My Response To Dr. Sallah

Dr. Sallah
Dr. Sallah/www.heacademy image

By Max

It’s better for you to target laws and policies that promote oppression of Gambians

The approach taken by Dr. Momodou Sallah in regards to Gambian struggle. He described The Gambia as a country “where there is adequate food, clothing, shelter and the opportunity for the pursuit of happiness. A Gambia where the ordinary people are the custodians of a free and democratic society underpinned by the principle of social justice.”  

The above statement or approach is what every decent and patriotic Gambian wants to see in The Gambia. This is why majority of us are contributing to help our families, friends, neighbors and employ thousands of Gambians in our various developmental projects so that they have food on the table, accesd quality health care, good shelter and pursuit of happiness as described by Dr Sallah. This is a vision of all political parties, militants and even some ruling APRC supporters. In other words, it is a universal vision which we all ascribed to, aim and want to see The Gambia in that position. This is my personal visiprootherwie I can sit here comfortably and enjoy my life to the fullest since I am lucky to have good education and great career. But each of us see The Gambia where we all belong no matter where we are. Diaspora is playing a huge role in this Vision which I highlighted in my article”Gambian Diaspora Holds The key to Ending Dictatorship” published on August 3, 2015.

We all know that oppression is seriously connected to poverty, and underdevelopment which are all interconnected to personal, cultural and strutural factors as was rightly pointed out by Dr Sallah. Poverty, ignorance, and lack of opportunity are also problems which contributed to institutional and political oppression (military dictatorship) we currently have in The Gambia. However, these are also the same issues along with lack of political rights, freedom of speech, bad governance, poor economic growth, corrupt judicial system, and human rights abuses which resulted from political oppression i.e military dictatorship.
Majority Gambians prefer nonviolent resistance which is why we engage in peaceful demonstration, civil disobedience, education, raising awareness and information warfare.
The structural or institutional oppression is what is more pronounced in The Gambia today than ever. Never in our history, we have seen such an institutional or authorities abuse of citizen’s fundamental and human rights as well as massive corruptions with total impunity. Institutional oppression has greatest influences on all other forms of oppressions such as personal and cultural oppression because there is no adequate laws or policies that would encourage social justice or address these issues. Better government or institutions will help in this effort to eliminate or discourage oppression. This is because when we have right authorities in our government, they can come up with right policies and laws which will help in good governance, better human rights situations and better economic development for all. Better laws and policies can be become overriding strategic regulatory and effective means to greatly reduce some of personal and cultural oppressive forces we inherited. This is because these personal and cultural oppressions are learned behaviors which could change over time with appropriate laws and policies. The military dictatorship essentially contributed to this personal and cultural oppressions more than anything because it is in the interest of the dictator to divide, discriminate, intimidate and instill fear so that he can continue to oppress us. As a result, Tribalism and preferential treatment becomes new cultural norm or new normal.
I do not believe that oppressed people can quickly change their conditions through “sustained capacity building at the personal and cultural level” without changing the very system which essentially contributed to their oppression. Therefore, it becomes fools errand to engage in such endeavors when laws and policies which promotes such a backward and oppressive system are in placed. Such sustained capacity building should be part of policies when oppressive system is changed. This is why despite numerous efforts by international development partners there is no significant progress in the lives of ordinary people in The Gambia and Africa at large.

Therefore, I would call on Dr. Sallah to think about strategic vision targeting the laws and policies that contribute to the oppression of Gambians. Engaging in works such as education of young people and serving disadvantaged groups are all good things.  I am proud of you and I commend you for that. Thank you.

Ends

18 Comments

  1. Correction, please look at this article in the second paragraph , this sentence should be ” this is my personal vision otherwise I can sit here comfortably and enjoy my life to the fullest since I am lucky to have good education and great career”

    The words vision and otherwise were too closed , please make that changes . Thanks

  2. The broader picture is, for all to see, comprehend & envisage the Murderous kanilai Tyrannical Oppressive tendencies in Gambia, such as Mr Sallah has acknowledged; he chooses his contributions to the Struggle in capacitating food sufficiency in his NGO work on the ground in Gambia; he’s allowed to select & tactically engage in contributing his quota to end murderous tyrannical oppression in Gambia…

    As comrades, we must be flexible, to allow all, to choose own degrees, levels & areas of involvements, in our noble engagements in the Struggle….

    Some of our options are more impactful, than others but all genuine Gambians, friends & International Community must work together to uproot the Murderous Tyrannical kanilai Manipulative Syndicate, committing heinous crimes against humanity in Gambia & subregion…

  3. “I do not believe that oppressed people can quickly change their conditions through “sustained capacity building at the personal and cultural level” without changing the very system which essentially contributed to their oppression. Therefore, it becomes fools errand to engage in such endeavors when laws and policies which promotes such a backward and oppressive system are in placed.”

