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Momodou
Denmark
11644 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Mar 2007 : 13:08:41
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FOCUS ON POLITICS
INDEPENDENCE, THE TASK THAT LAY AHEAD
By Suwaibou Touray
Continued from: http://www.gambia.dk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3242
To start from our topic "politics," we must first of all understand what it means. Most of our politicians at the time do not understand that politics is meant for the individual life, that the aim of politics is to make the lives of individuals as good as possible; that a politician is not to consider anything above the men, women and children who constitute the populace under his/her jurisdiction or even in the world beyond; that politics is to adjust our relations as human beings in a way that each of us may have as much good in our lives as possible.
According to Bertrand Russell, political institutions are to be judged by the good or harm that they do to individuals. What economic system should we adopt that would not concentrate initiative in the hands of a small number of very rich men and leave the rest very little choice as to their actions or activities, or leave them to play the role of passive citizens who would not have any initiative, despite their profession or trade. How do we involve our people to participate in the political life of their country. Could we have a democratic system which would allow divergence yet respect the difference in opinion to accommodate the minority?
To quote Robert W. July, President Jawara had presided unobtrusively over an improbable prosperity in Gambia. Were our leaders aware of that and did they take cognizance of that state? There were relevant questions at the time such as, could the African regain control over his/her own ways of life and could he assert his independence as a human being, as a black person in what was considered as the white dominated world.
Economically, what road would Gambia take considering the fact that the imperialists system gives little room to other backward countries like ours to develop? And even where we accept to tail them and become their neo-colonial regimes, do we have a way out? These are all questions which must be thought of by our independence leaders. Did they ponder over the fact that by the 1970s the country had very few high schools, only one tertiary institution, The Gambia College teacher training institute and very few graduates?
The population of The Gambia was small in size but abject poverty that robs a person of conscience also abound, how could we eradicate human being's worse enemy, poverty?
The Gambia was mainly an agricultural country and mainly depended on groundnut production for exports but the people also depended on subsistence farming to grow just enough for themselves and their families. How could this cycle be broken? Have our leaders pondered over this reality?
The colonialists built only about 50 miles of tarred roads from Banjul to Brikama. From Brikama to Basse has been described by some writers, at the time, as the dustiest road in West Africa. But the colonial regime left behind a river boat the "Lady Wright" which ply between Banjul and Basse carrying passengers and goods. Could that be sustained and developed to generate revenue for the country etc? Cargo liners were also available to transport groundnuts from the provinces to Banjul for onward export to Britain. Were we prepared for independence psychologically now that we are free? Were we prepared to be responsible solely for our affairs without looking up to big brother England for every little national decision?
We have started with a democratic system of government and our objective was to establish a democratic state that would accommodate each citizen to have not only a say but to participate in the actual running of the country either directly or indirectly.
The 1970 constitution emphasised that no one has a right to govern this country without the concerns of the people. It also emphasised that those who have our consent to govern this country are not our kings or masters or monarchs but our servants. Did our leaders took heed to the fact that they have a duty to serve us and we have a duty to scrutinize their service, and if we are satisfied, we maintain them but if we are dissatisfied we remove them? The democratic method is to remove them through the ballot or to replace them through the same vehicle, the ballot. Have our leaders accepted that method? If yes, have they created the right vehicle or level field and not the flawed one that would make it impossible for the people to remove them through that channel?
Have we worked hard enough to enlighten the people to know that in politics, it is the Nation which is more important than the religion, or the language or the tribe or the gender or our individual relations with one another? Do we let every one know that each of us, irrespective of any other considerations, contribute to the national treasury which is eventually utilized to provide the roads, hospitals, schools etc for all of us. Do we know exactly why we select representatives to the National Assembly, councils etc, and why we select a president and the precise role of that president. These questions would be examined in detail to ascertain whether the PPP under Sir Dawda Jawara who took the mantle of a democratic Republic in 1970 has performed to expectation or not.
Continued: http://www.gambia.dk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3282
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 026/2007, 5-6 March, 2007
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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