Letter Writer Takes Issues With Lt. Col. Sam Sarr’s Reflections On Tribal Politics
Mr. Editor: Allow me space to comment briefly on the latest article authored by the eminent Mr. Sarr,' 'the Genesis of tribalism in Gambian politics''.
The topic is very important and a significant catalyst for our unity and way forward. The topic is also very sensitive and a source of confrontation among the Gambian community. Intellectually, the topic can be debated and appropriate conclusions can be derived from the discussions.
I will advice Mr. Sarr to be careful in mentioning the names of private Gambian individuals, it may proof the opposite of what he may be trying to achieve. Sam himself was a prominent Gambian and many have dealt with him on different levels, both professional and personal. Naming names may create an avenue where his own person becomes a source of diversion and distraction from the topic.
I agree with some of his narrations. No one can eliminate tribalism we most agree. Just like racism, tribalism serves as a source of comfort to some and a source of gain for others. Negative gains.
The most important thing for every Gambian is for us to continue to maintain the mutual respect, cordiality and tolerance we have for one another. We have indeed come a long from the days of the heavy CAST SYSTEM prevalent among our respective tribes. As a country, we still have a long way to go in realizing true brotherhood and oneness in our national endeavors.
What Mr. Sarr has narrated concerning the founders of PPP, some are true and others are speculations. Similarly, the Mandinkas from the outer boundary of greater Banjul were not seen to be included in the clique that existed among the founders of U.P.
The friction among our early founding fathers was not to be emulated in totality and as Sarr said ''Jawara change his stance later run''. He Jawara was seen to abandon the core members of the Gambian community that helped brought him into power. And one thing worth clarifying here, which is, those who helped and rally behind Jawara were not only Mandinkas, there were also Fulas, Sarahuleh and Wolofs from the Province’s.
Tribalism exists in The Gambia, just like Racism and classicism exist in the west. It has become the duty of us all to work on our INNER ATTITUDES AND THINKING PATTERNS in reducing the problems of tribalism.
Yahya Jammeh it is true has been put under media spot light more than Jawara and that the faults of Jawara were not overly exposed due to the limited media outlets and the fewer number of literate Gambians. But the major difference between Yahya and Jawara is their respective records of HUMAN RIGHTS .The media attention on Yahya is much to do with his curtailing of the independent media's freedom. Both Yahya and Jawara have been guilty of fanning tribal politics, but on a closer scrutiny, one will see a clear difference between the two. During Jawara's time, his biggest opponents where Mandinkas. This is vital in the discussions. The tribal tag that opponents of Sheriff Dibba label on him were not found to be credible. In NCP, there were both strong Wollof personalities and other tribes. The tribal tags level on the likes of BB Darboe and the rest were all preemption by other non-Mandinka speaking tribes.
To evidently know ones tribalism, one key indicator is the willingness for one to speak other tribes’ languages. Now in the Gambian how many percentage of Wollof speaks a language other than Wollof?
I too was recently presiding over a naming ceremony in U.K and the father of the Baby is Mandinka but cannot speak Mandinka and but majority of those congregated at the ceremony are indeed Mandinka speakers including myself. What is the solution to this problem? We decided to do the rites in Wollof because all the Mandinkas there can speak a fairly good Wollof and the Wollof audience including the baby's mother (a Wollof) cannot understand Mandinka.
Yes, it is easy to pinpoint the likes of the late Fan Nafa Saho, Dr. Manneh has tribalist, but for me i will take that comment with a pinch of salt.
Brother Sam, it is good and patriotic to stimulate this discussion and i hope many will join in the debate .For me i will wait until you conclude the topic to be in a better position to analyze all the account you stated. One thing though, every one account you gave about a prominent Mandinka showing tribalist sentiment some one will march that with a prominent Wollof showing an even bigger tribalist sentiment. The ball is in our court; it now depends on how we play it. Some of us have mix parents; it is that kind of open minded and tolerant inter-marriages that will create a better understanding among us all.
I thank you Mr. Sankareh for the space. We owe you a lot for the news and interviews. It is not easy to be in a media business, it requires lots of investment .We owe you a lot. May be one day we will conduct a fund raising for our on line newspapers. God bless.
Sincerely,
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