The Gambia: Dictator Jammeh Must Go!

As the winds of change blow across the world, particularly in the Middle East and Africa, Dictator Yahya Jammeh acts as if he can maintain his grip on power through fear, intimidation, and manipulation.

While the international media broadcast images of people standing up to their good-for-nothing tyrants, Jammeh sought to instill greater fear in the minds of Gambians. The national television showed him recently parading the Greater Banjul Area with a large contingent of security forces armed with rifles and anti-aircraft guns. He visited his numerous properties across town while tossing biscuits to bystanders along the highway. Occasionally, he would get citizens to line up and give out the equivalent of US$45 to each one of them.

When online activists and a new group working underground intensified their efforts, the dictator called a meeting with independent journalists to try to repackage himself. It came too late, as questions about Deyda Hydara's death and the disappearance of Chief Manneh, both journalists, continued to dog the repressive regime. Rather than improve the President's image, the event further illustrated his government's disregard for basic human rights.

Attempting to divert attention from his wrongs is nothing new to Jammeh. As the economy bottomed about five years ago, he suddenly started talking about his cure of AIDS. That deflected a lot of international and domestic focus from the country's economic woes and suffering. Another time, he shifted to debate about homosexuals and how he planned to cut their heads off in The Gambia. And with his mentor, Gaddafi, under attack he delivered a strong message calling for the Libyan leader to step down. It wasn't received well, as Jammeh is known to have sent agents from the notorious NIA to Libya and set up a movement modeled after Gaddafi's. The ruling party even adopted green as its colour. In essence, Gaddafi and Jammeh were birds of the same feather. Ultimately, the reaction was: great message, worst messenger.

As if that wasn't enough, the fake professor joined the chorus of voices against the idiotic Pastor Jones for his burning of the Holy Qur'an. It came several weeks after the incident was first reported, but conveniently at a time when his pal, Laurent Gbagbo, of Ivory Coast was on the verge of being pulled out of his bunker. The rationale: get Gambians and the international community, particularly the Muslim world, to talk about my stance on Qu'ran burning to deflect calls by“troublemakers” who say it's his turn to step down.

Just last night (April 13), Gambian state TV sent an unmistakeable message to those planning to protest by showing a security crackdown against anti-government activists by Venezuelan security forces. Gambians are now very familiar with the dictator's ways. If it's not a staged event, or dabbling into some issue of little relevance to the Gambian people, then we expect a concocted coup or a hunt for witches. Then why should we now be surprised by the off-the-wall and silly statement couched as Gambia's position on Ivory Coast? The guy is very well aware of the mass movement that's growing around him and is trying everything to preempt it. He has engaged in these sorts of outrageous acts before.

The difference now is that we have had enough. We are tired of saying to others that we are from Zambia so they would not ask questions about our crazy professor doctor president; we are tired of a buffoon ruling the Gambia as his personal property, destroying many lives along the way. Enough is enough! Dictator Jammeh got to go now.