THE BIG INTERVIEW: HARUNA DARBO SPEAKS!!!

…..Yahya has staged and engineered faux coup d'e'tats to make room for this eventuality you speak of.

Freedom Newspaper: Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Haruna Darbo: I am a world citizen born in The Gambia. I have attended Farafenni, Brufut, Campama, Mohammedan Junior, Bakau, Windley, and Brufutprimary schools, and Gambia, Kullia Trabulus'l Jadeed, Franklin, Methodist boys, and Saint Augustine's high schools in Gambia, The United States, Sierra Leone, and Libya. I attended Georgia Tech, NC State, and Western Carolina Universities studying Physics, law, and Engineering. I take a fancy to the arts and cultural development.

Freedom Newspaper: As the Director of The Global Democracy Project, what can you tell us about Gambia's Governance situation? Any significant achievements in terms of Governance?

Haruna Darbo: Tentative and untenable at best. No significant governance policies initiated and the ones inherited are being systemmatically and deliberately eroded.

Freedom Newspaper: What needs to be done to improve Governance in The Gambia?

Haruna Darbo: To bring context and proper perspective to relations among her constituent interest-groups. Highlight common interests in policy-making, and dispense with onerous policies expeditiously.

Freedom Newspaper: But President Jammeh says " Western Democracy" will never be practiced in The Gambia. That, Africa has its own form of democracy. What do you make out of this?

Haruna Darbo: President Jammeh means what he says. President Jammeh cannot readily discern "Western Democracy" or "African Democracy". The test question is to ask him to explain to you what the "African Democracy" is that imbues such nirvanna. The western peoples have been on a journey to evolve from the stains of their colonial and imperial past. They have kneaded their policy trained toward a more plural and benign dispensation. This is a result of a myriad research in sociology, art, and the natural sciences. President Jammeh on the other hand, is trained on a more limited but precise social science and not democracy, African or western.

Freedom Newspaper: Is Jammeh a dictator?

Haruna Darbo: Jammeh is an unstable fruitcake. He is an unreliable partner in the theatre of public ware. "Dictator" is a much used mirage of a more ominous trait.

Freedom Newspaper: What's your overall assessment of the 14 year Jammeh administration? Has Jammeh initiated any meaningful development for Gambians?

Haruna Darbo: The realisation of a special-interest "Jola" nation comprising The Gambia, part of southern Senegal and northern Guinea Bissau. First things first - The Gambia. That is the wild card for an impasse-brokered southern Senegal and Northern Bissau.

Freedom Newspaper: What about the University of The Gambia? How about the numerous schools and hospital built by the APRC? Are these not developments?

Haruna Darbo: The elevation of a sober but progressive Gambia college to University status is part and parcel of the mirages. It will be advisable to review mechanics and process of the "University" to satisfy your query Mr. Mbai. I am reminded it plays host at election time to augmented voter rolls.

Freedom Newspaper: The Freedom Newspaper recently came under attack from critics, who accused it of antagonizing the Jolla Community. Our recent move to expose Jammeh's tribal tendencies never went down well with some critics. What do you make of these critics?

Haruna Darbo: First Mr. Mbai, before I address your "critics" let me share with you my regard for the freedom newspaper's place in Gambian culture and progress. To be sure, I have and continue to find your paper wanting in some technical areas of information processing and sharing. By and large however, I recognize that those errors and omissions are bumps in your journey toward a democratic dispensation. When I discern such, I bring it to your attention and advise propriety. I will continue to do so sometimes at the risk of soured relations. I must therefore apologise in advance for such ominous yield.
I think the critics of your paper's valuable exercise are over-reacting. Bordering on unreasonable pedagogy. The understanding of "tribe" is severely lacking and innures knee-jerk reactions, sometimes of guilt by erroneous association. We are aware of interest-peddling cum tribalism in Herzegovina, Schrebrenitsa, Darfur, Fiji, Bretagne, Northern Ireland, Myanmar, Macedonia, Montenegro, Waco, Scotland, Belgium, and Lappland. Some of these festering crimes have survived conscientious alacrity by ordinary citizens and the short attention span of today's news media. Society itself has evolved in the way and manner in which information is processed for greater good. It is that evolution that Freedom online, The Gambia Echo and Journal, Senegambianews, AllGambian, and the proliferation of the bloggosphere is on the cusp of realising.
I therefore say: Do good work, always. Fare ye well and prosper. The life you save may be your own.

Freedom Newspaper: You were on record for having defended the Freedom Newspaper. What makes you support Freedom?

Haruna Darbo: Indeed. I am on record for supporting Freedom and offering it counsel I deem wise when the opportunity arose. On balance, I look forward to better synthesis in publication and a blessed life for freedom. I support Freedom because it is part of the iterative web of solutions to decadence and pannafore.

Freedom Newspaper: How serious is tribal politics in The Gambia? Is it becoming a social problem?

Haruna Darbo: It is as serious as Gambians perceive it to be. My understanding is that tribal politics germinates in a vacuum of lawlessness. Laws in all nations address disparate and disproportionate "governance" and "Politics". Therefore for the purveyor of special-interest politics, he or she must first dismantle law and order. That was the beginning of the social problem of tribal or special-interest governance.

Freedom Newspaper: What are the implications of tribal politics?

Haruna Darbo: The implications are that what colonisation could not achieve in centuries, Yahya is attempting to achieve in his lifetime. He will fail miserably. It is significant that the non-complicit citizens of Jola persuasion stand up and nip this stain on their proud tradition in the bud or it will be done for them.

