Hello Bro Kilanji:
Greetings. To answer your question on consistency, it would have been helpful if you give an example of a contradiction. I think what you may be refusing to acknowledge are:
1) Most often, I do not advocate positions; I provide facts, clarification on record. To begin, people do not use any evidence to substantiate what they are writing about when they criticize Agenda 2063. You, or any of the critics, have not explained the deficiency in any of the goals. So how is it possible to have any productive exchange on a venting spree?
2) Opinions may differ. And when they do, most people of your persuasion believe that those who do not agree with your views are necessarily wrong or worse. Many self-respecting individuals with better things to do will not engage in such exchanges because they degenerate into hostilities, unhinged insults, and character assassination. Menelik was removed from WADU for precisely such conducts.
3) It is impractical to expect everyone to have the same priorities or passion because there is no monolithic population of African descent. People are naturally focused on concerns/ developments in their fields or countries/regions of origins. You will agree, if you are objective, that you, as an African American (Historical African Diaspora), may not have immediate responsibilities in Africa, and the issues of remittances, etc. will not be within priorities. Therefore, what you may hold as important to discuss may be secondary or non-issue to others. It does not necessarily mean your concentration is not important. You have to focus on your own advocacy.
4) African nations and AU do not have legal jurisdictions/obligations relating to non-nationals of Member States living outside Africa. No nation or regional authority in the world can determine issues beyond its sphere of authority. AU cannot address development frameworks outside Africa. It is plainly unrealistic and problematic because it encroaches on the sovereignty of other nations. How is it normal to implement ideas that are legally and politically prohibitive? That is what bilateral relations are meant to address through cooperation.
For example, AU cannot create a Sixth region as geo-polity with legal rights in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, USA, Brazil, etc. The governments of these countries must consent with mutual understanding and reciprocity. On the civil society level, it left for individuals or organizations to voluntarily seek people-to-people relations on common causes.
5) When you insist on your ideas but do not explain the costs, it is impractical for reasonable people to understand, let alone agree.
6) Citizenship is a process with requirements. Anyone can research the country they wish. If you are advocating for a special provision, like Ghana's Right of Abode, and a fast tracked system, you should be specific. But again, expecting the governments to assume financial responsibility is a tall order when you have to address the source of funding, which will be competing with domestic priorities such as addressing unemployment, providing social amenities, ensuring security, etc.
7) You once asked me why I am not covering Diaspora issues unrelated to Africa. That is impractical because I will be covering issues all over the world and the development agendas of the governments all over the map.
Best,
Greetings. To answer your question on consistency, it would have been helpful if you give an example of a contradiction. I think what you may be refusing to acknowledge are:
1) Most often, I do not advocate positions; I provide facts, clarification on record. To begin, people do not use any evidence to substantiate what they are writing about when they criticize Agenda 2063. You, or any of the critics, have not explained the deficiency in any of the goals. So how is it possible to have any productive exchange on a venting spree?
2) Opinions may differ. And when they do, most people of your persuasion believe that those who do not agree with your views are necessarily wrong or worse. Many self-respecting individuals with better things to do will not engage in such exchanges because they degenerate into hostilities, unhinged insults, and character assassination. Menelik was removed from WADU for precisely such conducts.
3) It is impractical to expect everyone to have the same priorities or passion because there is no monolithic population of African descent. People are naturally focused on concerns/ developments in their fields or countries/regions of origins. You will agree, if you are objective, that you, as an African American (Historical African Diaspora), may not have immediate responsibilities in Africa, and the issues of remittances, etc. will not be within priorities. Therefore, what you may hold as important to discuss may be secondary or non-issue to others. It does not necessarily mean your concentration is not important. You have to focus on your own advocacy.
4) African nations and AU do not have legal jurisdictions/obligations relating to non-nationals of Member States living outside Africa. No nation or regional authority in the world can determine issues beyond its sphere of authority. AU cannot address development frameworks outside Africa. It is plainly unrealistic and problematic because it encroaches on the sovereignty of other nations. How is it normal to implement ideas that are legally and politically prohibitive? That is what bilateral relations are meant to address through cooperation.
For example, AU cannot create a Sixth region as geo-polity with legal rights in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, USA, Brazil, etc. The governments of these countries must consent with mutual understanding and reciprocity. On the civil society level, it left for individuals or organizations to voluntarily seek people-to-people relations on common causes.
5) When you insist on your ideas but do not explain the costs, it is impractical for reasonable people to understand, let alone agree.
6) Citizenship is a process with requirements. Anyone can research the country they wish. If you are advocating for a special provision, like Ghana's Right of Abode, and a fast tracked system, you should be specific. But again, expecting the governments to assume financial responsibility is a tall order when you have to address the source of funding, which will be competing with domestic priorities such as addressing unemployment, providing social amenities, ensuring security, etc.
7) You once asked me why I am not covering Diaspora issues unrelated to Africa. That is impractical because I will be covering issues all over the world and the development agendas of the governments all over the map.
Best,
MsJoe
To Lead You Must be a Servant
-----Original Message-----
From: laidbackearl_2 <laidbackearl_2@yahoo.co.uk>
To: msjoe21st <msjoe21st@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Jan 24, 2017 2:48 am
Subject: Re: Mr. Sherif Anyanwu - WORD and MANDATE GIVEN MATTER IN NEGOTIATION - THE AFRICAN WAY. FORMER PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA ACCOMPANIED OUT BY PRESIDENT CONDE OF GUINEA
-------- Original message --------
From: msjoe21st@aol.com
Date: 23/01/2017 10:36 PM (GMT+01:00)
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Subject: Mr. Sherif Anyanwu - WORD and MANDATE GIVEN MATTER IN NEGOTIATION - THE AFRICAN WAY. FORMER PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA ACCOMPANIED OUT BY PRESIDENT CONDE OF GUINEA
--Original Message-----
From: msjoe21st <msjoe21st@aol.com>
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Sent: Mon, Jan 23, 2017 3:36 pm
Subject: Mr. Sherif Anyanwu - WORD and MANDATE GIVEN MATTER IN NEGOTIATION - THE AFRICAN WAY. FORMER PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA ACCOMPANIED OUT BY PRESIDENT CONDE OF GUINEA
MsJoe
From: laidbackearl_2 <laidbackearl_2@yahoo.co.uk>
To: msjoe21st <msjoe21st@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Jan 24, 2017 2:48 am
Subject: Re: Mr. Sherif Anyanwu - WORD and MANDATE GIVEN MATTER IN NEGOTIATION - THE AFRICAN WAY. FORMER PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA ACCOMPANIED OUT BY PRESIDENT CONDE OF GUINEA
Greetings my sister.
Excellent presentation and well balanced point. Why can't you be like this most of the time?
Keep up the good work.
kilanji
Sent from Samsung Mobile
Excellent presentation and well balanced point. Why can't you be like this most of the time?
Keep up the good work.
kilanji
Sent from Samsung Mobile
-------- Original message --------
From: msjoe21st@aol.com
Date: 23/01/2017 10:36 PM (GMT+01:00)
To: NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com, Mwananchi@yahoogroups.com, africanworldforum@googlegroups.com
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Subject: Mr. Sherif Anyanwu - WORD and MANDATE GIVEN MATTER IN NEGOTIATION - THE AFRICAN WAY. FORMER PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA ACCOMPANIED OUT BY PRESIDENT CONDE OF GUINEA
--Original Message-----
From: msjoe21st <msjoe21st@aol.com>
To: NIgerianWorldForum <NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com>; Mwananchi <Mwananchi@yahoogroups.com>; africanworldforum <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com>
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Sent: Mon, Jan 23, 2017 3:36 pm
Subject: Mr. Sherif Anyanwu - WORD and MANDATE GIVEN MATTER IN NEGOTIATION - THE AFRICAN WAY. FORMER PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA ACCOMPANIED OUT BY PRESIDENT CONDE OF GUINEA
Hello Mr. Sherif Anyanwu:
Greetings:
I hear you and understand the instinct nursed by demand for justice. However, what you are focused on is an expectation for ECOWAS to have deviated from its mission. The cost would have been both quantitative and qualitative - and not worth the damage to ECOWAS' Authority and in the global arena. As a strategic direction, I am not sure why anyone would take the leap.
ECOWAS could not just march and arrest. The articulated mandate, from day 1, was to break the political impasse and enforce the Dec. 1 election results. The banner "Operation Restore Democracy" was clear and precise. The Authority was not to determine the psyche of Gambian people and open a quasi-tribunal. That is the internal prerogative of the Gambian government. Roles should not be mixed. Accordingly, the negotiation precluded other feelings that were not related to the purpose of the ECOWAS intervention, no matter how achingly justified.
ECOWAS' purpose was undiluted and the UN resolution obtained stressed political solution - first. It worked. If, and if only, the Jan. 20 attempt failed, ECOWAS would have used the military option and flushed Mr. Yahya Jammeh out. This was made sufficiently clear to him in the language he understood best.
The Nigerian Air Force was conducting Reconnaissance - basically over his head, he could look up the skies. The Senegalese-led ground forces were on standby. When Jammeh accepted to leave, there was no basis for his arrest. You can't change the negotiating goal post. That will be like a predetermined motive merely looking for an excuse. Such would not only be applying "monkey sense" device, ECOWAS would be implicitly conducting an entrapment mission. While this may thrill those who are angry and clamoring for justice, the disrepute to ECOWAS is far-reaching
Jammeh was with the Presidents of Mauritania and Guinea when he agreed to go. For the sheer integrity of the process, emotions cannot cloud the clear-eyed path to this end-goal. Any deviation from the letter and spirit of the negotiation would have undermined the Authority of ECOWAS - and her future ability to redress crisis in the region.
Well......okay, if both of us were at the negotiating table, I would have suggested you retire to the beaches of Gambia until we can arrange for Asiwaju Tinubu's plane to ferry you to a NATO-like camp near Syria. LOL
Don't worry, you will not be bored for lack of military action. All those terrorists that emerged when democracy was bombed in their countries, and around, would engage your thoughts. Military option first, huh?
