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Momodou
Denmark
11644 Posts |
 Posted - 24 Mar 2007 : 15:06:52
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FOCUS ON POLITICS
GAMBIA FROM A DEFACTO ONE PARTY TO A MULTI PARTY DEMOCRACY
With Suwaibou Touray
Continuation from: http://www.gambia.dk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3364
By 1975, many countries were undergoing military coups d’etat on the continent of Africa. Military regimes changed hands in places like Nigeria. Places like Uganda and Zaire were experiencing brutal military dictatorships. Many countries were really one party states and even others could be described as Autocracies such as Malawi under Banda etc.
In The Gambia one could say there was in 1975, an official opposition in parliament which was neither active inside nor active outside. The united party was led by Mr. Pierre Njie who because of his refusal to attend parliament lost his seat when the parliament enacted a law against absenteeism, eventually depriving him of his seat.
Now that a younger, more ambitious former minister, Mr. Sheriff M. Dibba split with the PPP, established his party to challenge the very party he had not only nurtured for more than a decade but claimed also to have been a founding member, one would have expected him to unravel not only the secrets but also to demystify and counter PPP’s tactics.
Now that the contest was between two outstanding personalities, one a president of the Republic, the other a young politician admired by the youths for his eloquence, his immaculate garbing, and his manifested interest in the welfare of the people, there was hope that the struggle when unfolded would not only result to the watering down of the underlying ethnic tone in Gambian politics but also yield a decent multi-party environment that could portray the Gambia to be a democracy worthy of emulation by not only African countries but even beyond the African continent. Expectations were high indeed.
Two things were at stake for both men at this stage; 1) Mr. Jawara was of the view that since many parties or personalities split from the PPP and formed their own parties and many more left their original parties only to join him, he could believe that it was only a matter of time for Mr. Dibba to capitulate and also follow suit.
This was why at one rally, he and his followers propagated and/or defined the NCP symbol “White” to be synonymous with “Capitulation.”
On the other hand, if Mr. Dibba refused capitulation and went ahead with his platform, then Jawara’s tactics was to portray himself to be an accommodator of all ethnic groups as well as be seen to be championing the “Peace” and democracy course which he believed would be appealing to the populace, thereby portraying Mr. Dibba as a disgruntled element.
Mr. Dibba on the other hand saw the need to have integrity and must not allow any of Jawara’s allegations to be believed by the people. This must have been why he had to strongly refute any negative assault made by Sir Dawda on his integrity but also went to show how absurd it was for a president to dismiss a cabinet minister on mere circulating rumours.
When it became absolutely clear to Mr. Dibba that Sir Dawda would not re-instate him but was infact touring the country and making more and more negative allegations against him, it dawned on him to come out quickly and inform sympathisers of his intention to establish a party. This was in many people’s opinion at the time why the NCP came into being. It is also clear that the NCP had no ideological differences with the PPP and that was why the impending fight in 1977 was fought not on ideological principles but on personality lines.
Mr. Dibba’s campaign commenced in Busumbala on the 7th September1975. It was an old belief held by many people that as one of the oldest villages in Kombo if not the oldest, anyone who starts or launches his party with the objective of becoming a king, that person was sure to attain his objective. According to newspaper reports, thousands of sympathisers and curious onlookers turned out to hear what Dibba and his new party had to say. Mr. Dibba again clarified that he was unaware of the smuggling scandal which former President Jawara accepted but asked him to resign which he did from the Vice President’s position in order to set peace and stability in the country. He refuted Jawara’s allegation of tribalism and sectionalism as untrue and his (Jawara’s) claim that he wanted to overthrow his government as baseless.
Mr. Dibba then commenced the tour of the country starting with the Kombos, Bakau, Brufut, Sabiji, Serrekunda, Banjul, Brikama etc. Many people who claimed to be PPP sympathisers or even militants changed allegiance such as one Danso Touray of Gunjur, Pa Harley Jammeh of Sukuta and intellectuals such as Mr. Bakary Darboe also joined the ranks.
As he moved steadily into the Fonis, the militants of the PPP renewed their unlawful culture of forced interruption of opposition meetings. At Somita, the PPP militants who had no permit at all and who did not even notify the Police planned to disrupt the NCP rally by organising music (Jazz show) opposite the rally grounds. People like Mr. Filijay Nyassi and Mr. Jobarteh Manneh informed the Police after being confronted by them that they belonged to the PPP which is ruling the country and has the power and that no person has the right to interfere with their activities. According to The Gambia outlook, a heated argument ensued which resulted to a fight between the Police and the men prompting the Police to call for reinforcement.
Throughout 1976, Mr. Dibba and the NCP continued their tour of the country organizing the people. News spread that some chiefs in the provinces were warned not to allow the NCP infiltrate their chieftaincy districts otherwise it could result to their being taught with what they called “drastic lessons”. The U.P supporters in the provinces who saw their party to be ineffective or inactive began to join the NCP ranks even before any formal arrangement was done between them. Some diehard U.P militants were said to have rejected Dibba initially in places like Sutukoba for the fact that Dibba was so hard on Sheriff Sisay when the latter fell out with Jawara but eventually accepted him with a view to undermining the PPP’s domination of the political scene.
As the struggle unfolded, Dibba’s maneuvering could not be taken lightly. Jawara had to play some tactics. This was why in a rally at Tallinding, Sir Dawda was loudly heard saying that he was half PPP and half U.P; that the NCP would eventually capitulate like its predecessors before it. This must have compelled Mr. Pierre Njie, U.P Leader to hold a rally and dissociated himself from Sir Dawda completely to give focus to his supporters. In his rally at Sam Jack Terrace, he openly indicated his party’s desire to team up with the NCP to contest the forthcoming General elections scheduled for 1977. According to the editorial of The Gambia Outlook, no one could have envisaged the formation, let alone the survival of a new political party at the time. The official opposition party was slowly disintegrating. The ruling party, has spread its tentacles around the whole country confidently widening its horizons and drawing the people to its common fold. It has been noticed that the impregnability of the PPP could no longer withstand the regular and constant bombardments of the NCP, observed The Gambia Outlook.
Continued at: http://www.gambia.dk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3393
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 34/2007, 23 – 25 March 2007
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