Freedom Newspaper: Many key Government positions are occupied by the President's ethnic group. The army is headed by General Tamba, the NIA is headed by Modou Lamin Jarju, the police is headed by Ben Jammeh, the prisons Department is headed by David Colley, the Interior Ministry is headed by Ousman Sonko, the Drug Squad is headed by Bun Sanneh and a host of other Departments. Do you sense tribal discrimination here?

Haruna Darbo: I think you are embarked on certifying this aspect of Yahya's schemes. What I do know is that Yahya has usurped the elective and representation process that is specifically advised to ward off special-interest politics by appointing chiefs and local administrative authorities himself. He has also given the air of "Jola" superiority by summarily hiring and firing folk of other tribes and dissenting "Jolas". Further, Yahya has staged and engineered faux coup d'e'tats to make room for this eventuality you speak of. You therefore only address the yield of the scheme and not the process. That is why I think your 'critics' squirms are grossly unfair and misplaced.

Freedom Newspaper: Supporters of Jammeh have argued that Jammeh has all rights to hire his ethnic group since according to these supporters " the Jollas were marginalized" in the First Republic? How founded are such claims? Was Jawara a tribalist?

Haruna Darbo: Any president has a right to hire his or her special-interest folk. The question you should ask these "supporters" is:
how and when have the "Jola" been marginalised, subjugated, oppressed, or discriminated-against in the first and honourable Republic? Then we can all determine if the claims are founded or unfounded. Sir Dawda Jawara, Gambia's first president, is the alter-ego of a tribalist. He doesn't harbour the temperament nor does he have reason to be tribalist.

Freedom Newspaper: What's the difference between the PPP and the APRC Government? Is the APRC not another photocopy of the PPP Government?

Haruna Darbo: PPP was a government of the diverse peoples of Gambia who managed custody of our independence from Great Britain with utmost care, serenity, circumspect, and due-diligence. To be sure, they had miscellaneous shortcomings.
APRC began with a promise of genuine re-orientation (R) of those miscellaneous shortcomings. APRC then transmogrified into a special-interest scheme. One indicator of this transmogrification can be seen from the answer you get when you ask yourself and fellow citizen this question: Those who were the Re-orienters, did they expire due to natural causes or voluntarily? Did they fall from grace incidentally? It is hard to imagine that only one or two of them can be entrusted with Re-Orienting Gambia and Gambians. The ones who remain, what is the scope and character of their attributes to warrant such fiducius?

Freedom Newspaper: Was tribal discrimination an issue during the First Republic?

Haruna Darbo: NO.

Freedom Newspaper: In your own view, what must have inspired Jammeh to discriminate against other tribes?

Haruna Darbo: In Jammeh's small mind, the ware of his special-interest group was the result of complicity by other special-interest groups, in astounding unison. In the same small mind, the antedote to his perceived but erroneous grievance is to reverse a course that was never embarked upon in the first place. Taiwan, Libya, Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran are only unwilling accomplices in the grand scheme. These countries understand that at the end of the day, they will move toward achieving their limited goals, and they can certainly neutralize any attendant threats to their nations, of a special-interest Gambia, trained to their ends. They are sadly mistaken if they consider such a win-win situation.

Freedom Newspaper: Going back to the Freedom Newspaper tribal series news items, has the paper acted right by exposing the said story in the public domain?

Haruna Darbo: Yes. And I encourage the paper to continue in their commendable query. I also encourage the other journals and newspapers to do yeoman's work in the other aspects of Yahya's scheme and become complimentary to Freedom's effort for greater good.

Freedom Newspaper: What message do you have for our critics?

Haruna Darbo: Participate in the true Re-Orientation of Gambia, Senegal, and Guinea Bissau. If you cannot, then strengthen those who can and will.

Freedom Newspaper: Why is tribalism a taboo in The Gambia? Don't you think it's about time for Gambians to discourage tribal politics?

Haruna Darbo: It is only a taboo for the vrai criminals and purveyors of tribalism or special-interest politics. It is almost past time for Gambia and Gambians to discourage special-interest politics.

Freedom Newspaper: What do you foresee if Jammeh fails to stop his tribal politics?

Haruna Darbo: Jammeh will be made to stop and train on more benign course as to the citizens of Gambia, if reluctantly.

Freedom Newspaper: Do you harbor short or long term political ambition?

Haruna Darbo: NO

Freedom Newspaper: How democratic is the GDP?

Haruna Darbo: The GDP is in its formative stages. Democracy is not an attendant happenstance for The GDP. It is the raison d'etre of The GDP. Only folk of a democratic dispensation can people The GDP. Then we will persuade non-democratic folk by our examples in life. To us, democracy is a lifestyle to be voluntarily chosen. Natural law and considerate life are partners of The GDP.

Freedom Newspaper: How is your relation with the ruling APRC? Or your main agenda is to only promote the opposition? Can your educate me on this please?

Haruna Darbo: I have no relation with APRC. I have no agenda to promote any opposition. I live a democratic lifestyle and I wish to share the value and potentialities of that with you Mr. Mbai. Won't you join us in The GDP? Tell your family and friends about it and encourage them to come grow with us.

Freedom Newspaper: What inspires you to set up the GDP?

Haruna Darbo: The intrinsic value in folk and the recognition that the greatest solutions to problems inevitably comes from participants in the creation of the problems. To be sure, animals also have their shortcomings and they must be encouraged to ameliorate their share of those burdens.

Freedom Newspaper: Any last words?

Haruna Darbo: I am sorry Mr. Mbai, I am not given much to "last words". When I approach my death bed, and if forewarned, please be the repository of my parting words: "Continue the work of The GDP and be good, always".

Freedom Newspaper: Thanks Mr. Darbo for granting us this interview.

Haruna Darbo: It has been my pleasure. May the Lord keep and bless you.