The above is to usher in my next point, which you raised: I completely disagree with you on Libya. The operation was motivated by deceit and conducted in deceit by Western powers. It remains a bloody nonsense. That is why Russia and China were pen-ready to veto exercises couched in packaged deceit in Syria, where Arab spring turned into one dread of Arab winter. Africa had more to loose with the carnage that ensued with the proliferation of arms and unhinged hoodlums.
Are you saying Gaddafi did not give the West a choice but to kill him? Is it your opinion that Mr. Blair of UK and Sarkozy of France (who led the charge) knew what the AU did not? Have you read the evidence of the deceit?
Mr. Anyangwu, let me get back on The Gambia issue. It would have been most ironic and unfortunate if the conduct of the ECOWAS resulted in a military encounter before exhausting the political route.
New information coming to light is that ECOWAS leaders did not agree to the terms, which were basically crafted by Jammeh's team, to grant him immunity in face of impunity. Most of Gambia's lawmakers had fled into hiding - in their villages or to Senegal - after granting term elongation.
Jammeh's coffer looting was uncovered after his flight.
There is no way ECOWAS could have been overseer of Gambia's treasury and banks. For cars, rice and cows, it was the job of the local security to secure after President Barrow was sworn in at 5pm on Jan. 19.
The ECOWAS forces are doing their job as we write - securing the barracks, disarming Gambian soldiers as necessary, eliminating potential threats, and ensuring the safe return of President Adama Barrow. The ECOWAS forces have been professional - and in fact greeted with cheers by the Gambian people.
Again, it is for the new Gambian government and people to manage the internal governance.
Finally, I agree with you, ECOWAS proved her moral mantle.
Best,
Greetings:
I hear you and understand the instinct nursed by demand for justice. However, what you are focused on is an expectation for ECOWAS to have deviated from its mission. The cost would have been both quantitative and qualitative - and not worth the damage to ECOWAS' Authority and in the global arena. As a strategic direction, I am not sure why anyone would take the leap.
ECOWAS could not just march and arrest. The articulated mandate, from day 1, was to break the political impasse and enforce the Dec. 1 election results. The banner "Operation Restore Democracy" was clear and precise. The Authority was not to determine the psyche of Gambian people and open a quasi-tribunal. That is the internal prerogative of the Gambian government. Roles should not be mixed. Accordingly, the negotiation precluded other feelings that were not related to the purpose of the ECOWAS intervention, no matter how achingly justified.
ECOWAS' purpose was undiluted and the UN resolution obtained stressed political solution - first. It worked. If, and if only, the Jan. 20 attempt failed, ECOWAS would have used the military option and flushed Mr. Yahya Jammeh out. This was made sufficiently clear to him in the language he understood best.
The Nigerian Air Force was conducting Reconnaissance - basically over his head, he could look up the skies. The Senegalese-led ground forces were on standby. When Jammeh accepted to leave, there was no basis for his arrest. You can't change the negotiating goal post. That will be like a predetermined motive merely looking for an excuse. Such would not only be applying "monkey sense" device, ECOWAS would be implicitly conducting an entrapment mission. While this may thrill those who are angry and clamoring for justice, the disrepute to ECOWAS is far-reaching
Jammeh was with the Presidents of Mauritania and Guinea when he agreed to go. For the sheer integrity of the process, emotions cannot cloud the clear-eyed path to this end-goal. Any deviation from the letter and spirit of the negotiation would have undermined the Authority of ECOWAS - and her future ability to redress crisis in the region.
Well......okay, if both of us were at the negotiating table, I would have suggested you retire to the beaches of Gambia until we can arrange for Asiwaju Tinubu's plane to ferry you to a NATO-like camp near Syria. LOL
Don't worry, you will not be bored for lack of military action. All those terrorists that emerged when democracy was bombed in their countries, and around, would engage your thoughts. Military option first, huh?
The above is to usher in my next point, which you raised: I completely disagree with you on Libya. The operation was motivated by deceit and conducted in deceit by Western powers. It remains a bloody nonsense. That is why Russia and China were pen-ready to veto exercises couched in packaged deceit in Syria, where Arab spring turned into one dread of Arab winter. Africa had more to loose with the carnage that ensued with the proliferation of arms and unhinged hoodlums.
Are you saying Gaddafi did not give the West a choice but to kill him? Is it your opinion that Mr. Blair of UK and Sarkozy of France (who led the charge) knew what the AU did not? Have you read the evidence of the deceit?
Mr. Anyangwu, let me get back on The Gambia issue. It would have been most ironic and unfortunate if the conduct of the ECOWAS resulted in a military encounter before exhausting the political route.
No, we do not need more armed conflict in Africa. In fact, the intervention in The Gambia was preemptive of civil unrest and the plight of humanitarian disaster that spurs crime with easy recruits.
New information coming to light is that ECOWAS leaders did not agree to the terms, which were basically crafted by Jammeh's team, to grant him immunity in face of impunity. Most of Gambia's lawmakers had fled into hiding - in their villages or to Senegal - after granting term elongation.
Jammeh's coffer looting was uncovered after his flight.
There is no way ECOWAS could have been overseer of Gambia's treasury and banks. For cars, rice and cows, it was the job of the local security to secure after President Barrow was sworn in at 5pm on Jan. 19.
The ECOWAS forces are doing their job as we write - securing the barracks, disarming Gambian soldiers as necessary, eliminating potential threats, and ensuring the safe return of President Adama Barrow. The ECOWAS forces have been professional - and in fact greeted with cheers by the Gambian people.
Again, it is for the new Gambian government and people to manage the internal governance.
Finally, I agree with you, ECOWAS proved her moral mantle.
Best,
MsJoe
To Lead You Must be a Servant
-----Original Message-----
From: Sherif Anyanwu lasherif@hotmail.com [NIgerianWorldForum] <NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com>
To: Mwananchi <Mwananchi@yahoogroups.com>; africanworldforum <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com>
Cc: Camnetwork <Camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>; USAAfricaDialogue <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>; zimsite <zimsite@yahoogroups.com>; nigerianworldforum <nigerianworldforum@yahoogroups.com>; dalfcamnet <dalfcamnet@yahoogroups.com>; cameroonforum <cameroonforum@yahoogroups.com>; Africans_Without_Borders <Africans_Without_Borders@yahoogroups.com>; kenya-diapora <kenya-diapora@yahoogroups.com>; Wanazuoni <Wanazuoni@yahoogroups.com>; naijaobserver <naijaobserver@yahoogroups.com>; naijaintellects <naijaintellects@googlegroups.com>; congo <congo@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Mon, Jan 23, 2017 11:53 am
Subject: [NIgerianWorldForum] Re: [africanworldforum] The Revered Prince of Ejo ni Mushin // " IMPLICIT TRUST IS FUNDAMENTAL: THE AFRICAN WAY: ECOWAS/AU/UN STATEMENT. FORMER PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA ACCOMPANIED OUT BY PRESIDENT CONDE OF GUINEA
If life was a piece of cake, perhaps both of us will be roaring at the Smiling Coast of Africa with Jammeh's cows grazing yonder while we sample some of the loots and prepare the trial sheets. But it is a tad different - negotiation must have that element of implicit trust to be worthy of the moment. If it is not binding, it may be riskier dabbling with the unknown. The worst thing is to lure in deceit. The authority looses its proverbial salt and even its position on dog food will no longer be respected.
I believe ECOWAS did well in laying its terms and following through. Remember, Mr. Barrow made the same concession. If I was advising him, he should not be consumed with passion and pressure for revenge. He has three years to prove his coalition's vision.
MsJoe
From: Sherif Anyanwu lasherif@hotmail.com [NIgerianWorldForum] <NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com>
To: Mwananchi <Mwananchi@yahoogroups.com>; africanworldforum <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com>
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Sent: Mon, Jan 23, 2017 11:53 am
Subject: [NIgerianWorldForum] Re: [africanworldforum] The Revered Prince of Ejo ni Mushin // " IMPLICIT TRUST IS FUNDAMENTAL: THE AFRICAN WAY: ECOWAS/AU/UN STATEMENT. FORMER PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA ACCOMPANIED OUT BY PRESIDENT CONDE OF GUINEA
Ms Joe,
I commend your apt commentary on this debacle.
While I doff my hat for ECOWAS on her principled defense of constitutional democracy, I am averse to the undue pandering, deference and leeway that was granted to an obvious criminal, Yahya Jammeh.
The moment Adama Barrow was sworn in and officially invited ECOWAS/International Community to assist in enforcing the will/mandate of the people of Gambia, that should have been the end of all negotiations with a petty thief, Yahya Jammeh. The ECOWAS forces should have marched straight to the Gambian presidential mansion and arrested Yahya Jammeh. This should have been done promptly to destroy his ability to commit aggression and loot the Gambian treasury.
I am mad at the reality that before our eyes a criminal looted and carted off the scarce resources of a poor country while ECOMOG waited and mounted sentry with a capable force. By so doing, ECOWAS abated the looting of Gambian treasury and should be held liable. This scoundrel, Yahya Jammeh, while holding the Koran in the left hand looted Gambia with his right hand and we are all witnesses to it.
The use of force should be a tool of last resort which when we are forced to use, requires precise application to achieve maximum effect. If there was blood to be shed, the commander on the ground should have ensured it is only Jammeh's blood. Muammar Gaddafi had to die because he left Libya and the world with no other choice. He said it himself that he wanted to die a martyr so fate granted his wish.
We must wipe out corruption, Military tyranny and sit tight Presidents/clowns from the African continent. I commend ECOWAS in her bold leadership in this regard. She proved it to Gbagbo, the foolish Soldiers that overthrew the government of Mali and now, Yahya Jammeh. The only reason Paul Biya of Cameroon, Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Nguema Mbasongo of Equatorial Guinea, Omar al bashir of Sudan and Kabila of Congo are still in power is because they are not in West Africa.
