Twenty years down the line, we are still grappling with the meaning and significances of this revolution, which was supposedly meant to end timocracy, crony capitalism and political corruption.
It's obvious that the ultimate purpose of a revolution is to empower the masses and create a new society. However, the euphoria with which the July 22nd revolution was welcomed, has turned to a battery of disillusions: the revolutionaries shot each other's feet, leading to incarceration of the lucky ones (Sana Sabally etc), summary execution of the hapless ones ((Abdoulie Dot Faal etc), exile of the wise ones (Alhagie Cham Joof - Sir Jackal etc), and ultimately plunging the country into more or less a powerful fiefdom within the political spectrum, akin to Machiavellianism.
Consequently, this is the recipe for a failed revolution; and these events went on to serve as preludes to our suffering as a nation and further helped construct an insane system in which every Gambian becomes a potential political victim (because Jammeh's whip spares no one, even those who grease the wheels and keep the spares apart - Njogu Bah, Momodou Sabally, Benedict Jammeh etc).
Understanding that one of the most important motives of a revolution is that the revolutionaries have become wary of the existing status quo, the July 22nd revolution could have been an anatomy of a successful one, given the nature of political nomadism during Jawara's thirty-year rule: a section of the working class was marginalized and obviously influenced both by the bureaucracy left over from the Jawara's era and their de-politicization.
In other words, president Jammeh had had the opportunity to not only make a combination of prowess and firm leadership through democratizing the country, but also a revolutionary inspiration to the world and a hero to the proletariats. But, as the saying goes: 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.' So is the outcome in the case of our country.
Few years after he came to power, Jammeh succeeded in eliminating his enemies (so-called counter-revolutionaries), silencing his subjects and instituting a kind of a pseudo-socialist system (because he has bakeries, he sells sand, he sells rice, he sells meat, the list goes on) that cripples the private sector so much that the government becomes the main source of employment.
What happens next? This system turns citizens into political clients and intellectual prostitutes. And in the process of becoming clients of the state, we have been robbed of our customer rights. This is how the door becomes opened for Jammeh to view democracy but as a charade, to rob us of our wallets, and freedom.
I hold that it's a baloney to talk about July 22nd revolution in abstract, without asking 'July 22nd revolution for whose benefit'. It's a common knowledge that every country whose people have been politically and socially subjugated, needs a revolution. Not just a mere pseudo-revolution in the case of our country, but a revolution for the working class, a revolution that will eventually breed social and economic independence and introduce a representative democracy.
Former Captain Yahya JammehDuring a short stop at the Kastrups airport in Copenhagen, Denmark, I met a demographically young Gambian who came from an agrarian family, looking desperately for an answer to a question he posed me: "... I am not a politician, but when shall we be free", he asked, as if I am one. Well!! I am not a politician too, but the answer to your question is: 'whenever your father, back in your village is able to walk to the URR governor's office with a placard that reads 'where does my tax money go', I logically replied. He bid me farewell and disappeared in the crowd.
The thought that I am a utopian communist must had been pulling strings in his heart. However, his demand for a quick-fix answer to our national problems clearly exhibits how desperate Gambians are for a new revolution that will replace bellicose nationalist Jammeh and usher in a new government that will enable the popular masses to exercise their political rights as masters of state and society, and free them from all kinds of social bondages. This is not utopianism, but a reality that can be achieved.
Yahya was a closed friend to the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, until few months before he was ousted then Jammeh denounced himThe question always arise: 'How do we do this'? The answers can be very broad and therefore eludes my little political knowledge. However, I won't hesitate to state that educating the masses, building strong organizations and harnessing our efforts are key components to start with. It's important to note that the revolutionary overthrow of a government or the democratically changing of a tyrant government is but a baptism of fire.
whilst we are creating a strong network, it is very prudent to avoid the crab mentality: if you put many crabs in a bucket and one of them happens to find the way out and embarks on crawling its way out of the bucket, the ones remaining inside will try to pull the crawling crab back. This action sets back the progress of our common struggle as a people.
Jammeh is one of Africa's longest-serving head-of-statesHowever, I do have an involuntary commiseration for those who think the July 22nd revolution is worth celebrating. This day should instead serve as a food for thought, not only for the people whose freedom were stolen, but the people who stole the freedom.
I suggest president Jammeh looks for a very quiet place and sits there for few hours alone and reflects on whether it's worth it for a president to be in the helm of the government for 20 years and not creates a room for himself to remain in his own country after he is no more in power.
Mr. President, make your bed soft because you will lie down on it one day. In the meantime, happy 'July 22nd' to you!!