    I read Dr Sallah’s piece and I highly commend him for the initiative he has taken out of his own volition to contribute in helping to change the social conditions of the people through a ” sustained capacity building at the personal and cultural level.” He could have chosen not to do otherwise, or not to do anything at all, and still fulfill his duties and obligations as a responsible citizen in other ways.

    I don’t think it is fair to put the burden of changing the oppressed conditions of the Gambian people on any Gambian whether that person is an intellectual or not if that person does not, and is not willing to, shoulder that responsibility.

    Those who want to shoulder that responsibility have willingly accepted the challenge, and they have not waited for anyone to ask them to do so. They have out of their own volition decided to give up their “terranga” in life, and turn their backs on any prospects of having international appointments, being part of academia, running lucrative businesses or accepting key positions at the national, regional and international level.

    They choose to stay at home with the Gambian people and follow the evolutionary course of helping to change their oppressed economic and social conditions through the agency of politics and political activism.

    Any other person who wish to do likewise can also do so through the agency of politics and political activism. But it is a choice that nobody should be forced to make; it should be out of one’s own volition, level of commitment and sincerity to be of service to one’s people. A sacrifice that one willingly gives of oneself.

    Let us not try to find scapegoats. We know what our problems are. We know how and who are the people to solve them.

    Let us give our support to the people who have already pledged “their lives, their honor and their wealth,” to the cause of liberating the Gambia from its economic and social oppression, and we will see what a difference it will make.

    .

    Such sustained capacity building should be part of policies when oppressive system is changed. This is why despite numerous efforts by international development partners there is no significant progress in the lives of ordinary people in The Gambia and Africa at large.

    Therefore, I would call on Dr. Sallah to think about strategic vision targeting the laws and policies that contribute to the oppression of Gambians. Engaging in works such as education of young people and serving disadvantaged groups are all good things. I am proud of you and I commend you for that. Thank you.

  4. Agree with you Bajaw…

  5. Luntango Suun Gann Gi

    Agree with you Kamalo.

  6. The decision to be actively prominent or not to be actively prominent; To be active or not to be active in this “struggle”, etc, should be down to personal choices….After all, “Personal chioce” is an essential ingredient of “Democracy” and the concept of “FREEDOM OF CHOICE”…

    Whilst I commend the author of the original piece that provoked Dr Sallah into a good response, I must point out that an effort that was probably meant to engender dialogue and understanding, is once again exposing the undemocratic tendencies of some contributors here, and by extension, some elements in this “struggle”.

    Indeed, divergence of opinion is also an essential ingredient of democracy, but when such divergence is treated with disrespect, disdain or attracts insinuations of one sort or the other, then the whole concept (of divergence of opinion as a pillar of a democratic society) is defeated and becomes unachievable by any society because such attitudes are a manifestation of anti-democratic tendencies or dispositions..

    I don’t want to make contributors the subject of our discussions, but it is important to point out that individuals who wish to react or respond to views expressed by others, must first understand what is being said before they make their counter views known..

    Otherwise, they risk missing the points been made or even worse, misrepresenting the views expressed and this is evident in the cases of both Lafia and Maxs…

    Continued….

  7. @Lafia…”Look Guys, he’s made it clear; he is not concern with the removal of Jammeh. He will even be happy having jammeh remain in power as long as Gambians have enough food on the table and there is social equality in the country- a typical socialist mantra……”

    Comment….This conclusion could only result from completely missing the points that Dr Sallah made in his response..(propably because he is a Sallah)

    I think Lafia should go back and read the piece carefully again…Then he will be in no doubt that Dr Sallah’s “struggle” is far superior to his (Lafia’s) struggle, “the totality of which is the removal of Jammeh..” Period.

    Maxs, on the other hand, did not only miss the points made but also misrepresented the views of Dr Sallah by attributing to him what he has not stated…

    @Maxs….”He described The Gambia as a country “where there is adequate food, clothing, shelter and the opportunity for the pursuit of happiness. A Gambia where the ordinary people are the custodians of a free and democratic society underpinned by the principle of social justice.”  

    Comment…This claim above is erroneous and a misrepresentation of what Dr Sallah has stated….Dr Sallah NEVER described the Gambia as alleged by Maxs…Instead, what he stated was that……

    “My Gambian “struggle” is to see a Gambia where there is adequate food, clothing, shelter and the opportunity for the pursuit of happiness. A Gambia where the ordinary people are the custodians of a free and democratic society underpinned by the principles of social justice….”