All African sub Regions must sit up and emulate ECOWAS in defense of Constitutional democracy. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that Africa is governed only by the rule of law and international morality. The people must rise up to commandeer their destiny.
Regards,
Cyril Anyanwu
From: msjoe21st via AfricanWorldForum <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2017 4:32:33 PM
To: Mwananchi@yahoogroups.com; africanworldforum@googlegroups.com
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Subject: [africanworldforum] The Revered Prince of Ejo ni Mushin // " IMPLICIT TRUST IS FUNDAMENTAL: THE AFRICAN WAY: ECOWAS/AU/UN STATEMENT. FORMER PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA ACCOMPANIED OUT BY PRESIDENT CONDE OF GUINEA
Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2017 4:32:33 PM
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Cc: Camnetwork@yahoogroups.com; USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com; zimsite@yahoogroups.com; mwananchi@yahoogroups.com; nigerianworldforum@yahoogroups.com; dalfcamnet@yahoogroups.com; cameroonforum@yahoogroups.com; Africans_Without_Borders@yahoogroups.com; kenya-diapora@yahoogroups.com; Wanazuoni@yahoogroups.com; naijaobserver@yahoogroups.com; naijaintellects@googlegroups.com; congo@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [africanworldforum] The Revered Prince of Ejo ni Mushin // " IMPLICIT TRUST IS FUNDAMENTAL: THE AFRICAN WAY: ECOWAS/AU/UN STATEMENT. FORMER PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA ACCOMPANIED OUT BY PRESIDENT CONDE OF GUINEA
The Revered Prince:
If life was a piece of cake, perhaps both of us will be roaring at the Smiling Coast of Africa with Jammeh's cows grazing yonder while we sample some of the loots and prepare the trial sheets. But it is a tad different - negotiation must have that element of implicit trust to be worthy of the moment. If it is not binding, it may be riskier dabbling with the unknown. The worst thing is to lure in deceit. The authority looses its proverbial salt and even its position on dog food will no longer be respected.
I believe ECOWAS did well in laying its terms and following through. Remember, Mr. Barrow made the same concession. If I was advising him, he should not be consumed with passion and pressure for revenge. He has three years to prove his coalition's vision.
MsJoe
To Lead You Must be a Servant
-----Original Message-----
From: 'Wharf A. Snake' wharfsnake@yahoo.com [Mwananchi] <Mwananchi@yahoogroups.com>
To: africanworldforum <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com>
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Sent: Sun, Jan 22, 2017 3:52 pm
Subject: [Mwananchi] Re: [africanworldforum] THE AFRICAN WAY: ECOWAS/AU/UN STATEMENT. FORMER PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA ACCOMPANIED OUT BY PRESIDENT CONDE OF GUINEA
On Jan 22, 2017, at 8:52 AM, msjoe21st via AfricanWorldForum <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com> wrote:
From: 'Wharf A. Snake' wharfsnake@yahoo.com [Mwananchi] <Mwananchi@yahoogroups.com>
To: africanworldforum <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com>
Cc: Camnetwork <Camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>; USAAfricaDialogue <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>; zimsite <zimsite@yahoogroups.com>; mwananchi <mwananchi@yahoogroups.com>; nigerianworldforum <nigerianworldforum@yahoogroups.com>; dalfcamnet <dalfcamnet@yahoogroups.com>; cameroonforum <cameroonforum@yahoogroups.com>; Africans_Without_Borders <Africans_Without_Borders@yahoogroups.com>; kenya-diapora <kenya-diapora@yahoogroups.com>; Wanazuoni <Wanazuoni@yahoogroups.com>; naijaobserver <naijaobserver@yahoogroups.com>; naijaintellects <naijaintellects@googlegroups.com>; congo <congo@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sun, Jan 22, 2017 3:52 pm
Subject: [Mwananchi] Re: [africanworldforum] THE AFRICAN WAY: ECOWAS/AU/UN STATEMENT. FORMER PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA ACCOMPANIED OUT BY PRESIDENT CONDE OF GUINEA
Ms Joe,
It would the greatest if Jammeh is not presented for trial if charged? To ease him out promises may have been made but those promises are not bound in law. Africa cannot remain a pariah because some criminals that must stand trial. I commend Obasanjo for sending that thug, Charles Taylor, to trial. Jammeh may elude the long hands of the law now but the despot in Santa Isabel will be deposed someday. The days of useless strong men in Africa is over and that is the message we must circulate to all.
Sent from my iPhone
Ejo ni Mushin - Prince
On Jan 22, 2017, at 8:52 AM, msjoe21st via AfricanWorldForum <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Folks:
In the end, the Africans got it right.
The joint statement by ECOWAS; AU; UN (attached) is very insightful. Read the lines and "in-between." The negotiations had an end goal: peaceful exit. You do not encumber this goal with "other agendas," using it as a springboard to other ends - if the talk process must be trusted. You do not do an "Obasanjo." This refers to former Nigerian President Obasango who offered the former Liberian President Charles Taylor asylum in Nigeria. The rest is history; it facilitated Taylor's capture. He was sent to the The Hague (ICC). Then a sit-tight dude would rather die ruining the country and not go down alone - fearing no further fall. As a negotiator, you have to be trusted and not prone to cunningness.
Thanks Dr. Kofi and Bro, Ezekwe (earlier commentary) and all you who appreciate my work. Well, at 9 years, I could tell the story of the Casablanca Group as a child. From London, my Mom used to send these books called My Home in India, Pakistan, England, etc. What? Nothing in Ghana, Egypt or any African country? She said: Africans can write that. LOL.
Have a blessed week, enjoy the reading, and especially the video with The Gambian Chief of Defence Staff..."We will make them tea (ECOWAS Forces) and enjoy the Smiling Coast of Africa." I cracked up.
Best,
MsJoe
From: THELIGHTOFAFRICA <THELIGHTOFAFRICA@aol.com>
To: msjoe21st <msjoe21st@aol.com>; Camnetwork <Camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>; USAAfricaDialogue <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>; zimsite <zimsite@yahoogroups.com>; mwananchi <mwananchi@yahoogroups.com>; nigerianworldforum <nigerianworldforum@yahoogroups.com>; africanworldforum <africanworldforum@googlegroups.com>; dalfcamnet <dalfcamnet@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Fri, Jan 20, 2017 6:39 pm
Subject: Re: BREAKING NEWS: AFRICAN APPROACH PREVAILS: THE PROVERBIAL FAT LADY SINGS, ...
My Dear Eve:We thank you for your excellent works in providing the current news in Africa. Continue with your good works and all our ancestors at Asamando will bless you.Kofi AgyapongSADA
-----Original Message-----
From: Continental Dispatch <africanservices@aol.com>
To: msjoe21st <msjoe21st@aol.com>
Sent: Sun, Jan 22, 2017 7:36 am
Subject: EXIT: FORMER PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA, AFTER A STOP IN CONAKRY ACCOMPANIED BY GUINEAN PRESIDENT ALPHA CONDE
By Evelyn Joe
Dear Readers:
You can read from, save, or forward this website version: http://conta.cc/2iPKx7V
From the last five days, this is the last post on the Gambian Political Transition. A military showdown was avoided in an exemplary carrot and stick formula. ECOWAS guarded and guided its rising democracy in the Region and former President Yahya Jammeh took the peaceful route out of power.
Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.
Former President Jammeh Yahya boarding the plane to Guinea with Guinea's President Alpha Condé
In a script that recalls that mirrors his earlier acceptance of defeat on December 2, 2016 and far removed from his belligerence, bluff and legal maneuvers in the days that followed, the departing President said: "I call on President Barrow to come in immediately and take over the supreme responsibility of President, Head of State, Commander in Chief and first citizen of our republic," according to remarks read out on state television before he left the country. It would be improper not to "sincerely wish him and his administration all the best," he added.
Some wise heads are asking, why did Western powers destroy Libya if Africans have, demonstrably, superior assessments of African problems? It is a rhetorical question. The tragedy, conducted without necessity or foresight, has benefited neither security nor democracy.
President Adama Barrow on Jan. 21, 2017.
The new President spoke to Associated Press in Dakar, Senegal, just hours after Yahya Jammeh agreed to stop his cling to the presidency.
"The rule of fear" in Gambia has ended with Jammeh's rule, Mr. Barrow told members of Gambia's diaspora late Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. He promised to release all political prisoners.
In a report by Ruth Maclean, writing for the Guardian and from Banjul, Sheriff Bojang Junior, a journalist whose criticism of Jammeh's government led to death threats, which caused him to flee to Senegal, took President Barrow at his word. He took a pirogue - a brightly painted wooden boat - across the Gambia river to his home city on Saturday morning and looked about him, disoriented in the place he left 15 years ago.
"I felt we are free. All I needed was Jammeh saying he resigned," he said. "Even though I had security concerns, his legitimacy came to an end, so I'm not bothered. Hey! Give me one of those in XL," he broke off, calling to a man selling Gambia Has Decided T-shirts.
An estimated 45,000 people left the Gambia in recent weeks for fear of violence have been reluctant to move back until they hear Jammeh is really gone.Yahya Jammeh, after all, eyeballed reality and abandoned his claim to power.
In the final count, former strongman Yahya Jammeh avoided a military ejection by the ECOWAS forces. He left on-board the Mauritanian Presidential airplane to exile. With him were his wife, Zeinab Jammeh, close aides, and accompanied by Guinean President Alpha Condé who spent the night in The Gambia after Mr. Jammeh agreed to relinquish his cling to power. ECOWAS troops were in the country to enforce "Operation Restore Democracy" if this last negotiation failed on Friday, January 20, 2017.
Mr. Jammeh arrived at the Banjul International Airport on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 at 20:35pm GMT dressed in his customary white flowing gown. A small gathering of his supporters and relatives were at the airport to bid him farewell. Waving to them, Mr. Jammeh kissed a Koran before boarding.
