Fatoumatta: History will remember President Yahya Jammeh, among others, for enacting significant legislation banning the harmful cultural and traditional practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and ensuring quality and fair representation of women in positions of political leadership within the executive, judiciary, and legislature branches during his rule. I will recall several aspects of Yahya Jammeh’s presidency, two of which are particularly noteworthy to me: In contrast, former President Yahya Jammeh drew criticism for appointing women to 60% of political positions in his Cabinet and the civil service while appointing and nominating women for several high-profile Cabinet and legislative roles. Yahya Jammeh’s courage in promulgating the law prohibiting Female Genital Mutilation modernizes our democracy by empowering women and minorities in government and dismantling the fascist institutional backbone of representative democracy and competition.
Yahya Jammeh certainly does not leave anyone indifferent; he is a character of literary stature who would command a formidable presence in the works of García Márquez due to his unique nature and burlesque practices. Indeed, he is a man of excess, capable of fascinating or repelling.
During his twenty-two years in office, President Jammeh undertook grandiose construction projects: he expanded the road highways and upgraded the Banjul airport, established Gambia Television, and founded the Gambia’s first university. His appointments were also groundbreaking, including a female Vice President, more than dozens of female permanent Secretaries, female magistrates and justices,female Speaker,duputy female Speaker and female Secretary General and Head of the Civil Services for the first time. Moreover, he revolutionized our diplomacy by diversifying Gambia’s partnerships, especially with Asia and the Middle East. Jammeh’s tenure brought a boldness of excess to the country, as President Jammeh elevated national pride by empowering women in top leadership appointment in the Foreign Services. He firmly believed that the finest things and talents were Gambia’s women’s rightful claim. To this end, he recruited a generation of diaspora professionals, entrusting them with key responsibilities within his government.
Yahya Jammeh was adept at destruction. A vivid personality, he sought to obliterate Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara’s twenty-nine years of prudent governance by succumbing to unrest that plunged our country into dire straits. Yahya Jammeh acted as a gravedigger for the state, amplifying the cult of wealth, allowing corruption to soar to unprecedented levels, and placing the machinery of repression at the forefront of public affairs management abuses people’s human rights,one of his major governance deficits. The Kanilai native instituted mediocrity as a governance standard by assigning ministerial roles to individuals who had never been employed before.
Beyond Yahya Jammeh’s oppressive rule over twenty-two years, the most significant threats to civil peace, democracy, and freedom in Gambia were posed by the Supreme Islamic Council and several populist Salafist clerics and imams. They chose to segregate Gambians based on ethnic, moral, and religious lines, exacerbating national divisions and fomenting civil discord.
Fatoumatta: In politics, it is a competition for answers to citizens’ questions. The debate is consubstantial with political matters and must remain within the framework of the law and civility. Except that, we cannot ask fascists to comply with the laws of the Republic. Because everywhere, their ultimate objective is to ensure that the Republic, which guarantees justice, freedoms, and equality, collapses to give free rein to the most savage violence. By looking at populist imams and their allies over the years incited marginalizing the Ahmadiyya faith and inciting violence against the Ahmadi community, who called for the return of the death penalty and the application of a Fatwa against journalist( Imam Fatty issued a Fatwa against Demba Ali Jawo in 2003), I had detected his fascist DNA, his violent methods, his speech tied to hatred and his imagination coming from the populist and Islamist worlds which combine to create a dangerous cocktail for the rule of law. The Islamic populist clerics and its organization, through its methods, remind those interested in the history of fascist ideas of the squadristi, the famous “black shirt” militia in the 1920s, who installed Mussolini in power thanks to the March on Rome of 1922. The summons in the pulpits and media engagement on FGM and inciting violence is a perpetuation, certainly involuntary, of this fascist-populist tradition.
In its existence, the populist imams and their organization were marked by a disdain for pluralistic democracy, an aversion to debate, and the divisive nature of its leaders. These leaders readily invoked the image of the religious martyr, driven by a totalitarian ideology that was often propagated by its members. Many of these members emerged from minor Salafist or Brotherhood factions that were nurtured in schools, particularly at the University of Gambia, where they viewed politico-religious activities as an extension of Islamist proselytism. It is imperative for the Gambia government to engage in dialogue with both the Supreme Islamic Council and the populist imams to assume responsibility. This involves halting the desecration of republican institutions, permitting democratic freedoms, and restoring public discourse to a healthy exchange of ideas rather than a morbid rivalry. The Gambia must not condone a movement that masquerades as religious yet functions solely as a populist mechanism, consistently employing language that incites verbal aggression, insurrection, hatred, and misogyny.
Numerous Islamic clerics and their followers on social media have made it commonplace to insult and incite sectarian violence within our public sphere, adopting the tactics of religious extremism, and frequently engaging in inflammatory rhetoric and persistent calls for violence. Intellectuals, journalists, politicians, religious and customary leaders, and ordinary citizens—none have been immune to the wrath of the mob that has exploited the internet, particularly to perpetrate its heinous acts.
As proponents of democracy, which has fostered a peaceful nation, we cannot condone the transformation of politico-religious discourse into a domain dominated by unwarranted verbal and physical aggression. We must not allow defamation to become normalized in democratic practice.
The incendiary orations, ritualistic incantations, public vilifications, invocation of jihad, and the barrage of insults directed at Republicans and champions of women’s fundamental rights are alarming. How has this unrestrained fascism, characterized by an intense loathing for the Gambia, been able to flourish within our democracy? How do we comprehend the allure for some of our most distinguished compatriots, self-proclaimed democrats, progressives, and republicans, towards a fascist ideology with a populist totalitarian agenda that not only exhibits misogynistic, extremist, and ethnic biases but also aims for the downfall of the Republic?
The lessons from the history of our emerging democracy are as follows: in our country, we do not gain power through populism, force against the institutional order or the separation of powers. We do not establish power through mistrust and terror. Adhering to constitutional principles, respecting the laws of the Republic, and agreeing to submit to justice are still the only ways to lead The Gambia. And that’s great news. Dissensus, within the framework of laws, is the lifeblood of democracy. It follows the confrontation of ideas where people decide in an atmosphere of tolerance and peace. A party or religious body that refuses to conform to our democratic traditions and the organization of Gambian political society has no place in our public space, regardless of the number of Imams, scholars, or activists, and the length of its support arch. Since the departure of President Yahya Jammeh, we now know who we cannot rely on among our thinkers and public leaders when the Republic is threatened. This compels us, Republicans, Democrats, and patriots, to build a strong consensus around the Republic.
Fatoumatta: Our next major challenge is to bring back into the fold of the Republic those who have been swayed by demagogic speeches. Parties, religious organizations, intellectuals, democrats and republicans who comply with our laws, and all those who are concerned about the Gambia must work together to generate ideas and dreams that can create a new vision for social progress. This vision should ensure that the Republic remains at the heart of the political and social landscape.
