video in which he softly admitted to wrongdoing and apologized to his fans, you will notice that his baseless arrogance, body language, and temperament, are exactly like Jammeh's. This is what he grew up seeing and thinks it's normal. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't have enough exposure or maturity to be able to refine his prospective.

Crudeness should be punished not rewarded. Jammeh was rewarded for his crudeness by Gambians, and look at what they have created now. Jammeh is insulting our mothers and fathers while they clap for him and laugh at his crude and disrespectful bad jokes.

My question to Gambians: is this what we value and reward as a community? Mbalax jarrna lee? Is Bai Babou's music education? Fahass? Gambia yaga neng njor fahass teh teye la gaina ponday! "Sen nangamtani ndey, mann yen rek la heef." Heef purr lan hana? Take the pacifier out of your mouth first before you can eat! Talent doesn't guarantee success. We have seen many talented folks who failed (from our artists to our soccer players) because of their lack of discipline and their foul temperament. If we don't raise our standards, we will remain in a perpetual state of confusion. Have we lost an entire generation to the Jammeh madness?

Gambia Nice

Nice is not nice sad is sad brutal is brutal

Intimidation insults threats beatings and arrest

Rape torture forced-disappearance and murder

Night so dark and impenetrable no one noticed 

Gambia nice!

Mass graduates in all disciplines heeming ataya

With degrees in hand fanning furrno

Employment seen at the furthest galaxy far far away

But will the backway get them there? Who knows!

Gambian nice!

Mandinkas about to be smoked like crack

To satisfy an addiction that’s further deepening 

Announced on loudspeakers and TV for all to hear

Interpreted in different languages and applauded

Gambia nice!

Sweet memories of big truck jew baa front and center 

When dust was kicked in the air forming a blanket of cloud

Dusty choices abundant and there was no going wrong

Ndeysan, balpuserr we miss you and please come back home

Gambian nice!

Cost of living a permanent resident in cloud 10

Too high for marijuana to lift and get you there

Alcohol has no smoke to attempt to elevate you to higher heights

Down to earth you remain to face the full wrath of reality

Gambian nice!

Free healthcare education and benechin 

River flowing and washing in prosperity to the shores 

Youths happy healthy vibrant and thriving

Prayers answered and fortunes raining from the sky

Belie walie talie Gambia nice!