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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Dec 2007 : 07:26:54
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In case no one notice.sam sarr wrote a very nice piece of his thoughts on the tribal politics in the gambia.he absolve himself of any sort of tribalism and went on to name former prominent Gambians (ppp) guys and ncp members of tribalism.he also absolve his own father of any tribalism.now he wish to start a discussion on the genesis of tribal politics.
to my humble observation,he miss the plot.he entangle himself deep in no man's land and start making the topic about himself.some people are so full of them self.one comentator told me ,''sam is an exhibitionist and some one wanting to say to some thing but no one seems to be taking notice''.i wrote a rejoinder but i am not sure if my old friend sankareh will spoil the fun for sam.i await untill later to day ,then i will drop mine here in bantaba.
read this piece carefully and with an open mind.
then make your comment.
http://www.thegambiaecho.com/Homepage/tabid/36/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/972/Default.aspx
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Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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kayjatta
2978 Posts |
Posted - 28 Dec 2007 : 08:04:46
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| Nice piece, but Sam Sarr perhaps needs to be prosecuted for his role in the AFPRC/APRC governement first. |
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Janyanfara
Tanzania
1350 Posts |
Posted - 28 Dec 2007 : 22:19:40
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| Sam needs to clarify a lot of things.Thats why I did not rule him out yet for a future accused/witness.He really has a case to answer. |
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kaanibaa
United Kingdom
1169 Posts |
Posted - 29 Dec 2007 : 03:17:52
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| And so shall he if the statement that what goes around comes around is true, if Sam can get away with the betrayal of trust which was reposed on the GNA and he being one of the senior officers of the same then no one else shall be convicted of the offenses related to the 1994 putsch.Tribalism was existent in the Gambia but it was mild compared to the current state of things ,if anything the coup added manure to the act.Can any one remember the radio broadcast of a wollof griot who openly stated that three Ms are the cause of Gambia's problems and he went to declare them to be mosquitoes mandinkoes and please add the other for me .......I am not Mandinka if anyone wants to know as i am Jola but then why is that of any significance I am a Gambian first and foremost . If a dog bites a man it makes no headlines but a man biting the dog would certainly be front page. as the Mandinka were ruling so to speak people like Sam Sarr got it as pins stuck in their bodies when they are confronted by that tribal group ;ergo blame it on tribalism .the foregoing does not in any way excuse the rash or stupid acts related to tribal attacks but i just want to advocate that tribalism was not to be faulted on any single tribe or ethnic group,were it happens the blame should be placed on the individual and not his tribe.What is is clear is that as at now there is tribe that does not have a relative married to another tribe we have gotten over that syndrome |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 29 Dec 2007 : 17:41:51
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my response to Sam for now since he is not yet finished.
A red card to sam.Sam Sarr recently authored an interesting article hinged on his perception of tribalism in Gambia. The topic, a ''genesis of tribalism in Gambian politics'' was posted on Gambia echo.com.. It is worth to mention that a topic of such high significance was started well by Sam but sadly he ended up muddling the whole issue twisting the story into some personal attacks on some of our ex-politicians some of whom deceased. He did not even pay respect to their belated souls as matter of courtesy. Samsudeen Sarr mentioned that, the PPP was created solely for tribal reasons. He also stated that the former leader and president of the Gambia DK Jawara himself was tribal. According to Samsideen Sarr ex-president Jawara later changed his attitude by accommodating to other tribes.
Contrary to what Sarr implied The Gambia is today blessed with many renown historians and elders who can better explain the early days of multi-party politics in the Gambia and circumstances that led to formation of the PPP .For me, the little knowledge I have of the history of the PPP shows that it was not a party based on tribe .The PPP I understood came into being in response to the isolation and marginalization meted out to people of the protectorate by Banjul of elites. The United Party UP was headed by PS Njie with little or inclusion of people from the protectorate. As a result of that, Jawara and some other Gambians decided to form the Protectorate People’s Party PPP later renamed People’s Progressive Party which takes its firm roots from the protectorate. The protectorate constituted mainly hinterlands of the Gambia River .All towns and villages outside the scope of the greater Banjul are referred to as the protectorate or provinces as now better known. The areas called the protectorate is inhibited by every tribe in the Gambia; Fula, Mandinka, Sarahuleh, Wolof, Serre, Manjako, Jola with their varied dialects. Now Sam wishes us to believe that it was only the Mandinka speaking populace that formed the PPP and voted the PPP into power.
