I must confess that I have not known Mr. Alkali Conteh personally but what I know is that his mother has brought into this world a worthy son – a son whose great sacrifices immensely contributed to the defeat of official banditory. A son who is as solid as a Rock. All his attackers should have taken care of their low self-esteem, inferior complex and thin skin sickness rather than hauling insults on a Clean Citizen.
When the fight to dislodge the Crazy Dictator was at its peak, Alkali Conteh was bold enough to organise the Gambia Conference for Democracy and Good Governance in Raleigh, North Carolina. He had throughout stood his grounds during the fight against Yahya Jammeh, despite being stabbed on the back several times. Alkali’s comrades conspired to elbow him from leading the CODEG even though he had invested heavily in its establishment. All what these comrades hated was Alkali’s tribe (Mandinka) and party (United Democractic Party). They brought back the old game of “let Kafoo Boys (referring to Mandinkas from the hinterlands) build before we take over.” They took over and their next goal was to knock down anyone who was loyal to Alkali. Innocent Jainaba Bah, Gambia’s Ambassador to Russia, became a victim of this plot. For them to operate and put spanners at work, a smear campaign was launched against Sister Jainaba. But this boomeranged on them when fearless Jainaba fought back with more firepower. The plotters achieved their goal of getting a non-Mandinka, non-UDP man on top in the person of Dr. Abdoulaye Saine. The costly mistake to alienate Mandinka brothers made it hard to sell CODEG to the people of a majority Mandinka country. CODEG went on its knees without achieving a single success. Because the body was not properly set up, bad blood settled in and never left. CODEG meetings became so polarised that the chairman struggled to restore order. I am not going to name names but there was a senior executive woman who insulted a male executive member in Norway. If CODEG is truthful enough to provide audio recordings of the meetings, the public will get full account of what I am writing about. I don’t write to throw mud on others. I want to defend the truth, and in so doing paint a truth picture of an innocent man.
Alkali Conteh is a God-gifted bold leader who was able to rally rebel UDP diaspora members towards Adama Barrow. I am not a UDP member but I can swear that Maryland enemies penetrated the party through some gullible diaspora members who were fed with false hope that Dr. Isatou Touray is a favourable candidate to beat Yahya Jammeh. They didn’t conduct any survey to substantiate their claim. Their only goal is to deny a UDP candidate victory. This plot was the last straw on a camel’s back because the same plotters had earlier destabilised the UDP. The story of Lion Politician Lamin Waa Juwara and Dodou Kassa Jatta serve as evidence. It was the same people who set up the late Solo Sandeng to protest. They lied and betrayed Solo, failing to rally their family members as promised. The same people have quickly traveled to the Gambia after a change of government to scramble for jobs and continue to shatter the UDP. These are highly sophisticated bulldogs who are ready to use their own sisters to trap their preys with sex. It is the same bulldogs who swear to spew bad blood between President Barrow and Foreign Minister Ousainou Darboe. It is the same people who ate the ears of Uncle Ousainou Darboe to be mindful of Alkali Conteh who, according to them, came to take over the UDP. Let UDP diaspora members prove me wrong if they didn’t send Alkali to the Gambia with a strategy paper on party restructuring. Was Alkali not so frustrated that he left for the United States only to be called back by President Barrow?
Although I don’t agree with President Barrow on everything but I admire him for appointing the likes of Alkali in our crisis-laden civil service. The man is a true Patriot who teaches us that silence is the best weapon to get into the skin of your enemies.
Mr. President, I don’t think you will be carried by the man-made storm waving on Alkali. Spare him for obvious reasons: he is more than an asset for you and the country. The enemies who hate to see him occupy a post in the Public Service Commission have unfortunately succeeded in pitting some gullible UDP members against Mr. Conteh. I am a Serer who admire Mandinka bravery, uprightness and honesty but I am saddened that these social media freak Mandinkas are destroying their own brothers in the open. I agree with one elderly Mandinka man that “we need to instill the culture of what it means to be a Mandinka in our young people.”
To sum it up, I am convinced that Alkali Conteh has not offended anyone, including Fatou Camara who came with the latest dirt. Alkali, stay calm and remain collected because a silent majority supports you 100%. Your mother’s prayers on you have been answered that’s why even those with uncountable baggages in their backyard have the guts to frame you. Even prophets have gone through it but truth defeats falsehood.
Ndey Sarr
Serekunda
Ends
Thank you Ndey Sarr for laying it out straightforward. The Gambian people are tired and done with the politics of character assassination. UDP members and supporters must be careful about those pretending to be on their side.
The divisiveness and negativity is a shame. I saw a video of Fatou Camara going crazy for almost an hour yesterday on facebook – and then she went crazy again on Freedom Radio while Pa Mbai played her like a pin-pong ball! Fatou even threatened to “take the law into my hands”!
I don’t know Alkali Conteh other than to say that I defended him when he was attacked after he organised the Maryland gathering. I told his attacker to “put up or shut up” on the pages of Maafanta … and that was when some Gambian nick-named me “Luntango Suun Gann Gi”. Of course, I followed, corresponded with and admired Jainaba Bah. I wish them both well in serving the new Govt of their country.
Thank you Ndey. May you live longer for defending the truth. We should not fold our hands and allow a few disgruntled persons to destroy our heroes.
Fatou Camara is a sellout, she has no sense of direction and lacks decency. At least Alkali never wine and dine with the cruel dictator. Since losing a seat at the TRRC the lady harbours anger against anything or anybody.
Fatou is like a political virgin who attacks or praises based on others’ desires. In a nutshell, she is clueless and ignorant. How can she accuse Alkali of denying her a job. Please Fatou learn to talk to an elderly person. You can only bark until smoke comes out of your mouth.
Another point; the UDP Diaspora Strategy paper was adopted in 2015 and its concern with reinforcing the party’s ongoing efforts, at the time, to push for electoral reform and ensuring a level-playing field. It also seek to enhance the capacity of the party’s women’s wing. These issues had been overtaken/overshadowed by events, mainly the arrest of the national executive members, the coalition issue and of course the presidential election and it’s favourable outcome. Thus, it is misleading to say that Alkali had been sent to Gambia to discuss a strategy paper on re-structuring the UDP.
I made my points and rested. We will enjoy our freedom if we argue based on substance. I will write about anything as long as Kairo News gives me the playform. I’m an independent and mature woman who hates calumny. I will be glad to have a column on this paper to address rampant male bickering in our society. I need to allocate time for it. It’s democracy, let’s spice it up with our hand and mouth.
Whatever Alkali does – good or bad – he will not be spared. He is carrying out his job effectively. Too much petty politic talks in town.