Extension Tension

By Lamin A Tunkara 

Madam Tambajang... It was 2015, and New York City was the place. Under heavy rains some of us travelled to meet and discuss The Gambia and the way forward. In a flying mountain, unsure of its safety, you huddled in, hurriedly and eager to make it to this important gathering. Whereas it may not be the only meeting of significance, but the 2015 CSO NY Conference with stakeholders was a phenomenal step towards forming a coalition that eventually vanquished Yahya Jammeh.

Madam Fatoumata Jallow Tambajang was hailed a hero then, and so were Mr Omar A Jallow and Mr Hamat NK Bah. We were pleased and extremely proud of them for taking the laudable steps to join a common platform. It was a great gathering but they were not done yet.

After the conference, we continued to reach out for updates on the ground. Disrupting their movements, their sleep because the nation’s interest was at a fragile state and in their hands we must confer hope. I know because I too had caused them many disruptions and while I have no regrets for reaching out to them for help, I must confess that I never took the time to properly thank them for what they did for our country. Better late than never, so what it’s worth, Thank you! 

And the work continued. Whilst I held my observations and some disagreements on the issue of opposition unification vis-a-vis the leadership, I never lost hope that we will get there and do what the masses were yearning for.

April through August of 2016 was a hearty period for our nation and to those closely related to the people in harms way, it was even more heart wrenching.  The solace though was to see the likes of Madam Tambajang and my sister and former co-worker, the late Khaddy Mamburay at front and center during the UDP Executives & Others trial.

Our cries for a united front persisted, and the phone calls kept going day and night until a Coalition was formed. What was apparent in the coalition was that we all wholeheartedly acknowledged the leadership. They were accepted, and no one said they were “rag tagged” then. They were neither labeled “opportunist” nor “zero respect”.  No one questioned the legitimacy of the Coalition then, and the amazing thing was that, unlike the childish characters at display pushing the foolish divisive and dismissive attitude now, every single party to the Coalition 2016 agenda were legitimately and accordingly counted as an equal partner. Which was why the framers of the Coalition Convention gave every single party equal votes to elect their chosen one. 

It’s worth noting that even with our 90 plus percent and all other parties including the ones whose significance some grudgingly want to downplay, we would’ve still been outdone by the combined votes of non-Coalition parties.

With the Coalition intact the work continued. As the Chairperson of the Coalition 2016, it was Madam Tambajang that we ran to. We cried, and we challenged her to make sure that we did not miss an opportunity to change the challenging dynamics of our national trajectory. We trusted her, and with equally committed partners, they were able to deliver the ultimate victory.

Whereas I may have my feelings kinda bruised for not receiving that long awaited text or phone call from Ma Tambajang, and at times confiding in tantrums why this son was left out, I never stopped believing in the work she did to bring a great team together. 

And as a matter of principle, I will not doubt the team’s sincerity, and commitment to our cause in making the necessary adjustments to the Coalition 2016 agreement upon accepting the realities we are up against. Mind you, it was the very same heroine, from back in time in 2015, the representatives of that Hamat NK Bah, and Omar A Jallow  and more of the same folks who came to us then, supported the idea of a Coalition. They acted in good faith then, and are not wrong now. 

While the toddlers may be at it,  calling people names, with insults, the adults must not reward them by condoning their behaviors; they must reign in their new found little brothers and discourage them against disrespecting our community leaders. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing with one another, but it reflects poorly on our values to resort to disrespecting others, especially our elders.

Lamin A Tunkara is an IT professional and a part time political commentator. He lives in Raleigh North Carolina, USA.