Reason dictates that Sam's hold on that is wrong and full of fallacy. He manifests a dangerous thinking pattern which deserves a place in the garbage bin. The PPP had core voters among all ethnic groups of Gambia. Sarr’s bid to divide all those tribes for a political score is quite cheap. One can still find prominent Fulas, Sarahulehs, Wollof and Mandinkas who sponsored the PPP both financially and in person through their campaign trails. Yet Sam short-sightedly excluded all those people just to exhibit his misguided agenda.
In Sam's quest to start a debate of tribalism in Gambian politics, he went out of his way to name individuals like the late Dr Saho,Dr Manneh,SM Dibba of heavy involvement in the politics of tribalism. I wonder how old Sam was at that time for him to speak with the authority he spoke on the pages of the Gambia echo?
Sam also absolved his own person and his immediate family of having any sort of tribalism. He went of out of his way to narrate his fathers business and how he employed non-Wollof speakers in his trucking business .He wished us to believe that such actions are a sign of being free from tribalism. Curious observers wonder how his father's business fits in the politics of tribalism. It doesn't make any sense to clever analysts. One thing we know is that his father was not a politician. If he was Sam never mention that.
Sam vehemently doubted the doctorate degrees of both Dr Saho and Dr Manneh .In so doing Sam breaks all the rules of decency he wish us to debate the topic on. What does he want to prove by questioning the authencity of degrees of both Dr Saho and Dr Manneh?
To remain within the boundaries of his topic it falls in good place to ask the logical parameter Sam chooses to device. How relevant the tribe of both men comes into this equation beats good thinkers by measures of what Sam seeks to conclude.
Taking into account the level of tolerance by other speakers of Wollof outside of the Wollof tribe Sam is completely divorced from the facts of his own allegations. There are far more cases of other language groupings speaking Wolof very fluently compared to native Wollof speakers trying the other languages. That is due to the manifest of maturity by others and not so much because Wollof is any richer than other languages of Gambia. Any person who willingly speaks and is tolerant of other tribes is not manifestly tribalist. Again, in our Gambian context how many Mandinkas Fulas, Serrer and Jolas speak Wolof fluently and how many Wolofs speaks those languages even casually or fluently? Sarr himself is a Serrer by tribe, but he speaks from a Wolof angle, now if the Serere aren't tolerant and accommodating to the Wolof language why should they choose to speak Wolof or even adopt Wolof as a mother tongue?
Sam need to carry out a simple research into which tribes willingly speaks say Wolof without any force? Many speaks Wolof as a language not that they don't like their language or are ashamed of speaking their language but because they choose to do it freely.
Why did I choose Wolof to give as an example? Simple, Sam is writing from a Wollof angle and for that we need to put things in context. He subliminally wants to make us believe that his Wolof upbringing taught him become a better person in life while the rest, especially Mandinka speaking intellectuals and academics do not merit their qualifications. Sam what is your basis of authority? What research have you commissioned on the superiority of non Wollof intellectuals of Gambia? Will you please share your hard ground findings? .Dr Saho married a Fula wife from Mansajang bearing children with her.Infact the children of Dr Saho speaks Wolof as good as any Gambian does. Does that mean the late Dr Saho is free from the politics of tribalism? No. But it indicates that the late Dr Saho did not stop his children speaking Wollof even in his home.
Sam's own educational background. Let's do the adding up. You wrote so much but never a word about how you worked as a metal worker in the Yundum Agriculture Mechanical Workshop. What happened about the young girl who later became Head Girl in the school you once taught? Since you care to question about the qualification of others, we might as well begin the count from yourself. Since you wrote this piece in focus so much information is obtained that will now be reserved until you advance on then we carry on.
The editor of the Gambia echo may not publish the rejoinder but fortunately, there are many other mediums to disseminate information relevant to our national interest.
I do not wish to take Sam's line of debating and I have nothing against Wollof as a tribe or a language. We must all start to try our best in understanding the tribal settings of our fellow country men/women. How many of us know how the Manjakos exchange greetings, or the Balantas etc? Very few of us .Tolerance and mutual respect is part of the key to bring us closer together. May Allah make us united ever?
