By Saul Saidykhan
At the height of his brutal reign, I took to calling Yaya Jammeh “Yaya Jakut” which is Jola for Ugly Yaya. I’ve had reason to explain to some people that I’m not referring to the tyrant’s physical looks, but his lack of integrity or character.
It is my belief that the ugliest Africans are members of my tribe of western-educated natives (be it in English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish) who copy and use the exact same devious methods Europeans used and continue to use to fool, manipulate, and control their own people just to rip them off.
This is where Jammeh’s evil genius lies.
From 1994 to his last days in office, he showed us who he truly is: a ruthless grifter who has no scruples preying on feeble or idle minds often by invoking primordial sentiments just so HE can get what he wants. In power, he never hesitated to enforce his wishes with brutality. Out of power, he continues with the same mind games.
The charade he pulled off in his native Kanilai last weekend only reinforces my view of him. Unlike almost all the attendants at that circus, Jammeh knows exactly what his predicament is. Yet, he has no problems toying with the minds and emotions of his mostly uneducated followers.
See, the 2017 Political-Military Agreement that led to Yahya Jammeh’s exile was not a single document but a nuanced, multi-party deal that is referred to as the “Gateway Agreement” or the “Banjul Accord.” It was the result of an intense negotiation by a group of West African leaders. This is a matter of public record that educated Gambians can verify for themselves.
There were 4 key Elements of the Agreement:
1. Guarantee of Safe Exit and Exile: A key plank of the deal was that Jammeh and his family would be allowed to leave The Gambia and go into “exile without being immediately arrested or prosecuted”. (Note the implication of the quoted phrase.) He was only guaranteed a safe passage OUT of the country.
2. Return of Assets and Immunity: A critical point for Jammeh was the protection of his (mostly ill-gotten) assets and, initially, a form of immunity. The agreement included provisions that he would be allowed to return to The Gambia “in the future under certain conditions” and that his security and property would be protected. However, this provision which is what Jammeh points to as absolute “immunity” was ambiguous from the onset as it was NOT a formal, legally binding grant from the Gambian state. (Again, the fine print ‘under certain conditions’ implies this caveat.)
3. ECOWAS Military Intervention (ECOMIG): To enforce the political will, ECOWAS assembled a military force – the ECOWAS Mission in The Gambia (ECOMIG). Troops from Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana entered The Gambia, ready to forcibly remove Jammeh if he did not step down. This show of force was the crucial leverage that made the diplomatic agreement work.
4. Handover of Power: The main goal was for Jammeh to formally relinquish power to the legitimately elected president, Adama Barrow, ending his 22-year dictatorship.
On January 21, 2017, after a final, tense phone call with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and Guinean President Alpha Condé (who flew to Banjul to escort him out), Jammeh boarded a plane and flew to Equatorial Guinea, where he was granted asylum and remains to this day. (Jammeh and the Equatorian leader Obiang owned neighboring mansions in Potomac, Maryland.)
Jammeh is much smarter than the average Gambian. He knows ALL these facts and like I’ve cued, he is deliberately misleading his followers who generally don’t know any better. Many of those people truly believe Yaya Jammeh will return to be president again!
So, why is Jammeh engaging in this cruel mind games with his innocent followers?
…See Part 2.