There was a brief ceremony for Mr. Jammeh at the airport. His loyalists cried. Others jeered. Across the broader spectrum and away from the airport, hope for democratic elections and respect for the constitution soared in Gambia and beyond. It was also one of ECOWAS' finest moments.
Former President Yaya Jammeh looks through the window from the plane as he leaves the country on January 21, 2017 in Banjul airport.
Mr. Jammeh landed in Conakry, Guinea's capital, about an hour later. He and his family later departed to Equatorial Guinea, which is not a member of the International Criminal Court.
Mauritania 1, the Mauritanian Presidential aircraft landed at the Yundum International Airport in Banjul, Gambia, in the earlier hours of Saturday 21, 2017. This began the countdown to the inevitable departure of Mr. Jammeh.The plane had dropped off Mauritanian President Ould Abel Aziz who was involved with President Alpha Condé in the tense negotiations with Mr. Jammeh. The Mauritanian President left Banjul on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017 after the marathon session ended with Mr. Jammeh agreeing to end his cling to power.SOFT LANDING DIPLOMACY
Mr. Jammeh announced his departure from presidential claims on State TV on late Friday, January 20, 2017.
Time was no friend and with military commanders openly stating that they will not engage ECOWAS troops in any fight, Mr Jammeh said he took the decision to step down because it was not necessary for even a single drop of blood be shed as a result of the election dispute.
"I believe in the importance of dialogue and the capacity of Africans to resolve amongst themselves all the challenges on the way towards democracy, economic and social development. It is as a result of this that I have decided today in good conscience to relinquish the mantle of leadership of this great nation with infinite gratitude to all Gambians, women, children, youth and men and friends of the Gambia who have supported me for 22 years in the building of a modern Gambian," he said.
"My decision today was not dictated by anything else but by the supreme interest of you the Gambian people and our dear country taking into consideration my prayer and desire that peace and security continues to rain in the Gambia. At a time when we are witnessing chaos and trouble in other parts of African and the world, the peace and security of the Gambia is our collective heritage, which we must jealously guard and defend.""When our brothers (ECOWAS soldiers) come, we will welcome them with a Cup of Tea....
And we enjoy the Smiling Coast of Africa."The Gambian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Ousman Badjie
CDS ensuring safety. Why should we fight? And we are not fools.
Earlier in the day on Jan 21, 2017, as reported by networks, the former leader left the State House in the company of his mother, wife Zainab, son Mohammed, and President Alpha Condé. He met with his close aides and some members of his party before he was driven out of the presidential compound for the last time. He headed for the Cocoa Ocean Hotel.Mr. Jammeh reportedly dispatched a team to take stock of his inventory before departing the country. These included vehicles and animals to be sent to his village in Kanilai.
The first stop was in Farato and they continued to his Siffoe Farms to take inventory of his cows. The former president joined the helpers to make sure everything was in proper place.
Considering that Mr. Jammeh did not envision this day and so soon, the pace of packing, and a more dignified exit than a military capture, dead or alive, it was, in deed, a peaceful solution.
Dear Readers:
This is a continuing development in the last 4 days. This is the last before the final report on The Gambian Presidential unfolding and the strength of ECOWAS in the region. The last report will be filed as soon as President Adama Barrow arrives in Banjul. Former President Yahya Jammeh would have left The Gambia.
In the last two hours, the last step:
Yahya Jammeh bows to the last effort at peaceful mediation and ultimatum by ECOWAS.
Army Chief formally deserted him and recognized President Adama Barrow.
Red carpets were rolled and later unfolded at the Banjul airport on Friday.
Right: Senegalese President Macky Sall and The Gambian President Adama Barrow (middle) at Friday Muslim prayers in Dakar, Senegal. Jan. 20, 2017.
From official sources and confirmed by President Adama Barrow, former President Yahya Jammeh will leave Gambia today.
The convoy of the last negotiators, President Alpha Condé of Guinea and Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, left for Coco Ocean Hotel.
President Abdul Aziz, and President Alpha Condé, were joined by the UN's regional chief, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, in the last attempt to persuade Jammeh to face reality. If not, he would have been forced out by the ECOWAS troops already in Gambia.
President Barrow tweeted: "I would like to inform you that Yahya Jammeh has agreed to step down. He is scheduled to depart Gambia today."
It is unclear where Jammeh will be heading to.There have been suggestions he may now go to Guinea, although he has been offered asylum in Nigeria and it is believed Morocco has done the same.
Reportedly, Jammeh will be granted immunity from persecution during his 22 years in office. However, his offer to remain in Gambia was denied and non-negotiable by ECOWAS. In his first media interview with Al Jazeera, Barrow said that he hoped ECOWAS could find him a safe haven.
Left: President Alpha Condé of Guinea and Former President Jammeh of Gambia
On Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, Gambia's army Chief General, Ousman Badjie, told Reuters that he recognizes new President Adama Barrow as the new commander-and-chief and would not fight a regional force poised to depose Yahya Jammeh.
On the presence of ECOWAS troops, "We are going to welcome them with flowers and make them a cup of tea," Badjie said. "This is a political problem. It's a misunderstanding. We are not going to fight Nigerian, Togolese or any military that come.The defection of General Ousman Badjie who had previously stood by Jammeh, removed what was perhaps the former coup leader's last remaining pillar of support in face of the ECOWAS decision to capture Jammeh, dead or alive, if he failed to leave.
Unfolding News in the last 4 daysBy Evelyn Joe
Dear Reader:
This is an ongoing thread on developments unfolding in The Gambia. If you have read the previous news, you may be interested in just the updates. You will have the latest developments when confirmed.
New development in the last 24 hours:
Based from sources close to the negotiation,
YAHYA JAMMEH MAY BE FLOWN TO MAURITANIA TONIGHT PEACEFULLY or REMOVED FORCEFULLY.
His option to stay in Gambia is no longer negotiable.
Jammeh realized a dawn of reality and started negotiations with ECOWAS on Thursday, and agreed to leave office. He demanded amnesty for any crimes that he may have committed during his 22 years in power and that be permitted to stay in The Gambia, at his home village of Kanilai.
Jammeh's requests, which were acceptable before he failed to step down as constitutionally required, are no longer acceptable to ECOWAS, said Marcel Alain de Souza, President of the ECOWAS Commission. He said Jammeh's continued presence in The Gambia would "create disturbances to public order and terrorist movements."
Soldiers attending prayers on Friday Jan. 20 at the Mosque on the grounds of the State House.This morning in Banjul, as negotiations continued, it was time for Muslim Friday prayers in Chairman Jammeh Mosque inside the grounds of State House. Imam Alhaji Jallow preached about faith and following the right path.
Development since the swearing-in of President Adama Barrow of The Gambia.
The Gambia's President took the Oath of Office on January 19, 2017 at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar.
Former President Yahya Jammeh, with a collapsed cabinet, declared that he has dissoled his cabinet and will appoint a new one soon.
ECOWAS gives Jammeh one last chance to leave as Guinean Presidents Alpa Conde and Ould Aziz of Mauritania lead the final attempt at peaceful resolution. Jan. 20 at HIGN NOON was the deadline. Jammeh pleaded for more time to leave today.
The Gambian Chief of Defence Staff seen smiling among jubilant crowds.
ECOWAS Press Release on Operation Restore Democracy and Joint Press Release from ECOWAS, African Union and the United Nations.
IT IS OFFICIAL
HIS EXCELLENCY ADAMA BARROW IS THE THIRD PRESIDENT OF THE GAMBIA
January 20, 2017
President Adama Barrow's inauguration speech: READ
Commentaries in French and Wolof but the Speech in English
The oath office in the capital was administered by Sheriff Tambedou, the President of the Gambia Bar Association.
Due to limited space capacity, several hundred people watched the televised event standing outside the Gambian embassy in Dakar, news agencies reported. "This is a day no Gambian will ever forget in a lifetime," Barrow said in his inaugural speech. "We will now build a Gambia where what you know counts more than who you know," the newly sworn President said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres congratulated the new president, extending his support. Guterres "told President Barrow of his full support for his determination, and ECOWAS' historic decision, with the unanimous backing of the Security Council, to restore the rule of law in The Gambia so as to honor and respect the will of the Gambian people," a UN spokesman said. Congratulatory calls from other governments around the world have been sent to President Barrow.
Jubilation broke out in the streets in Gambia, first cautiously, then boldly.
The Gambia's of Defence Staff (CDS), Ousman Badjie, took to the streets on Thursday in scenes of wild celebration after President Adama Barrow was inaugurated in neighboring Senegal.
In the picture above and video below, The Gambian Chief of Defence Staff, Ousman Badjie, appeared in the Westfield district close to the Gambian capital where President Barrow supporters gathered to dance and cheer following the inauguration of their new president.
Joint ECOWAS-AU-UN Statement on the occasion of the swearing-in Ceremony of H.E. Adama Barrow, President-Elect of the Republic of the Gambia19TH JANUARY 2017
The ECOWAS Commission, African Union and United Nations congratulate H.E. Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia on the occasion of his swearing-in and assumption of the mantle of leadership to the highest office of the land following his victory at the presidential election of 1stDecember 2016 and in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia.
The ECOWAS Commission, African Union and United Nations equally congratulate the people of The Gambia who have demonstrated patience, discipline, maturity and resolve to defend their popular will, as expressed in the 1stDecember, 2016 presidential election and during the post-electoral crisis.
The ECOWAS Commission, African Union and United Nations once again commend the independence, professionalism and commitment of members of the Independent Electoral Commission of The Gambia and all political parties for exercising the needed restraint that paved way for the peaceful conduct of the 1stDecember, 2016 presidential election.The ECOWAS Commission, African Union and United Nations commend the leadership and commitment demonstrated by Her Excellency (Mrs) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia and Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, as well as His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and ECOWAS Mediator, and H.E. John Dramani Mahama, former President of the Republic of Ghana and Co-Mediator, for the efforts undertaken for the resolution of the post-electoral impasse in The Gambia in full compliance with constitutional legality to ensure peaceful transfer of power.