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Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
Edited by - Santanfara on 29 Dec 2007 17:44:02 |
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kayjatta
2978 Posts |
Posted - 30 Dec 2007 : 07:41:28
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Nice piece Santafara. I did not read Sam Sarr's article you referred to, however while i have to admit that tribe continues to affect African politics,I agree with your position that tribalism is not a driving force in Gambian politics.
I am not sure about Sam's motive for initiating a dialogue about the future of the Gambia, but I think the best way for the dialogue perhaps should start with his accountability for his role in the crimes committed by the GNA and the AFPRC/APRC.government.
I would like to add a few things to your reference to the origins of the PPP. The PPP evolved from a little known organization started by Sanjally Bojang of Brikama called "Linlahiwarasullu", later changed to "Kombo/Niumi kaffo".You probably all remembered Bojangbaa's role at Sarro during the colonial days. The initial purpose of this organization was to help the people of the protectorate (provinces) who came to Banjul metropolitan area looking for work at Sarro (GPMB) and other places. The assistance was mainly limited to burial and other religio-cultural circumstances.
When the British were ready to transition the Gambia into a republican self-rule,Chief Sanjally Bojang and others convened a meeting at his house in Brikama to form a political party based on the organizational structure of the Kombo/Niumi kaffo. Sanjally Bojang was the founding father of the PPP. Their biggest setback was illiteracy in English, so they had to summon the leadership of the small educated class. Their first choice was Dr. Marena of the U.N.(Jawara was not even at that meeting). Dr. Marena declined the offer, but said that he has a friend in the person of Dawda K. Jawara, then a young ambitious graduate from Glascow University in the U.K, who might be interested in political leadership. That was how Jawara came into the scene and selected as the leader of what has now become the Protectorate People's Party (indicating its rural or provincial origin).
As Jawara became entrenched in power and started co-opting some of the big names and influential people in the Banjul metro it made sense to then change the name of PPP to the People's Progressive Party. This name-change kind of nationalized the PPP and purpotedly ended its regional and class affiliation, although the PPP continued to enjoy wide support in the rural provincial areas. I think Jawara also tried very hard to reciprocate this massive support of the rural dwellers who were largely poor farmers by utilizing various tactics such as supplies of free food (Jawara mano), scholarships and government positions to DESERVING children of the provinces, and the annual 'Meet the farmers tour'.
So afterall, i think the PPP was not representative of tribe . Rather it was more representative of class, but by the time the PPP was ousted by Jammeh in 1994 it had evolved a lot from its earlier nature.
I hope this adjoiner enriches this discussion. Thanks.
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Edited by - kayjatta on 30 Dec 2007 07:43:52 |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 30 Dec 2007 : 08:30:32
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| thanks kay for that historical master piece.you are very right.the ppp was form in sanjalli's house.samsideen will dorge all questions relating to his role in the now imfamous coup.he is what many army personel call an 'arm chair colonel'.he love his military background so much ,that is the only picture we see of him in the echo.but in reality what distinguist service did he provide to the gambia when the need arise ? i can't see any.still today kay many urban dwellers can't come to terms with the fact rural folks have done good in both education and businesses,they thought we the rural masses are meant to be occupying the lower socail ladder .that is part of the problems the likes of samsideen is sufering from.look at his arrogant comments he made against a dead person.who he barely knew.dk jawara's first wive was an aku,his second a fula from basse lady chiley the daugter of famous fula business man momodou musa njie and his third wife presumably a wolof ,njeme .yet sam call such people tribalist.i hope the likes of kondorong ,karamba etc can enlighten us concerning this very sensitive topic. |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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concort
365 Posts |
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Nyarikangbanna
United Kingdom
1382 Posts |
Posted - 30 Dec 2007 : 16:10:03
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I think it ought to be remembered also that the Late Hon. Numukunda Darboe was one of the few influential provincial Mandingo men who backed Ps Njie and his United Party up till the time of his death despite their differences in tribe and religion, the late Hon. Darboe being a Mandinka and Muslim and Ps Njie a Wolof Christian, and the urge for all influential provincial men particularly Mandingos, to rally behind the PPP to salvage the rural dwellers from the spite of the Banjul elites. Today, some rogue and disingenuous Gambian Diasporians are, for political reasons, throwing insults on Hon. Darboe's memory by trying to paint his well discipline, well brought up, well educated and very patriotic son a tribalist. This is absolutely shameful and ungodily despicable.
