THE GOOD AND BAD OF YAHYA JAMMEH

Jammeh in trademark pose with Qur'an

Yahya Abdul Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh born on May 25 1965 has cut out a style for himself as the only ruler in the world who does not hesitate to hold out a copy of the Qur’an in public places and call the word ‘Allah’ with visible pride. Yahya Jammeh came to power in a bloodless coup in 1994 at the age of 29 and quickly transformed into a civilian President in 1995. Despite losing the December 1 2016 elections to Adama Barrow and refusing to step-down after 22 years in power, there are reasons to believe that Jammeh’s rule isn’t as bad as most people think even though the 51 year old still has to leave to respect the people’s desires. This write-up will look at both sides of the argument; for and against Yahya Jammeh.  

GOOD SIDE OF JAMMEH’S RULE

Morality

In a century that has been plagued with immorality, only a few nations have stood in staunch resistance to those who call to immorality. As the wave of gay right legalization swept through the world-Africa inclusive, Jammeh made the forces behind the call realize that homosexuals had no place in Gambia. In May 2015, Jammeh upped his anti-gay stance, telling the crowd in a tour: "If you do it [in the Gambia] I will slit your throat – if you are a man and want to marry another man in this country and we catch you, no one will ever set eyes on you again, and no white person can do anything about it."

Health

According to Gambians and international agencies across the globe, Jammeh’s 22 year rule has seen great improvements in the health sector. In 2010, maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births Gambia was found to be 400, which is a mile stone when compared to 628.5 in 1990 before Jammeh took power. Findings also show that the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women is one in 49 which is among the best figures in Africa. The Gambia was certified as polio-free in 2004. "The Gambia EPI program is one of the best in the World Health Organization African Region,” Thomas Sukwa, a representative of the WHO said.

In October 2012, it was reported that the Gambia had made significant improvements in polio, measles immunisation, and the PCV-7 vaccine.

According to Vaccine News Daily:

·      The Gambia is tied for third place in Africa for measles immunisation among one-year-old children.

·         The Gambia is tied for fourth place in the world for the DTP3 immunisation for one-year-old children.

·   The Gambia is ranked second in Africa for "feverish children under the age of five who received antimalarial treatment, according to Trading Economics.

Education

Jammeh’s rule has also seen a significant improvement in the education sector. The constitution mandates free and compulsory primary education in the Gambia even though, lack of educational infrastructure has made implementation of this somewhat difficult. In February 1998, Jammeh ordered the termination of fees for the first six years of schooling since school fees was a major factor deterring parents from seeking formal education for their children. Jammeh also emphasized education for the girl child, girls make up about 52% of primary school pupils in Gambia. Due to Jammeh’s emphasis on education, in 1995, the gross primary enrolment rate for Gambia was 77.1% and the net primary enrolment rate was 64.7% which is a achievement for a West African nation and a great improvement compared to the pre-Jammeh era.

The Rich and Poor Divide

Most Gambians concur that there was gross abuse of power during the rule of Dawda Kairaba Jawara which saw unabated corruption and an ever increasing gap between rich and poor. According to provisional figures, Jammeh’s rule has seen a change in this trend as the 2003 census show that the gap between the urban and rural populations is narrowing as more areas are declared urban. The figures also show that urban migration, development projects, and modernization are bringing more Gambians into contact with civilization. A contributing factor to this is the low import duties and minimal administrative procedures which Gambian proletarians have enjoyed under Jammeh’s rule.

Regional Stability

As a member of ECOWAS, the Gambia under Jammeh played an active role in the efforts of ECOWAS to resolve the civil unrests in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Jammeh had also sought to mediate disputes in Guinea-Bissua and the nearby Casamance region of Senegal. Gambian forces under Jammeh have subsequently participated in several other peacekeeping missions including in; Bosnia, Kosovo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, and East Timor. Jammeh contributed 150 troops to Liberia in 2003 as part of the ECOMIL battalion and in 2004, the Gambia contributed 196 soldiers to the AU-UN Hybrid Darfur mission. International affairs experts, Paul Williams and Alex Bellamy, classify the Gambia as a Tier 2 peacekeeping contributor. The NYU's Center on International Cooperation describes the Gambia (under Jammeh) as a regional leader in peacekeeping.

African Voice

Yahya Jammeh pulled Gambia out of the Common Wealth group of nations in October 2013, calling the group and extension of colonial rule that brought no benefit to African nations. The Common Wealth is a an Organization comprising of 53 former British colonies. Jammeh also pulled the nation out of the ICC having the belief that the organization was created to make a mockery of African nations since it is so slow in prosecuting white leaders but very fast acting when it comes to indicting black African leaders. In the wake of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014, Jammeh accused the West of attempting to cripple African nations by aiding the spread of the disease. He always made reference to how the deadly disease was able to fly over several Southern and East African nations to get to West Africa.

Emphasis on Religion

Even though some observers have doubted the sincerity of Jammeh’s official inclination to Islam, it must be said that Gambia has witnessed a change of garment from secular/traditional to Islamic. On December 12 2015, Jammeh announced on state television, “In line with the country’s religious identity and values, I proclaim Gambia as an Islamic state. As Muslims are the majority in the country, the Gambia cannot afford to continue the colonial legacy”. Hence, Gambia became the 5^th Islamic republic in the world after Pakistan (1956), Mauritania (1958), Iran (1979) and Afghanistan (1992). Muslims make up 95% of Gambia’s 1.8million population.

BAD SIDE OF JAMMEH’S RULE

Iron Fist Rule

Jammeh’s rule has been characterized by many as an iron fist dictatorship which has brought so much suffering on Gambians. Popular mentions of this include:

• ·        Even though Jammeh denied the allegation of ordering the April 10 and 11 2000 shooting of 12 protesting students and a journalist, the agreed culprits were never prosecuted.
• ·         Mass detention of opposition figures without trial.
• ·       Little or no tolerance for criticism is very visible in Jammeh’s rule, this has led to very strict measures against the press community.

Relative Poor Economic Development

Agriculture has been the main stay of the people of Gambia, employing at least 70% of the work force. But, with an arable land of 43% and water areas of 11.5%, the people of the Islamic republic of Gambia had no business worrying about financial stability. The country has access to the Atlantic ocean which means proper attention to fishing would have done the economy a lot of good. Gambia also has a few oil deposits along also with a few mineral deposits which means in a nutshell; the administration of Yahya Jammeh had everything at its disposal to make Gambia a country comparable to the likes of Singapore and other tiny but successful countries but they failed despite the very small population of the country. Jammeh also witnessed the rule of Muammar Gaddafi who was quite generous to indigent nations. Diplomatic skills on Jammeh’s part would have helped Gambia benefit from the great Muammar Gaddafi’s benevolence.

Corruption

Jammeh and his wife Zinab in America (August 2014)

With the resources present in Gambia and the length of time Jammeh has been in power, the country has definitely generated millions; if not billions of dollars. If the impact of these billions cannot be seen on the people of Gambia, then it will be right to suspect that some diversions are taking place. It is reported that Jammeh’s second wife who happens to be the first lady, Zinab Jammeh whom he married in 1999, is a spend drift who hardly stays in the country. She flies from one country to another on shopping sprees; definitely with the people’s money, this is corruption. Jammeh has accused of religious double standard because while showing public support for Islam, his wife, Zinab Jammeh, never wears the hijab.