The ECOWAS Commission, African Union and United Nations urge His Excellency Adama Barrow to take all necessary steps to strengthen national unity, social harmony and peace in the Gambia with a view to addressing the socio-political and economic challenges that have hampered poverty reduction in the country.
The ECOWAS Commission, African Union and United Nations once again urge the Security Forces to observe neutrality and conduct themselves in a civil manner, and to strongly support President Barrow by maintaining public order and security which are essential to the stability and development of the country.The ECOWAS Commission, African Union and United Nations reaffirm their commitment to continue accompanying The Gambia in consolidating democracy and rule of law in the country.
OPERATION RESTORE DEMOCRACY
In face of the continued recalcitrance of former President Jammeh who still roams in the State House, the 7,000-member intervention force set up by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) entered the Gambia following President Adama Barrow's swearing-in ceremony.
The operation started after the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution giving "full support" to Ecowas to enforce the outcome of the December 1, 2016 elections when Barrow's victory terminated Jammeh's 22 years rule.
It was temporarily halted to give Jammeh one last chance to embrace a peaceful exit.
ONE LAST CHANCE FOR YAHYA JAMMEH
PRESIDENTS OF GUINEA, MAURITANIA AND LIBERIA ON A FINAL MEDIATION MISSION TO GAMBIA ON FRIDAY - ECOWAS OFFICIAL
ECOWAS is taking every measure for a peaceful resolution until Jammeh stubbornly fails to leave today.
Mr. Marcel Alain de Souza, President of the ECOWAS Commission said Guinean President Alpha Condé will fly to Banjul to negotiate with Jammeh. He will do so after first going to. Mauritania has been mentioned as a possible country where Jammeh could go into exile.
President Condé and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz left the main airport in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, at 11:05 local time (1105 GMT) and landed in Banjul. They are meeting with Mr. Jammeh. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia and Chairperson of ECOWAS also arrived in Banjul on Friday.
Mr. Souza said that if the meeting fails, military action would follow.
Jammeh "has the choice of going with President Alpha Conde," said de Souza. "If, at 12 o'clock, he does not make up his mind, we will bring him by force or by will. Our troops will advance on Banjul. Until the last minute, we still think there is a solution resulting from a dialogue."
"Gambia is encircled," Marcel de Souza said in comments broadcast by Senegal's RFM radio station. He issued a warning to Jammeh, saying, "if he persists, Ecowas will dislodge him by force."
Sources indicate Yahya Jammeh has asked the West African bloc ECOWAS for an extension of a midday deadline for him to leave power until 4 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), government sources said on Friday. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Inexplicably, in statements broadcast on State media, Jammeh said he has dissolved his cabinet and plans to name a new one. Meanwhile, almost all the Cabinet Ministers already deserted Jammeh with mass resignations, including his Vice President.
The Nigerian air force has been flying over The Gambia, an official said, as African troops prepare to force former President Yahya Jammeh to quit after his term expired. "I confirm that the armed reconnaissance air force are over Gambia," Nigerian Air Force spokesman Ayodele Famuyiwa told AFP. "They have the capacity to strike."
Unfolding News in the last 3 daysBy Evelyn Joe
Dear Reader:
This is an ongoing thread on developments unfolding in The Gambia. If you have read the previous news, you may be interested in just the updates. You will have the latest developments when confirmed.
YAHYA JAMMEH:
DELUSIONAL and DESERTED
AT THE MOMENT OF RECKONING
Updates as they happened in the last 12 hours:
Yahya Jammeh's lawyer who filed the petition to annul the election and to prevent the swearing-in of President-elect Adama Barrow defected and fled to Senegal. He advises his recalcitrant former client to give up. Letter included.
The Gambia's Army Defence Chief ordered Gambian soldiers not to fight the African troops entering his country. According to the army boss, such counter-action would amount to "a stupid fight." He indicated that he loves his men in uniform, enough not to put them in harm's way.
Yahya Jammeh changed his mind again, after he reportedly agreed to leave following a last-ditch intervention by Mauritania's president.
Senegal tabled a draft to the UN Security Council seeking approval for the ECOWAS intervention in Gambia if all peaceful means fail to resolve the crisis.
Last attempt for peaceful resolution failed.
ECOWAS forces have entered The Gambia to secure the State House, the seat of government. They encountered no resistance from the country's military.
Given security concern and forces, including the fright that gripped the populace, Banjul is eerily quiet. President-elect Adama Barrow will be sworn in at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal.
Left: President Macky Sall of Senegal.
Right: President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania.
The two leaders, including President-elect Adama Barrow, met at the Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport, the Senegalese state news agency APS reported.
The Mauritanian President flew from Banjul late Thursday after a last-ditch intervention to convince the defiant President Yahya Jammeh to hand over power peacefully. He briefed his Senegalese counterpart on the situation.
Former President Yahya Jammeh and Preside Abdel Aziz before the deadline on Jammeh's term expiration.
Hopes were buoyed in many quarters when Mr. Abdel Aziz stated that
" I am now less pessimistic [that Mr Jammeh] will work on a peaceful solution that is in the best interest for everyone." However, once again, Jammeh stayed true to his brand of rascality with no indication of exiting the presidency after 12.01am on January 19, 2017.
Yahya Jammeh is still in the country and holding himself out as President. The swearing-in of Adama Barrow will take place at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal. The original plan for the inauguration to hold at the national stadium was shelved due to the still volatile possibility from Mr. Jammeh's intransigence. After sworn-in, it is expected that the President-elect will be recognized internationally as The Gambia's head of state.
D-DAY: January 19, 2017
ECOWAS forces entered The Gambia after the expiration of Jammeh's term. Banjul, the capital, is eerily quiet. Thousands have fled the country. The ECOWAS mission will essentially include the capture of Jammeh, dead or alive, if peaceful resolution fails and he stirs trouble.
In 2013, the man, who goes by the official title of "His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Doctor Yahya AJJ Jammeh Babili Mansa," claimed that he could rule The Gambia for "a billion years" if God wills, in a year he also ordered the execution of at least nine "criminals and political opponents." He is unlikely to have God's willingness considering that the ECOWAS troops are reportedly moving to secure the State House, which is the seat of government. The streets are deserted and no reports of shots fired.
BASES FOR MILITARY OPTION
On Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017, Senegal, a member of the UN Security Council, asked the Council to authorize ECOWAS to take "all necessary measures" to ensure a transfer of power in The Gambia."
The text included "full support to the ECOWAS in its commitment to take all necessary measures to ensure the respect of the will of the people of The Gambia." The Council met behind closed doors yesterday to discuss the crisis over Jammeh's refusal to step down and renewed its demand that the leader hand over power on Thursday.
The draft resolution states that "instability in The Gambia could pose a threat to international peace and security in the region". The text requests that Jammeh "carry out a peaceful and orderly transition process, and to transfer power to President-elect Barrow by January 19."
"As we speak, there are developments and last-ditch efforts to try to resolve this situation in a peaceful way," said Sweden's Ambassador Olof Skoog, who holds the council presidency.The ambassador said a vote on the draft resolution "could happen quite soon" if those efforts fail. This was before the deadline. Now, all efforts have failed. Jammeh's term expired.
No vote has been scheduled. Some diplomats have suggested that such authorization may not be necessary if Mr Barrow is sworn in, recognized internationally as head of state and requests help. How soon will he be able to take power in his country largely depends on ECOWAS' mandated mission to lead a military intervention to install Mr. Barrow and bring the impasse to a close.How clear are the justifications for military intervention?
ECOWAS can militarily intervene through its Mediation and Security Council on advise of its Defence and Security Commission. But any intervention must be carried out within the UN Charter.
The UN Charter provides for the involvement of regional arrangements and agencies in the maintenance of international peace and security. This is provided such activities are consistent with the purposes and principles outlined in Chapter I of the Charter.
As a member of ECOWAS, Gambia is bound by the decisions of the regional authority and protocols relating to peace and security. Indeed the recommendation to establish and deploy the ECOMOG - short for ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring Group - into Liberia in 1990 was made by a committee chaired by the then Gambian president, Dawda Jawara.
For military intervention, regional leaders can invoke the supplementary protocol on democracy and good governance which proclaims:Zero tolerance for power obtained or maintained by unconstitutional means.
Article 45 (1) states:In the event that democracy is abruptly brought to an end by any means or where there is massive violation of human rights in a member state, Ecowas may impose sanctions on the state concerned.The ECOWAS mechanism for conflict prevention, management, resolution, peacekeeping and security - known simply as the Mechanism - authorizes all forms of intervention including the deployment of political and military missions.
ECOWAS can intervene militarily under article 25 of the Mechanism in response to conflict between two or several member states and in the event of internal conflict:that threatens to trigger a humanitarian disaster; or that poses a serious threat to peace and security in the sub-region.
A STUPID FIGHT.
I LOVE MY MEN.
<image1.JPG>
"We are not going to involve ourselves in any fight - Gambian army chief."
Chief of Defence Staff Ousman Badjie
On Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017, Chief of Defence Staff Ousman Badjie said he would not order his men to fight other African troops if they enter Gambian territory. He spoke as the ECOWAS troops massed on his nation's borders."We are not going to involve ourselves militarily.
This is a political dispute," Chief of Defence Staff Ousman Badjie said, after eating dinner in a tourist district close to the capital, Banjul, eyewitnesses told AFP.
The Defence boss added: "I am not going to involve my soldiers in a stupid fight. I love my men," stopping to pose for selfies with admirers while dressed in fatigues, beret and green t-shirt, according to those present.
