IS GAMBIA LUCKY?

In the last 48 hours, Nigeria’s warship NNS Unity has been found sailing ruggedly towards Senegal, a neighboring nation to curfew locked-in Gambia. This is also in similar dimension with the Senegalese troops who are already moving closer to the Gambian border in a bid to forcefully oust dictatorial Gambian leader President Yahya Jammeh from power. Jammeh, who lost  in the December 1, 2016 elections that produced Adama Barrow as the president-elect of the country  initially conceded defeat after the elections to Barrow but  later publicly rejected the outcome of the elections and will not be handing over. This has triggered uproar particularly by neighboring states and the international community who feels that the desires for life presidency by African leaders like Mugabe and Jammeh is insulting the conscience and consciousness of Africans.

                                                

With the many deliberations going on with Jammeh by African leaders to ensure that he willingly hands over, we need to thank God for counting  Nigeria worthy of a leader that desires to fight for the completion of a democratic process. It takes a man that has lived in such atmospheres to understand what Nigeria is doing for Gambia at this level. Sincerely, I wish to say that Gambia is lucky for several reasons.

First, 2 leaders in Nigeria, Generals Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida and Sani Abacha have ruled Nigeria without handing over to a democratic government in 1993 and 1998 even when they had all the opportunity to do so. Lives were lost in protests. The media vented her anger with the pen. Prodemocracy activists were locked up and many outspoken leaders fled into exile . Virtually all meaningful structures collapsed but there was no African country that was ready to face these 2 Nigerian leaders and help remove them.  Times and seasons might truly have changed but Nigeria could also stay afar from Gambia now, imposing sanctions upon sanctions that only bite on the poor and never scratches Jammeh..

Second, The Gambia like Botswana and Uganda has on more than one occasion picked her lead bench from Nigeria. From the time of Justice Udo Udoma who was Chief Justice of Uganda, through Justice Wowo (who went to Gambia to disgrace us) to Justice Emmanuel Oluwasegun Fagbenle, a Nigerian,  who is currently the Chief Justice of the Gambia, The Nigerian bench by producing good judges, is once again helping Gambia, indirectly but through legality and firmness to ensure sanity and order in the country. 98% of positions in Nigeria are filled by leaders who are mostly victims of chronic materialism and systemic corruption. The same Nigeria that supplies The Gambia with excellent, principled and experienced judges has a judiciary that has been filled corruption where any matter can be negotiated. I keep wondering what makes most Nigerian experts function so professionally until they step into MMA.

Gambia is lucky because a former president in Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan decided to hand over to a democratic government after conceding defeat at the 2015 elections. With that, not only has Nigeria transited into a new democratic dispensation successfully, but has alternated democratic governments, something that has never happened since Nigeria’s independence. It is upon this feat that Nigeria developed the moral impetus to not only challenge Jammeh at those ECOWAS meetings but also to join other West African countries against this undemocratic warlord.

Gambia is lucky to have a president-elect that believes in going to exile after winning an election. Nigeria was not that lucky. While I am not against president-elects who believe otherwise, I still feel that human life is just a life to a blood sucking dictator. It has no meaning. Whether that life is that of a president-elect or a chicken is not an issue. We had Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, president-elect of the Nigerian 1993 elections that stayed home to fight and died (or was killed) in prison,  who many kids born after 1998 know almost nothing about him today. He just sounds like Shakespeare or Ajayi Crowther to them!

Lastly, Gambia is lucky to have neighboring nations that are financially and militarily ready to support her even in economic recession. Even the United Nations is supporting Economic Community of West African States in ousting Jammeh. Then and now, Nigeria still has more  neighbors that need her for economic dependence so much that talking about Nigeria’s stability is more like a needless espionage. Mind your business and get what you need is still the rule.

It is becoming important to African leaders that your life is at stake when your neighbours wall is ablaze. We are beginning to feel it that if Niger or Benin republic is economically impoverished, there is no way border  cities like saki, ilaro, idiroko Mubi or Chibok will not feel it. We are beginning to know that if your neighbours are hungry, you can never curb smuggling and needless importation, a major enemy of economic growth and manufacturing. It is becoming glaring to Africans that without democracy, there can be no rights!

As Nigeria’s NNS warship sails ruggedly against Jammeh with  Senegalese  and other west African armies pushing terrestrially and aerially against  another beast of no nation, I stand tall to say I feel proud to be a Nigerian. As Barrow gets sworn in secretly today, we await the backing out of the10^th minister, of more  military heads and a speech from our own Justice Fagbenle for Barrow’s  full inauguration in Banjul even as this west African army marches triumphantly against the soon-to-jammed-dictator. Aluta Continua, Victoria Ascerta!

Nigeria's Warship, NNS Unity sailing on ruggedly to oust Jammeh( Photo credit:Channels TV)