I think the aim of the likes of Sarr is just to fan the flames of Mandinkaphobia. This is absolutely clear in the manner they go about making their arguments. I am inclined not to go any further since I always see a disturbing potential threat to our national security and social cohesion any time these mandinkaphobic sentiments are being drummed.
I love the Gambia and I want it to remain in peace with her diverse people and giant neighbor, Senegal. I therefore urge contributors to be responsible enough not to offend the sensitivities of others.
Thanks
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I do not oppose unity but I oppose dumb union. |
Edited by - Nyarikangbanna on 30 Dec 2007 17:10:25 |
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ylowe
USA
217 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2007 : 04:54:23
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| I said this here before nyari that Ousainou cannot be tribalist due to the reasons mentioned above but some members of udp might be tribalists.Looking at the time when Grand pa Numu kunda was with PS i believe tribal politics was more common and if he said no to that at that point in time then we can say that the man was seeing beyond alot of influencial citizens. Bravo to the man for not seeing tribe at that early age of our political history. |
Edited by - ylowe on 31 Dec 2007 04:56:40 |
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ylowe
USA
217 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2007 : 08:02:02
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quote:
Originally posted by kaanibaa
And so shall he if the statement that what goes around comes around is true, if Sam can get away with the betrayal of trust which was reposed on the GNA and he being one of the senior officers of the same then no one else shall be convicted of the offenses related to the 1994 putsch.Tribalism was existent in the Gambia but it was mild compared to the current state of things ,if anything the coup added manure to the act.Can any one remember the radio broadcast of a wollof griot who openly stated that three Ms are the cause of Gambia's problems and he went to declare them to be mosquitoes mandinkoes and please add the other for me .......I am not Mandinka if anyone wants to know as i am Jola but then why is that of any significance I am a Gambian first and foremost . If a dog bites a man it makes no headlines but a man biting the dog would certainly be front page. as the Mandinka were ruling so to speak people like Sam Sarr got it as pins stuck in their bodies when they are confronted by that tribal group ;ergo blame it on tribalism .the foregoing does not in any way excuse the rash or stupid acts related to tribal attacks but i just want to advocate that tribalism was not to be faulted on any single tribe or ethnic group,were it happens the blame should be placed on the individual and not his tribe.What is is clear is that as at now there is tribe that does not have a relative married to another tribe we have gotten over that syndrome
Mam Bella said the three M'S and what he meant was Mandingos, mosquitoes and monkeys. He was a good historian and used to be on radio Gambia. He later paid the price for saying that because he was banned on radio gambia for his deragotory comment. I have a question for you too and that is why was the radio broadcast changed from english, wolof and so on to English, madingo? i dont want to hear the majority argument because it dont stand for me. It was like english, wolof for decades and because radio was not trasmitted throughout the gambia and most listeners lives in the greater banjul area. Changing the sequence at that point send a message to the wolof speaking and other tribes that the mandingos are in control. i just think that wasn't necessary what do you think? |
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kayjatta
2978 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2007 : 09:53:14
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| That change was misguided, Ylowe. I think it was authorized by Dr. Saho (if I recall, any corrections on this?) then Information and tourism minister. It was politically motivated I believe. |
Edited by - kayjatta on 31 Dec 2007 10:15:09 |
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Nyarikangbanna
United Kingdom
1382 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2007 : 11:57:26
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Ylowe, I am not trying to defend or criticize what has been done to Radio Gambia Newscast shedule. What I object is the way some of you go about making your arguments. You all sound like if for thirty yrs of Jawara's rule the wollofs were systematically persecuted. I think this is nonesense. In fact the civil/public service was mainly controlled by wollof men. Almost all Ambassadors were wollofs, most permanant and deputy permanant secretaries were wollofs. There has never been a mandingo secretary-general or commissioner of the Public service Commission compared to the wollof's Mustapha Wadda [ my former boss], Alieu Ngum and Tamsir Demba Mbaye, there has never been a mandingo Attorney-General compared to the wollofs Fafa Mbye and Bamba Saho. Also, there has never been a mandingo speaker of parliament compared to the wollofs Sir Alieu Sulayman Jack and Momodou Boubacarr Njie [BP]. This list can go on and on. So if the message is 'Mandinkas are in charge' as you put it, why do they allow these non-mandinkas to hold all these key powerful position in the civil/public service?
