‘No development for Opposition supporters’

Since I left Gambia some 10 months back I have never come so close to feeling good about President Yahya Jammeh’s government as I did in the early hours of this morning, Wednesday 14 July, 2010. But little did I know that this feeling of glee would be short lived.

Such is the routine when you affiliate with Yahya Jammeh. Don’t get me wrong, there are indeed a lot of good attributes about the man, but… Anyway, there is this proverb that goes: ‘Bad habits are easier to abandon today than tomorrow.’

The reason for my short-lived delight was the sight of photo of the newly constructed Sankulay Kunda Bridge on the front page of the Daily Observer newspaper. No doubt it is a remarkable achievement for the government.

But the major gaffe of the day on my part was that I did not read the content of any of the articles on the day’s edition of the pro-government paper. As a matter of fact, that has been a habit even while I worked there. Some of the stories are so unbearably bizarre that reading through them only set off soreness in your consciousness.

This is how I failed to notice Yahya Jammeh’s statement declaring no development for communities that support the opposition. It makes one wonder if this is not the same Yahya Jammeh who swore on the Holy Qur’an that he will govern “without fair or favor…”

"I will never work for any opposition in this country anymore and I will not beg you…whether you join the APRC or not I will win," Jammeh told thousands of supporters who had gathered under the burning sun to welcome him.

Let’s assume Yahya Jammeh has a genuine reason to be angry for not getting the support he desires. But those people who gathered out under the burning sun, don’t they deserve better than the insults they got for only coming out to receive him?

We read that Jammeh got a rousing welcome in North Bank. If that is so, then why does he sound so obviously disappointed with the people of the region?

"…whether you vote for me or not, I will win and I will not beg you the people of North Bank Region, especially Salikene and Njaba Kunda to vote for me. If you want development you have to join the majority and support me but if any area chooses to be with the opposition, let them go ahead and expect no benefit from my government.”

It makes me want to ask the question: how would you win, Mr President, if Gambians do not vote for you?

But hold on, if you have been following Gambian politics for some time now these words wouldn’t come to you as a surprise as it has been Jammeh’s policy from the word go, and he never misses an opportunity to reiterate it.

But one thing we must put at the back of our mind is this sentence of his: “I will not campaign for 2011 election.”

We shall see if Yahya Jammeh is a man of his words… 2011 is right at the corner.

I will close with another proverb: “What soberness conceals, Drunkenness reveals”