If they (Senegalese) come in, we are here like this," Badjie said, making a hands-up gesture of surrender.Badjie is no stranger to headlining controversy. He declared his support for president-elect Adama Barrow and then made a detour when Jammeh challenged the results. He was recently barred from visiting Gambian peacekeepers in Darfur due to the sensitivity of The Gambia's political developments.Meanwhile the ECOWAS troops are unequivocal and mince no word: "Our troops are on alert. The ultimatum takes effect at midnight," when Jammeh's mandate is due to expire, Senegal army spokesman Colonel Abdou Ndiaye told AFP ahead of the deadline.Yesterday, a Senegalese radio station reported that ECOWAS soldiers have crossed into Gambian territory. The reporter said the heavily armed soldiers are entering the Gambia via land and sea. The Nigeria Airforce, which is already in Dakar, is on standby and would be deployed to help neutralize any resistance.
Gambia: Jammeh's Lawyer absconds, Asks Him To Step Aside
Lawyer Edward Anthony Gomez
First, as a lawyer for Jammeh and his ruling party, APRC, Mr. Edward Gomez attempted to overturn the results of The Gambia's presidential election held on December 1, 2017. Then he filed a petition on Jan 14, 2017 to stop the swearing-in of the Mr. Adama Barrow. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court declined to hear the case on Jan. 16, 2017.
The next day, Mr. Gomez abandoned the entire legal suits, called of his former client, Yahya Jammeh to relinquish power in the interest of peace and love for Gambians, and fled to Senegal, citing, among other values, dear life.
Here are some excerpts in the letter:
The former lawyer's opening statement, in which he expressed his own state of mind:
"On Tuesday 17th January 2017, my son and I took a crucial decision to seek sanctuary in the sister Republic of Senegal. This was found necessary due to the mounting fear and rapidly increasing tension at every passing moment."
He further recalled the circumstances:"As a legal practitioner representing President Jammeh and the APRC the party in the ongoing petition filed on his behalf at the Supreme Court of the Gambia, I have to admit that I was working under tremendous pressure and coercion. All the lawyers with established practices in the Gambia refused to be associated with the said petition. As a retainer for the ruling APRC party, I could not refuse the brief on professional grounds, despite ,my apprehension.""Having fortunately eluded the 24 hour military security around me and my family, I managed to arrive in Senegal where I now gained safety, respite and mental stability. In my present situation, I humbly and respectfully advise President Jammeh as the champion of peace he has been known to be to peacefully step aside in the interest of peace and safety of the Gambian people."
The former lawyer reflected on his near tragedy:
Mr. Gomez gave his former client, Mr Jammeh, an advice that he should "accept that everything except God's Kingdom, comes to an end and should not allow his legacy to be described as one where "pen of the sword dipped in innocent blood writes its history on the rough page of tyranny".
The lawyer reckons with reality:
"The general perception is that after midnight on January 18th, 2017, the mandate of President Yaya Jammeh would expire and President-elect, Mr. Adam Barrow, would be sworn in as president in line with the dictates of our constitution. Any attempt to interrupt this ceremony, it is clearly understood, opens The Gambia to attack from ECOWAS forces."He soberly reminded his former client, who eventually became a renegade against all realities:
"Remember, your Excellency, that life is short and we take nothing with us at the end of it. Our reward lies in our faithful worship and good deeds."And concluded:
"'Vox populi est vox dei.' The voice of the people is the voice of God. Please step aside in the interest of peace and love of your compatriots.
Unfolding News:
By Evelyn Joe
Today, the Vice President of The Gambia is the latest Cabinet Member to bolt from the collapsing Yahya Jammeh's executive architecture.
Former Vice President of The Gambia Dr. Isatou Njie Saidy (above) and the Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, and Religious Affairs Dr. Aboubacar A Senghore, resigned today.Among the eight former Ministers are:
Information: Sheriff Bojang
Sports Minister: Alieu Jammeh
Foreign Affair: Neneh Macdouall-Gaye
Finance and Economic Affairs: Abdou Kolley
Trade, Industry and Employment: Abdou Jobe
Health: Omar Sey
Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources: Pa Ousman Jarju.
The status of the Energy Minister, Dr. Saja Edward Sanne, is unknown. In an article written by a journalist, Pa Nderry M'Bai, Dr. Sanne is believed to have absconded months ago and somewhere in the US, failing to return from a mission in Europe.
ECOWAS DECLARES THE LEGAL ANTIC OF THE GAMBIAN PARLIAMENT INCONSEQUENTIALA day after Yahya Jammeh declared a 90-day state of emergency, the Gambian parliament approved a measure to extent his presidency by 90 days.
Left: Mr. Mai Ahmad Fatty. Right: Mr. Adama Barrow.
However, an adviser to President-elect Adama Barrow, Mr. Mai Ahmad Fatty, issued a statement that addressed the unconstitutional expediency of the parliament. Mr. Fatty, with Gambia Moral Congress, returned to The Gambia from exile after a five-year absence. His party is in the coalition of parties that came together and defeated Jammeh.
Mr. Fatty wrote: "Let me make it absolutely clear: an executive directive does not constitute law, and cannot override the law. Parliament has the power to legislate, yet a statute cannot override the Constitution. Parliament has no legislative competence under relevant legal and factual considerations to concede to this travesty.
It cannot oust either the application of, or the effect of the application of Section 63 of the Constitution. Section 34 (1) (b) of the Constitution is unambiguous: it can only be invoked subject to a compulsive condition precedent - "a situation exists, which if allowed to continue, may lead to a public state of emergency". The only state of facts is the pompous display of executive lawlessness by the outgoing President. This grievous abuse of the law by Parliament in excess of its powers, amounts to a fundamental breach of the spirit and letter of the Basic Law. Therefore, this unlawful declaration, does not avail Jammeh & cannot buy him more time in power. It will neither stand, nor will it be respected. It changes nothing.
On the 19th January, 2017, a new government SHALL be enthroned. If Jammeh does not step down mid-night on the 18th January, 2017, he will be declared an outlaw - a rebel leader, and will be dealt with accordingly."According to Economy Community of West African States (ECOWAS) officials, the decision of The Gambia's parliament is "inconsequential," Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris, reporting from Nigerian capital, Abuja, said."They say it doesn't matter whether it's been extended by three months, one year or 10 years. What they are saying is Jammeh must step down after midnight on Wednesday, otherwise ECOWAS and the African Union will intervene to ensure that the mandate given to Barrow by the people of Gambia stands the next day."
Unfolding News:
By Evelyn Joe
Today, the Vice President of The Gambia is the latest Cabinet Member to bolt from the collapsing Yahya Jammeh's executive architecture.
Former Vice President of The Gambia Dr. Isatou Njie Saidy (above) and the Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, and Religious Affairs Dr. Aboubacar A Senghore, resigned today.Among the eight former Ministers are:
Information: Sheriff Bojang
Sports Minister: Alieu Jammeh
Foreign Affair: Neneh Macdouall-Gaye
Finance and Economic Affairs: Abdou Kolley
Trade, Industry and Employment: Abdou Jobe
Health: Omar Sey
Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources: Pa Ousman Jarju.
The status of the Energy Minister, Dr. Saja Edward Sanne, is unknown. In an article written by a journalist, Pa Nderry M'Bai, Dr. Sanne is believed to have absconded months ago and somewhere in the US, failing to return from a mission in Europe.
ECOWAS DECLARES THE LEGAL ANTIC OF THE GAMBIAN PARLIAMENT INCONSEQUENTIALA day after Yahya Jammeh declared a 90-day state of emergency, the Gambian parliament approved a measure to extent his presidency by 90 days.
Left: Mr. Mai Ahmad Fatty. Right: Mr. Adama Barrow.
However, an adviser to President-elect Adama Barrow, Mr. Mai Ahmad Fatty, issued a statement that addressed the unconstitutional expediency of the parliament. Mr. Fatty, with Gambia Moral Congress, returned to The Gambia from exile after a five-year absence. His party is in the coalition of parties that came together and defeated Jammeh.
Mr. Fatty wrote: "Let me make it absolutely clear: an executive directive does not constitute law, and cannot override the law. Parliament has the power to legislate, yet a statute cannot override the Constitution. Parliament has no legislative competence under relevant legal and factual considerations to concede to this travesty.
It cannot oust either the application of, or the effect of the application of Section 63 of the Constitution. Section 34 (1) (b) of the Constitution is unambiguous: it can only be invoked subject to a compulsive condition precedent - "a situation exists, which if allowed to continue, may lead to a public state of emergency". The only state of facts is the pompous display of executive lawlessness by the outgoing President. This grievous abuse of the law by Parliament in excess of its powers, amounts to a fundamental breach of the spirit and letter of the Basic Law. Therefore, this unlawful declaration, does not avail Jammeh & cannot buy him more time in power. It will neither stand, nor will it be respected. It changes nothing.
On the 19th January, 2017, a new government SHALL be enthroned. If Jammeh does not step down mid-night on the 18th January, 2017, he will be declared an outlaw - a rebel leader, and will be dealt with accordingly."According to Economy Community of West African States (ECOWAS) officials, the decision of The Gambia's parliament is "inconsequential," Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris, reporting from Nigerian capital, Abuja, said."They say it doesn't matter whether it's been extended by three months, one year or 10 years. What they are saying is Jammeh must step down after midnight on Wednesday, otherwise ECOWAS and the African Union will intervene to ensure that the mandate given to Barrow by the people of Gambia stands the next day."
The Nigeria Air Force admitted it has deployed a standby force in Senegal to enforce the resolution of ECOWAS in The Gambia.
Senegalese troops have been seen moving towards the Gambian border.
Eyewitnesses reported that they saw a buildup of troops in the Kaolack region of Senegal to the north of Gambia, and in the Casamance region to the south of Gambia. The private Senegalese radio station, RFM, also reported that Nigerian military equipment has started arriving in the Senegalese capital of Dakar.
A military commander ECOWAS announced that Jammeh has only hours to leave. "We are waiting so that all political means have been exhausted. The mandate of the president is finished at midnight," Seydou Maiga Mboro said on Senegalese radio station RFM, adding that "all the troops are already in place."
Stay tuned.
On Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017, the weekend arrest of soldiers suspected of being sympathetic to President-elect Barrow, underscores significant disagreement within the armed forces over whom they will support on Jan. 19, 2017
A team of military police personnel led by Lt. Nuha William Jammeh rounded up senior military officers at the Fajara barracks. Captain Babucarr Bah alias 'Van damme' and Captain Demba Baldeh alias 'Mbarode' were both arrested by the Republican guard on allegation of showing allegiance to President- Elect Adama Barrow.Mr. Bah had told the Republican guards that the army should be loyal to the state and Gambian people when the elite troops came to solicit support for Jammeh.
Based on commentaries, including in alternative media, Mr. Barrow is receiving overwhelming support from the public in Africa and in the Diaspora and ECOWAS' actions are commended.
By Evelyn JoeDear Readers:
This is an unfolding saga. At this hour, after he shut down four radio stations, declared a 90-day state of emergency, had the parliament approve a three-month term elongation while his cabinet ministers are deserting him, Yahya Jammeh's fueled plane is in middle of the tarmac in Banjul, the capital. His wife and children already left the country. Why the plane is at that position thickens the tension.
Above is the pictured plane of Yahya Jammeh, which is parked in the middle of the tarmac. According to the reports, his South African pilot has been instructed to be on standby amid the political tension and people fleeing from the country.
An article indicates Jammeh is recruiting mercenaries.
Flight from The Gambia, which is going to cause humanitarian crises in the region.
Jammeh, who took power in a coup in 1994, is notorious for his belligerent, bizarre, and sometimes colorful, behavior. In May 2016, he told Jeune Afrique, a magazine published in France, that then UN Secretary General "Ban Ki-moon and Amnesty International can "go to hell", after they called for an investigation into the death of Gambian opposition leader Solo Sadeng while in prison. "Who are they to ask that?" he demanded.
He claims to have discovered the herbal cure for HIV/AIDS. Mr Jammeh often replies to international critics with volleys of anti-colonial retorts. In 2013, he abruptly pulled The Gambia out of the Commonwealth, denouncing it as a "neo-colonial institution". He has lashed out at Britain, saying it did nothing for Gambia in 300 years of colonialism, except "to tell us how to sing Baa Black Sheep and God Save the Queen." While at it, he is not without some admirers of the rhetoric.Also, reports from The Gambia said the inauguration of President-elect Adama Barrow will go ahead tomorrow in line with the constitution at the independent stadium in Banjul. He will be escorted by security forces from ECOMOG who are on standby at the Senegalese border and will move into The Gambia by midnight.
The Gambia's president-elect Adama Barrow
The Gambia's President-elect, Adama Barrow, is in Senegal at the request of ECOWAS for security reasons.
On Wednesday, Jan 18, 2017, he said his countrymen and women are at the brink of making another world history on Thursday, after defeating Yahya Jammeh in the December 1election.
"We made history on the first day of December. Our future starts tomorrow", he said in a tweet on Wednesday morning. "We made history on the first day of December. Our future starts tomorrow. #Gambia " he said on his twitter handle, @adama_barrow.
Normally, no military will unfold its plans ahead of an operation. However, military analysts have said that the open deployment of troops by ECOMOG is indicative of the seriousness to enforce the constitution of The Gambia if Jammeh refuses to step down after his term expires at midnight.
The Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) is a multilateral armed force established by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Other speculations hold that it is possible for the President-elect to be sworn-in at The Gambia's Embassy in Dakar, Senegal.
Stay tuned.
========================================================Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh Babili Mansa of Gambia Declares State of Emergency; ECOWAS TROOPS headed to GambiaBizarrely!
On January 17, 2017, he who appoints and sacks judges at his leisure ran out of legal steam and maneuvers. He declared a state of emergency to prevent the inauguration of President-elect Adama Barrow on Jan 19.
HIS DECLARATION BELOW.
His official resume reportedly includes the title:
"Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska."
I, Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh Babili Mansa, President of the Islamic Republic of the Gambia and Commander-in -Chief of the Armed Forces, acting under the provisions of section 34 (1) (b) of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of the Gambia, today, the 17th of January 2017, hereby declare a state of public emergency throughout the Islamic Republic of Gambia as a situation exists which, if it is allowed to continue, may lead to a state of public emergency.
The declaration is necessitated by:1. The unprecedented and extraordinary amount of foreign interference in the 1st December presidential election, and also in the internal affairs of the Gambia, and the unwarranted hostile atmosphere threatening the sovereignty, peace, security and stability of the country.
2. The absconding of the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, a key respondent to the petitions filed at the Supreme Court of the Gambia regarding the erroneous 1st December Presidential Election Results.
3. The inability of the Supreme Court to convene as a result of the non-appearance of the judges to hear the election petitions, mainly influenced by foreign powers and their agents, in an effort to thwart the constitutionally mandated process, as captured in an audio recording of the absconded chairman of the IEC discussing on how plans have been made to ensure the Supreme Court judges will not sit on time to hear the petitions against the flawed results he published.
4. The current state of fear and confusion created by some of the political players in the country, which could lead to the breakdown of law and order.
5. The need to prevent a constitutional crisis and power vacuum pending the determination of the petitions at the Supreme Court and the application for an injunction against swearing in Mr Adama Barrow or anybody as president of the Islamic Republic of the Gambia, until the Supreme Court decides on the 1st December 2016 presidential election results.
Under this state of public emergency, civil liberties are to be fully respected while all citizens and residents n the Gambia are banned from any acts of disobedience to the Laws of the Gambia, incitement to violence and acts intended to disturb public order and peace. The security forces are hereby instructed to maintain absolute law and order throughout the country.
NNS Unity heading to Banjul
Nigeria's NNS Unity has sailed off. Senegal is the host country for the ECOWAS troops for the military option if Yayha Jamme refuses to step down at the end of his term on January 19th.
A statement attributed to the Nigerian Air Force states: "That Nigeria is deploying troops is now a certainty after several meetings with The Gambian president yielded no result. The Chiefs of Defence Staff of ECOWAS countries came to Abuja on Saturday, where they discussed what components each member state is expected to contribute to the troops that will force Yahya Jammeh out." "The troops are expected to stay for two weeks and they will be received at a base in Senegal."From an article in Foreign Policy:The state of emergency puts the country on lockdown, banning "acts of disobedience" and "acts intended to disturb the public order." He's also shored up power in the country's supreme court and national assembly, which are considered mere extensions of the one-man regime. "Jammeh is digging in for a long fight here," Gambia expert Jeffrey Smith told Foreign Policy.
There may be will in neighboring countries to send in troops to remove him by force. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) members, including Nigeria and Gambia's neighbor Senegal, are reportedly preparing troops. On Tuesday, Nigeria deployed a warship off the coast of Gambia. A source in the Nigerian military told Reuters his country and other West African countries were readying for military action. And any fight may not last as long as Jammeh hopes.
His country's tiny military likely wouldn't fare well in a fight with neighboring militaries, Smith said - if it even fought at all. "The rank and file troops don't support [Jammeh]," Smith said. "His firm grip on security forces is exaggerated." Reading the tea leaves, three of Jammeh's ministers, including his foreign minister, resigned and thousands of Gambians have fled to Senegal and nearby Guinea-Bissau in expectation of a violent showdown.
Jammeh's ouster could relieve West Africa of one of its most problematic, violent, and bizarre dictators. Jammeh, who's led state-sanctioned witch hunts, claims he can cure AIDS, and lists "Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska" on his official resume, is is a black mark on West Africa's economic and political success. "He's not your average president - African or otherwise," Smith said.
The Changed MindYahya Jammeh's Intransigence at the Cost of Reason
New developments
By Evelyn Joe
Website version
http://conta.cc/2izXlKK
Quote of the week
"On January 19, I dare to hope that African wisdom will convince our brother (Jammeh) that the good Muslim that he claims to be understands the greater good for The Gambia, which does not need a bloodbath."
Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
Today, on January 16, 2017, President Jammeh received a legal blow. Gambia's Supreme Court refused to hear his injunction against the swearing-in of President-Elect Adama Barrow on January 19, 2017. The Supreme Court had earlier indicated that it lacked quorum, not enough judges, and will not be able to sit until May 2017 to hear Jammeh's petition to annul the entire December 1, 2016 election.
After rejecting ECOWAS' request, for the second time on Jan 13, 2016 to step down peacefully, Jammeh made a phone call to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Chairperson of ECOWAS, for the region to help him find enough judges. This came after ECOWAS Defence Chiefs met in Abuja Nigeria, in what is believed to be preparedness for a possible military intervention if Jammeh does not reconcile himself with constitutional decorum.
At the request of ECOWAS, Senegal is hosting President-elect Adama Barrow until his inauguration. This decision came amidst safety concerns with The Gambian government's refusal to ensure security. Mr. Barrow attended the Africa-French Summit in Bamako, Mali on January 14, 2017.
The African Union will cease recognition of Yayha Jammeh as the President of The Gambia as of January 19, 2017 when his tenure expires.
CONDOLENCE
President-elect Adama Barrow's son has died after being bitten by a dog. Eight-year-old Habibu Barrow is reported to have died on the way to the hospital on January 15, 2017 in Manjai near the Gambian capital Banjul. Mr Barrow missed his son's funeral as he was advised to remain in Senegal for his safety.
Term elongation has dire consequences for TheGambia with destabilizing effects in ECOWAS
Last straw? Missed opportunity? In ECOWAS Mission to resolve the stalemate peacefully, it vows to uphold the Gambian constitution. Military option when reasoning fails.LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE'S VOICE
The world was digesting and applauding the once improbable, that President Yahya Jammeh, after 22 years in power conceded defeat at the December 1, 2016 polls, when Jammeh upstaged himself by reversing his thinking.
With the afterthought, citing irregularities with the ballot marbles counted, the world, once more, is treated to Mr. Jammeh's theater as inauguration day looms nearer on January 19 for President-elect Adama Barrow. Gambia awaits after deciding.
On this brink of constitutional breach and chaos, with potential mayhem in the country, ECOWAS stepped in to preempt the calamity. To be mindful and clear, the awakened populace has apparently lost its fear of Jammeh.