I think mandinkas promote social cohesion more than any other tribe in the Gambia. How many middle class wollofs married a mandingo woman compared to the number of mandingo elites who married wollof women? Even my uncle whom I have lived with since I finished primary school, married a Banjul wollof. Her children can speak better wollof than mandinka although they can communicate fairly well in the latter and yet they are my blood counsins and their mother my dear anunt. This kind of examples exist in many mandingo homes in the gambia. The same can be said of very few or no wollof homes particularly the banjul wollofs. So if you say a mandingo minister had knocked down a wollof newscast for tribal reasons, you can find a mandingo who will come out with numerous counter arguments of the kind above. Yes, tribalism exist in the Gambia and its from both sides but it is a very mild one. What you people are doing is blowing it out of proportion by fanning the flames of mandinkaphobia for nasty political reasons. This is shamefully dangerous.
Coming back to the radio Gambia issue, both tribes have held the profolio of the information minister during Jawara time. In fact the last person to hold the post is a wollof, Alkali James Gaye. If there were no good policy reason behind what Saho has done, why didn't minister Gaye reverse the decision? Again this is not to condone or condemn what had happened but only to dismiss the notion that mandinkas had a larger stake in the jawara regime than the wollofs. I think that is poposterous and pervasive. Yes, there were powerful mandinkas, the likes of Saihou Sabally but there were equally many powerful and influencial wollof elites. Think about the sara janhas, Kelepha Sambas, Badara Njies, Momodou Boubucarr Njie[bp] Abou Denton, momodou Bob, Sir Alieu Sulayman Jack, this list can go on and on.
You just forced me to write but really I do not want to entertain this topic for reasons stated in my previous posting, and I would like to apologise anyone who may be offended by anything I said above.
Thanks |
I do not oppose unity but I oppose dumb union. |
Edited by - Nyarikangbanna on 31 Dec 2007 13:21:34 |
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kayjatta
2978 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2007 : 12:31:58
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| You are right Nyari. I personally think that tribe is not a significant factor in Gambian politics and social life... |
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ylowe
USA
217 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2007 : 21:29:55
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Nyari,
All that i am trying to say is that the change wasn't necessary and it send the wrong message and it might have been politically motivated as mentioned by kayjatta. The gambia belongs to all gambians regardless of tribe.
i am wolof but i can assure you that you dont speak better mandinka than i do. i can sit in a group of mandinka speaking you wouldn't recognise that am not mandinka and plus am married to a mandinka. i am the new paradigm who doesn't see tribe but there are some issues that we need to talk about. Jawara was not tribalist and plus he got no choice to exclude other tribes cause they will resist or possibly take him out of power just like yahya did. When the message got to jawara about the three M's and he did not take it seriously in fact he made a joke about and that how mature he is. Tribalism does exist and am fortunate enough to see it from both angles the wolof angle and the mandingo angle. |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2007 : 23:33:11
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ylowe,that is precisely my point.samsideen label some people tribalist who went out of their way to marry into non-mandinka families.what better way to show your tolerance than marrying into a tribe different from yours ? i did mention that in the rejoinder to sam.some strong personalities were wrongly label as tribalist simply because they seem invincible and big headed.but the reality is different.the gambia is quiet different from kenya.so sam was making wrong comparison all along.men from jarra are usually known for there marrying into wollof families .many malian families resident in banjul in the early days all melted into wollof .names like konateh,trawally,saho ,etc are not your usual wollof family names but today,go to banjul and try to locate this malian family roots .for me the most tolerant tribe in the gambia is FULA .fulas are the major tribal group that can speak good wollof and good mandinka.the tribe that will very unlikely get married into another tribe is SARAHULEH.this are my observation.i was brought up in a sarahuleh village.they are very close in terms of tribal setting.
the early prominent mandinka settlers in serrekunda and banjul get absorbe by the dominant wollof speaking groups.i can name many well known mandinka men whose children cannot speak mandinka.i mean many.why was that? i can't tell.but what we the present generation have to do is ,accomodate one another and be proud of our collective heritage.name a famous mandinka with two wives ,and all of them being mandinka.not there.from dr suso,ousainou,sajor bayang,lawyer jobarteh,the late tambajang and countless others .this people show how accomodating we ought to be.what sam was trying to say was that the ppp was full unwelcoming mandinkas which was bull**** at best.my family never supported ppp. |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
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