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GON: What is in good governance?



Effective state institutions, respect for popular sovereignty, governance inspired by true, sincere and lofty vision. These are definitely essential ingredients of good governance. And they are loaded with substance that is not possible to lay out here or even in a single book. To quote Almond and Verba, good governance must be committed to the nurturing of “a pattern of political attitudes and an underlying set of social attitudes that is supportive of a stable democratic process.” In the practice of good governance is implied an enlightened understanding of the many facets of development as well as the acceptance by those who govern, that they are there to govern, not to rule. They should promote the power of the people and show maximum respect for the rights and lives of the people. They should be uncompromising adherents to the rule of law and due process, and must dedicate significant and effective energy and resources to ensure the existence and proper functioning of effective institutions of state, a healthy and balanced separation of powers, and the protection, development and intellectual empowerment of the people. Good governance also implies that there are periodic, peaceful, and orderly changes of the country’s top leadership, even within the ruling party itself.

GON: Coming this far with the Jammeh era, what can Jammeh do to correct his wrongs, if at all something like that is possible?



Well, unfortunately, most wrongs committed under Jammeh’s stewardship are incorrigible. Jammeh cannot bring back Deyda Hydara. He cannot bring back the victims of April 2000. There are certain deeds of his that he cannot reverse, that he would have to answer for, somehow. But he can avoid doing more harm to himself and the Gambian people by becoming a living expression of the lofty and humane ideals of the Holy Quran, which he professes to love so much that he carries it with him all the time. Unless he has already mortgaged his soul to the devil and knows that he is going to hell, I don’t think Jammeh would carry the Quran just for show, which he appears to be doing. The Quran does not permit any person to say that he will kill another person, unless the parties are in a physical state of war. The Quran does not permit powerful persons to pass judgment on other persons based on mere suspicion or personal bias. The Quran requires that where a person or a group of persons are proven guilty of taking other people’s lives, justice should be seen to be done. The relatives of the victims are entitled to some form of compensation through the judicial process. I am thinking here particularly of the student victims of the April 2000 massacre. A commission of inquiry and coroner’s inquest reported clearly that the students were shot dead by soldiers. Some names were called. To this day, not one of those named have been sanctioned by the law. Jammeh forced everyone to swallow his own opinion on how to put that case to rest: bury it six feet deep. So what I’m saying is Jammeh should demonstrate through his comportment, his words and his deeds, just how much he respects and practices the teachings of the Holy Book that he carries everywhere. That would be a good start.



On a more mundane level, he can have all the draconian media laws repealed so that there would be healthy freedom of expression and debate. He can fulfill his promise of putting a term limit in our constitution and stepping down for another APRC member to run for president in the next elections. That would be a good thing. Above all, he can start keeping an open mind and entertaining the possibility that he could be wrong and unjust in some of his words and deeds. It’s easy to invoke reasons of state and profess to be a pious man; but it is even easier to succumb to the impulse to transgress, particularly if you know you can get away with it.



GON: Gainako is privy to the fact that you participated in the review of
the National Constitution during the early days of the A(F)PRC, among
others - the late Doctor Lenrie Peters. What was the setup like?



A point of correction here. I never participated in a constitutional review commission. I participated in the National Consultative Committee, which was chaired by Dr. Lenrie Peters of beloved memory. I was called by then Justice Minister Fafa Mbye who explained that the AFPRC government wanted me to serve on this committee. I was assistant editor of the Observer then and had written a lot of articles on the coup. The NCC’s terms of reference were simply to sound the opinions of the Gambian people by explaining to them the pros and cons of military rule and then asking them to state whether they wanted the transition period to last for two years or four years. Our report indicated that over 50 per cent of Gambians were in favor of two years. The AFPRC accepted our recommendations to hand over to a civilian regime in 1996. To our utter dismay and contrary to their promises, the AFPRC leadership decided that they were now civilians and handed over to themselves. I am sure Dr. Peters and most of the other members of the NCC agreed to serve on it because they believed that Jammeh and his guys were serious about handing over to a new civilian regime. As everyone knows, we all were sorely disappointed.

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