Gambia Still in Our Minds
January 24 2017 By Abiodun Giwa
Few among West African leaders, who made Jammeh accept leaving peacefully (Courtesy: ConciseNews)
There has been no news that President Adama Barrow of Gambia has returned to Gambia from Senegal, where he has been holed before his inauguration in Gambia's embassy there.
No news either about the time he is likely to return to Gambia. However, the world has been shown soldiers' photographs, while they jubilate following their entry into the presidential palace, after Yahya Jammeh's unceremonious departure.
The immediate question prompted by the photographs of soldiers in the Gambia's presidential palace was why were they jubilating? Was there any encounter or resistance at their entry into Gambia from Senegal? Wasn't Jammeh's departure more of a diplomatic victory than warfare?
The news said that the soldiers entered Gambia from Senegal and that they did not shoot a single bullet, because they were restrained by instructions from powers above to allow peaceful negotiation between Jammeh and African leaders, who were busy in efforts to get him to leave.
People cannot get the rationale behind the soldiers' entry into the presidential palace, other than following the farce that has gained currency, that whenever a leader becomes unpopular and leaves or abdicate, beneficiaries tend to want to show the world they have done what has never been somewhere else before. Did the soldiers needed to celebrate their entry to prepare the palace for Barrow"s arrival, and couldn't that be done without fanfare?
The second development in Gambia after Jammeh's departure is about the missing $11m from the country's treasury, said to have been misappropriated by the departing leader. Barrow and his representatives said that technicians in the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank have confirmed this.
The ink with which reporters took notes of the Barrow and his representative statement about the missing chunk of money had not dried, when Halifa Salla, another of Barrow's adviser later questioned the theft story. Still, people who know how governments' administration all over the world say that if Jammeh actually has withdrawn large amount from the treasury before his departure, he would not have done it alone, since he cannot have been the only signatory to the country's bank accounts.
Knowledgeable people say all that Barrow needs to do is to come home and begin to govern, rather than making spurious allegations from abroad, when he has not even the chance yet to scrutinize the country's account books.
They say if Barrow finds there have been pilfering by Jammeh after he settles down to govern, investigation will begin with Jammeh's likely collaborators, and that making weird noise from abroad will help those collaborators sense danger and flee the country. When those collaborators flee, there will probably be no one to hold accountable in their various capacities, who may have helped Jammeh into the country, coffers, as claimed by Barrow's men.
No news either about the time he is likely to return to Gambia. However, the world has been shown soldiers' photographs, while they jubilate following their entry into the presidential palace, after Yahya Jammeh's unceremonious departure.
The immediate question prompted by the photographs of soldiers in the Gambia's presidential palace was why were they jubilating? Was there any encounter or resistance at their entry into Gambia from Senegal? Wasn't Jammeh's departure more of a diplomatic victory than warfare?
The news said that the soldiers entered Gambia from Senegal and that they did not shoot a single bullet, because they were restrained by instructions from powers above to allow peaceful negotiation between Jammeh and African leaders, who were busy in efforts to get him to leave.
People cannot get the rationale behind the soldiers' entry into the presidential palace, other than following the farce that has gained currency, that whenever a leader becomes unpopular and leaves or abdicate, beneficiaries tend to want to show the world they have done what has never been somewhere else before. Did the soldiers needed to celebrate their entry to prepare the palace for Barrow"s arrival, and couldn't that be done without fanfare?
The second development in Gambia after Jammeh's departure is about the missing $11m from the country's treasury, said to have been misappropriated by the departing leader. Barrow and his representatives said that technicians in the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank have confirmed this.
The ink with which reporters took notes of the Barrow and his representative statement about the missing chunk of money had not dried, when Halifa Salla, another of Barrow's adviser later questioned the theft story. Still, people who know how governments' administration all over the world say that if Jammeh actually has withdrawn large amount from the treasury before his departure, he would not have done it alone, since he cannot have been the only signatory to the country's bank accounts.
Knowledgeable people say all that Barrow needs to do is to come home and begin to govern, rather than making spurious allegations from abroad, when he has not even the chance yet to scrutinize the country's account books.
They say if Barrow finds there have been pilfering by Jammeh after he settles down to govern, investigation will begin with Jammeh's likely collaborators, and that making weird noise from abroad will help those collaborators sense danger and flee the country. When those collaborators flee, there will probably be no one to hold accountable in their various capacities, who may have helped Jammeh into the country, coffers, as claimed by Barrow's men.