The nation, based on the cross-section of dissenting voices, including ambassadors in foreign capitals who were dismissed for adding their voice, is in no mood to entertain a strongman syndrome. In radio stations, alternative social media in the mix, people in Africa and in the Diaspora are having a say. One can go to Jollof News, Fatu Network, and Gainako Radio, for examples, which automatically go into a broadcast in English and Wolof. It is unclear why the government will try to muzzle the press with the guaranteed futility.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is witness to the rising entrenchment of civilian succession in its region as the loser exits with dignity and the victor returns the grace with continuity without extrajudicial exercises.President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf; President Macky Sall (right in second row) President Muhammadu Buhari (left in second row in white); Former Ghanaian President John Mahama (behind President Sall.)
In two respective attempts, ECOWAS leaders were in Gambia to resolve the stalemate through dialogue and peaceful resolutions. The heavy weight mediation team consists of President Buhari of Nigeria, President Macky Sall of Senegal, former Ghanaian President John Mahama, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Chairperson of the Authority of ECOWAS. On January 13, 2017, the second mission included President Ernest Koroma of Sierra Leone. They met with both parties: President Jammeh and President-elect Barrow.
ECOWAS leaders with President Jammeh at the State House in Banjul.President Buhari of Nigeria is chairing the mediation effort with co-chair, former Ghanaian President Mahama.
President-elect Adama Barrow (right) with former Ghanaian President Mahama and Nigerian President Buhari.
Hear his Prayer: Why Jammeh says he will not quitWith the clock ticking to the close of his tenure, Mr. Jammeh put in play a ploy to stay put. On January 14, 2016, Mr. Jammeh and his political party, Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), filed a request with the Supreme Court for an injunction to block the swearing-in of President-elect Adama Barrow.
The APRC had earlier filed a legal challenge to annul the December 1 results and to hold a new election. At one point, Mr. Jammeh said he would pay for the new poll and expressed his intention to foot the bill on his confidence to win. He indicated he is setting an example for other African leaders to pay if they are sure of victory. Left unexplained is the source of money.
The Supreme Court was unable to hear the petition on January 10, 2016 because it lacked quorum after several judges failed to show up. Some were sighted in other African countries on the day they were supposed to be in court in Banjul. Supreme Court Chief Justice Emmanuel Fagbenle adjourned the hearing, which was held today, on January 16, 2016.
The latest application by the ruling party sought to effectively ask the Supreme Court for term elongation for Mr. Jammeh until such a time when the Supreme Court will find the right number of judges who can be able to rule on his challenge of the entire election result.
In the application signed by the its lawyer, Edward Gomez, the APRC wanted an order of interlocutory (interim) injunction that would have prevented The Gambia's Chief Judge or any other binding authority from inaugurating or swearing in Mr. Barrow as the President of The Gambia until the Supreme Court's determination of the election petition.
Jammeh's party also asked the court for an order "restraining, the President from preparing, arranging, organising, conducting, partaking or participating in any manner or form in the swearing-in and /or inauguration of Adama Barrow as President of the Republic of The Gambia on January 19, 2017."
In an affidavit support of the applications by a member of the APRC, Mr. Seedy Njie stated that Mr. Barrow "will not be prejudiced in anyway if he is sworn-in or inaugurated any time after January 19, 2017."
However, Mr. Njie believes, as affidavit reads: "The applicant, the candidate it sponsored, Yahya Jammeh, the President of the Republic of The Gambia, will be prejudiced and will suffer irreparable loss if Adama barrow is Sworn-in or inaugurated while its petition is pending."
Mr. Njie further opined that "there is intimidation, fear, and tension among The Gambians, which may lead to breakdown of law and order if the swearing-in or inauguration is allowed to take place before determination of the petition of the applicant."
Meanwhile, the opposition and other legal scholars dismiss all of the above as no more than strings of legal absurdities.
In an article titled "Building The New Gambia" by Madi Jorbarteh, published in Gainako on January 15, 2017, the author wrote " after all these failed attempts, what we must learn as Gambians is that Yaya Jammeh is not relenting but is seeking every opportunity to subvert our will. He is seeking to control the narrative so as to calm us down as he pursues the judicial channel knowing that this is where he can save himself."
Mr. Aziz Bensouda, the secretary general of the Gambia Bar Association, indicated that an injunction would be unconstitutional. "The inauguration of the president-elect should be held when Jammeh's term officially ends. The court does not have any mandate to put an inauguration on hold," he said.
With today's decision, the Chief Justice declined to hear the interim motion to block the inauguration of President-elect Barrow. The Chief Justice said he will recuse himself from the suit because he is a subject in the injunction.
He further adjourned the petition to annul the election until the Supreme Court is properly constituted. Last week, he estimated that the Court will not be able to convene until May 2017. Nevertheless, Mr. Jammeh does not, so far, envision himself relinquishing power outside the court ruling.
The Court itself and Phone Call to ECOWAS
The Supreme Court has not convened in over a year. The justices are appointed and removed by Mr. Jammeh. After criticizing the court's decision to commute several death sentences to life sentences in prison, he dismissed two judges since 2013. In a televised speech then, Jammeh said he was no longer willing to allow the Supreme Court "to overturn death sentences". But there are laid-down procedures for the removal of judges from office, which the President ignores.
In another latest move, Mr. Jammeh called on ECOWAS to help the country find judges so that its Supreme Court can hear his case. He made the call after the ECOWAS negotiators left Gambia on January 13, 2017 while he remained unpersuaded.
In the recorded phone conversation on January 15, 2017 with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Chairperson of ECOWAS, which was broadcast on Gambia TV, Jammeh said: "The only peaceful resolution of this impasse is through the courts."
In what sounded like handing out a diplomatic parachute for soft landing, Mrs. Sirleaf responded that it would be better if Jammeh puts his request in a written statement in which he also pledges to follow the constitution. "Then we can move on and encourage Nigeria and other people to get the judges to come there," she said, according to the broadcast.
But Mrs. Sirleaf was not amused as she later berated Mr Jammeh for being dubious. In an interview with BBC Focus On Africa Programme, she explained, "at the time he called me, I was thinking that he was going to find a way out of this and he was going to be able to work with the [mediation] team but clearly, clearly it was just a game. It was just a ruse on his part."
The ECOWAS Chairperson said it is unfortunate that Mr Jammeh recorded the conversation without informing her of his motive. "Unfortunately, being the person that he is, he recorded and televised the conversation without advising me of his intent to do so," she said.
"Let me make it very, very clear. There is no change in ECOWAS' position. The constitution of the Gambia must be respected. My only duty was to take his appeal and pass it on to the mediating team," President Sirleaf concluded.
ECOWAS and the Support of the International Community
Leaving the doors open for peaceful resolution, ECOWAS leaders departed from Banjul without an understanding from Mr. Jammeh on the imperative of a smooth transfer of power when his term expires on January 19, 2017. ECOWAS vows to ensure this eventuality and on the timetable.
A meeting with Mr. Barrow
On January 13, 2017, the African Union (AU) issued a statement reiterating its full support for ECOWAS including "the consideration to use all necessary means to ensure the respect of the will of the people of The Gambia." The AU also said it will not recognize Jammeh as the legitimate head of The Gambia once his term expires on January 19, 2017.
The position of the AU is supported the United Nations Security Council, United States and the European Union - all insisting that Jammeh leaves in accordance with The Gambia's constitution.
French President François Hollande and Malian President President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta with President-elect Adama Barrow (center).
Mr. Barrow attended the Africa-France Summit in Bamako, Mali on January 14, 2017.
"On January 19, I dare to hope that African wisdom will convince our brother (Jammeh) that the good Muslim that he claims to be understands the greater good for The Gambia, which does not need a bloodbath," President Ibrahim Aboubacar Keïta told journalist.
On January 15, 2017, the state-owned Senegalese news agency, APS, reported that Senegalese President Macky Sall had accepted to host Mr. Barrow at the request of ECOWAS until his inauguration. The decision was made in light of the security concerns and the government's refusal to ensure his safety.
ECOWAS FORCE
CARROT (Diplomacy) and STICK (Military Intervention)
In December 2016, the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) said ECOWAS had decided to take all necessary actions to enforce the results of Gambia's presidential election. Mr. Mohamed Chambas, Head of UNOWAS informed the UN Security Council on the political and security situation in the region that the West African bloc was ready to take decisive action in the Gambia.
On Friday January 13, 2016, Ibn Chambas, reemphasized the military option by indicating that ECOWAS would ask the Security Council to approve the deployment of troops to enforce the constitution.
ECOWAS Defence Chiefs on January 14, 2017 in Abuja, Nigeria
On January 14, 2016, the Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, Abayomi Olonisakin, hosted colleagues from other West African countries as ECOWAS keeps a possible military action in the Gambia on the table.
The meeting, held at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, was part of the preparation for the inauguration of an Ecowas Military Intervention Group (ECOMIG) if President Yahya Jammeh follows through with his threats not to step down when his term expires on January 19, 2017.
A statement published on the website of the Defence Headquarters listed notable ECOWAS service chiefs and dignitaries at the meeting, which included the Chairperson of ECOWAS Chief of Defence Staffs Brigadier General Daniel Dee Ziankahn, Jr. of Liberia; Brigadier General Cheikh Gueye of Senegal; Air Marshal Michael Samson-Oje of Ghana; ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Hajiya Salamatu; Vice President of the Commission; and principal staff officers from Defence, Army, Navy, and Air Force headquarter.
General Olonisakin welcomed the participants and ECOWAS officials to Nigeria and expressed the readiness of regional leaders and military commanders to continue the pursuit of dialogue with the political leaders of Gambia to ensure a peaceful transition of power in accordance with the Gambian's constitution and the peoples will.For all intents and purposes, a military option is a last resort after Mr. Jammeh's intransigence makes him a rebel against constitutional reasoning and his own country.
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