    The two are completely different..I hope that people will take time, when they wish to respond to views expressed, to fully understand what is being said…

    • Luntango Suun Gann Gi

      My in-law “Bax The Dreamer” says:

      “… I hope that people will take time, when they wish to respond to views expressed, to fully understand what is being said…”

      Luntango says: Bax you are too kind! The “misunderstandings” & the “misrepresentations” are DELIBERATE.

  8. Bax , if you carefully observed my article I have indicated the approach taken by Dr Sallah in regards to Gambian struggle , then I went further to describe his approach as ” a country where there is adequate food , clothing, shelter and opportunity for the pursuit of happiness. A Gambia where the ordinary people are the custodian of a free and democratic society underpinned by the principle of social justice”

    I also made referenced to above descriptions by this statement below
    ” the above statement or approach is what every decent and patriotic Gambian wants to see in The Gambia ”

    Bax , clearly you can see I have given credit twice in reference to his approach, that is before and after the descriptions of his approach. So where is error and misrepresentation of what Dr Sallah has stated ? I think you should be fair even when you disagree with my view and give credit where it is due . That is good way to present your honesty and integrity to be assessed . It is intellectual dishonesty to distort someone’s view. I respect Dr Sallah’s view but I totally disagree with his approach because majority are doing that everyday .

  9. Dida , you are not serious. Where is misinterpretation ?

  10. @Maxs. ..”It is intellectual dishonesty to distort someone’s view.”

    Comment….Are you being serious..? Did I distort your views..? I quoted your own words and those of Dr Sallah to show that you misrepresented his views…

    Dr Sallah is talking about his Gambian “struggle”, which one could say is his “dream” for The Gambia, whilst you are claiming that “he DESCRIBED” The Gambia, “as a country where there is adequate food…….”

    (“described”….meaning: he gave account of the current characteristics and qualities of The Gambia)…..
    That is a MISREPRESENTATION of his view…

    I have not commented on the rest of your comments, so I could not have distorted your views…I merely pointed out how you misrepresented his views…

    Let’s show.some humility Maxs…

  11. Maxs…

    I also think that you missed the points that Dr Sallah made (though I may be wrong..the audience will be the judge) and that was why you raised some of the questions you asked, even beginning thus :

    @Maxs…”It’s better for you to target laws and policies that promote oppression of Gambians.”

    If you had understood what Dr Sallah stated in his response and did not miss the points that he made, you would probably not have made this opening statement about “targeting oppressive laws and policies”…

    My reason is that Dr Sallah has shared his “thinking” on oppression, underdevelopment and poverty and how their interconnection exist at THREE different levels : the personal, the cultural and the structural..

    He briefly described the PERSONAL as, ” the direct discriminations we experience at the personal level;

    The cultural he stated, “becomes the normality that shrouds our local and communal construction of reality…”

    And the structural, he told us, “can be understood to be the power structures that legislate and enforce normality…”

    It is clear to us all that the interactions of the people at the personal, communal and institutional levels with the system, is not only what has facilitated the entrenchment of Jammeh’s dictatorship, but this is what is keeping it alive and still surviving…

    One could therefore say that Dr Sallah understands the nature and characteristics of the dictatorship and the factors that facilitated its entrenchment and its continued survival….

    His approach to achieving his “Gambian struggle”, contrary to what you think, is far superior to those whose struggle ends with the removal of Yaya Jammeh, but are not interested in ending poverty, poor governance, inequality, abuse, sycophancy, etc..

    Because his approach targets the very factors/elements of society that are essential to dismantle Jammeh’s dictatorship first, and to never again facilitate the emergence of another dictatorship…

    Continuation…

  12. Luntango Suun Gann Gi

    Bax said: “Let’s show.some humility Maxs…”

    Luntango says: LOL – dream on my in-law!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  13. Dr Sallah’s approach, he told us….,

    “has been influenced by a desire to promote a nonviolent disruptive pedagogy to challenge the construction of normality within given spaces young people and marginalised communities occupy in The Gambia.. ”

    This approach is centered on “capacity building” and he.provided us with rationale as thus…

    “My view is that we must build the agency of the ordinary Gambian to be best placed to be the custodians of their own development and advancement…..

    “This calls for sustained capacity building at the personal and cultural levels; which should lead to structural changes….”

    “Capacity building” can be achieved in almost any area and one should not make blind assumptions and then respond on those basis…

    I think the fundamental error you made was to.assume that Global Hands International was just like any NGO that provides food, clothing and shelter to the needy.. hence you wrote,…

    @Maxs…”This is why majority of us are contributing to help our families, friends, neighbors and employ thousands of Gambians in our various developmental projects so that they have food on the table, accesd quality health care, good shelter and pursuit of happiness as described by Dr Sallah….”

    I have visited the website of Global Hands International (Gambia) and have noted that they are engaged in preparing and equipping young people with (amongst other things) skills and knowledge to deal with daily living in The Gambia and the wider world, rather than.provision of food, clothing and shelter..

