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Biraago
Gambia
173 Posts |
 Posted - 29 Mar 2006 : 15:32:02
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http://www.gambiapost.net
By Yusupha Jow
I just watched Ousainou Darboe's interview on Gambia Post TV and would like to thank George Sarr for getting it up on the Portal.
Before going any further, I would like to preface this with the point that I do not know the UDP man personally. I have never met him before or even heard him speak before this interview. All my comments and opinions about him and his suitability for the presidency of this country are based on the interview he provided to the Gambia Post.
He looked quite relaxed and confident in the interview. One also had to be impressed with his eloquence, intelligence and legal savvy. These are qualities one would want in any president, especially when one takes into account the lack of them in our current president who frankly sounds like a high pitched, cantankerous child. However, upon listening to him carefully, an informed critical observer may come away with a very negative impression of the man's ability to lead our country. Count me in as being in this camp.
I do not want to pick on his entire interview. The man may be intelligent and well spoken but he is boring enough to send even the morbid into a deep, deep sleep. For me, it was an excruciating migraine but I did manage to take notes on some key areas of interest. These areas are:
1. His involvement with NADD and what transpired in regard to the breakup from the party.
2. His plans for the Gambian economy.
Ousainou's account of what transpired in NADD was very revealing but I had to listen to the interview a second time to come up with a critical opinion. The primary reason he gave for his withdrawal was what he felt was a betrayal of the MOU by the NADD executive in regard to the way a flag bearer was selected. He revealed that he had fundamental issues with some of the politics involved in the process. For example, he talked about shenanigans in the nomination process where certain candidates removed their names from the list of potential candidates only to throw their names in the hat again. He also bristled that the Executive Committee set up additional criteria for candidates when all the candidates had the qualities necessary to be flag bearer of NADD.
In listening to his spiel for leaving NADD, I came away with the distinct impression that he was so power hungry that he took offense to the fact that he was not handed the flag bearer role on a platter. While he stuck to legal parlance as much as possible, he slipped at one point and said there was a lot of hatred involved in the process. This slip left me scratching my head. Where did this come from? Did anyone express hatred towards him directly? Did anyone privately express hatred of his character? If this was the case, he gave no hint that it had occurred at any point.
Clearly, Ousainou thinks there were some elements of the NADD who did not want him to be flag bearer but I find a few things strange. Since the process of nominating the flag bearer was still ongoing, why didn't he wait for its completion before bailing? After all, his name was still in the hat when he submitted his resignation. Was his ego so big that he felt slighted by having to go through an extra step – additional criteria set by the Executive Committee? If as I suspect the answer to this question is yes, then he certainly is not fit to be president of The Gambia. Arrogance and impatience are definitely not optimal qualities one would like in a president. By the way, even after his resignation, he was part of the NADD contingent that graced Obasanjo's MOU event. One would really think that a man of principle in this position would have stayed away from the event – i.e. on the outs with NADD. Nah the man could not bear to be out of the spotlight.
I can see Ousainou's supporters coming up with the counter argument that there was too much distrust in NADD. But once again, other than the nomination process, he did not give any examples of other areas of collaboration which gave him reason to distrust the other stakeholders in NADD. So I'll just go by the reasons stated in interview.
More pointers to his potential issue with megalomania and arrogance came from his comments about a possible 'Window of Opportunity', to use the interviewer's words. According to him, while the door was open for NADD to join the UDP/NRP alliance, he was going to be the presidential candidate and Hamat would his running mate. He further went on to state that while they could join him, campaigning together was out of the question because it would cause confusion among the electorate. Once again, I had to scratch my head at this baffling statement? After all, what is so confusing about 'one Opposition'? The underlying reason for his position is clear to me. The man would rather hog the spotlight to himself – His position being jump on the bandwagon but stay out of my way. How absolutely selfish!
Ousainou's response on how he would handle the economy was less than adequate. He was unable to address our economic problems comprehensively from a high level and when he talked about solutions to social and economic issues he came across as a dreamer with badly thought out fantasies. When he talked about the agricultural aspect of the economy, it was the same old spiel: More orange trees, more cashew nuts, more mangoes etc. On aquatic sector, he talked about processing the fish locally. He also talked about reducing our reliance on the re-export trade.
To the uncritical observer, this may be enough but in my opinion his proposed areas of improvement simply did not cut it. What I would have liked to hear is how he intends to accomplish all of this. Nor did he talk about anything cutting edge. How about a proposal to use our most valuable resource, the River Gambia, for irrigation and transport? How about encouraging fish farms, something Senegal is heavily invested in at the moment. How does he plan to reduce the unemployment rate? How does he plan to give Gambians more equity and thus sources of credit? How about inflation? Our foreign debt? Our IT situation? The literacy rate? Electricity? Water? Most alarming, according to the man, there wasn't much involved in growing cashew and fruits. Maybe this is the case on his farm but certainly not for exportable quantities.
Ousainou Darboe is an accomplished and intelligent man, but in my opinion simply doesn't have what it takes to be president of The Gambia. He doesn't have the character to lead the country. We certainly don't want another impatient and aloof Mansa who cannot relate with the average Pateh or Samba. Nor do we want someone whose ideas are just not sound or cutting edge enough, one that parrots the same boring and average spiel.
Unfortunately, because of his arrogantand impatient traits he displayed, the man has taken the most convenient route as opposed to what is best for Gambians. I say let the chips fall where they may. Hopefully, he will come down from his self-imposed orbit and realize that the only politically expedient way to get rid of the ghastly dictator is through a coalition. Of course, that would require that he develop the ability to work in a team as well as put his ego in check.
Thanks! Yus
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blackerberry2004
69 Posts |
Posted - 29 Mar 2006 : 16:52:49
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Yus said it well. As I have often said, Ousainou Darboe is not a presidential material. He is a betrayer and a self-absorbed politician who would not be a good leader for The Gambia. Unless one resorts to politics of irrational sentiments, one cannot justify Darboe's actions. Nonetheless, he should be reeled back into NADD; otherwise, Jammeh would be the president for life. The result of which would be undesirable coups and counter-coups and civil unrest. God forbids.
Long Live NADD! |
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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2006 : 17:40:22
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I recalled this tpoic torecapitulate ourselves. However lets face the realities on the ground and prospects for a victory against Jammeh's tyranny and APRC rather than flinching on choices of the leadership crises of a united front.
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