    Here is an abtract from the website…

    Quote…”We believe that there are two key elements to building sustainable development socially, politically, environmentally and economically…..

    “The first stage is to provoke people’s consciousness in order to generate a new understanding of the world and their place in it….

    “and the second stage is to support people build their capacities to address issues that affect them… ” (end of.quote)

    “Oppressive laws and.policies” affect people and if Global Hands International is “building their capacities to address issues that affect them”, how can.anyone state that they are not targeting “oppressive laws and.policies”…

    Some people, like.my humble self, just “talk the talk”, by criticising the regime at every given opportunity , but others “talk the talk” and “walk the walk”..

    Dr Sallah falls in the latter category and that is why I “take my hat” off to him..

  14. Ebrima Janneh

    Some of our Gambian intellectuals replete with glittering titles can only be referred to as ‘intellectuals gone astray ‘ from the perspective of Gambians freedom struggle. One sometimes wonder whether some of these well-intentioned intellectuals are aware of the degradingly institutional failure, right abuse, disappearances and death are direct result of autocratic governance in the Gambia, thus man made.

    A system where citizens are not certain of their faith once they utters a free opinion. A country where one man is a source of all authorities, intervening at his own discretion in all aspects of people’s lives. The press exist merely as an outlet for government propaganda. Bribery and corruption becomes a way of life as means of earning a living. Can our so called intellectuals thus explain to us how setting soft charities masking their cowardice can free the Gambia from such a condition?
    Freedom struggle is not merely a question of running charities and sending deputations but of militant mass actions and above all, the willingness to suffer and sacrifice. Anything short is hypocrisy.

    If they fail to give service to their country supplicating thereof. Then they should know they’re abdicating their responsibility. But to come out and insulting our intellect by telling us that you doing charity and that will some day free Gambians from bondage is pure hypocrisy.

  15. Ebrima Janneh , you explained it better.
    Bax, I think as usual you are arguing with yourself lol. Are you serious of saying ” his approach to achieving his Gambian struggle contrary to what you think , is far superior to those who struggle ends with the removal of yaya jammeh , but are not interested in ending poverty , poor governance , inequality , abuse , sycophancy etc ”
    Well Bax , your these statements above is an indictment of all those in the struggle including pdois and others parties . Can you tell us who are those people or groups who are surely interested in jammeh’s removal only but are not interested in ending about poverty , poor governance inequality ,abuse, sycophancy etc ? I think in this case again you have put your foot in your mouth just like when you offered your personal sympathy to family members of Aprc government officials without any sympathy to real victims of this regime.
    Are you suggesting that we should all set up charity organization as a means to fight oppression ? Because that is what Dr Sallah is doing . We are helping thousand of Gambians every year by providing them with food , clothing , shelter and payment of school fees and medical bills.
    Don’t you know that the consequences of military dictatorship is poverty , poor governance , abuse , inequality , sycophancy ? Then how can we be interested only in jammeh’s removal without ending the very consequences he created . Come on , use your brain to connect the dots . Think before you write.

  16. Maxs…How is my statement an indictment on “all in the struggle,.including PDOIS…?”

    You must be naive to think that everyone in this struggle has the same intentions for the country…

    Wake up Maxs and stop fooling yourself… Some want change but only in faces and personalities in government…

    They will be quite happy to relapse into the old system.that brought the.coup in.the first.place..and probably lead us into another one…

    Hasn’t Burkina Faso relapsed back into.military rule, barely a year.after breaking the yoke of military dictatorship.?

    More lessons,yet again, for The Gambian struggle but sadly, many don’t heed warnings…

  17. Bax, I hope you are following Burkina Faso latest events . As I told you , when people rise up and demand what is right , they ultimately get it . This is why I said we should be targeting laws and policies which created oppression . Going by your anti-demonstration or protest stand by this statement below , Burkina Faso military leader would still be in power.

    Bax said ” I know a lot people are obsessed with demonstration because they want action regardless of the consequences and outcome , but the opposition leaders are responsible people who are also conscious of their duties to behave and operate responsibly . I don’t think they will call for demonstration just for the sake of it and I hope they never do ” . ,

    Are you also going to say that leadership who called for demonstration in Burkina Faso are not responsible leaders ?

    It is the leadership which inspire and motivate people to fight what is right . I hope you learn something past week.
    Burkina Faso and Gambia has exact the same situation . However their situation is even more complex than ours . Their former Dictator had more security than our despotic and paranoia Dictator . Jammeh rely on not more than 100 men to defend him , even among those people I know many will not sacrifice their lives for him if there is a protest or demonstration. Our regular military is as oppress as ordinary citizens . Jammeh has small militia forces within the military and majority of these people are recruited from his tribe from casamance .

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