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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Feb 2008 : 11:33:54
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since sam sarr cannot stop misquoting people ,he too will not have rest. i wrote my response to his misquoting of my last writing on the topic. on a second thought i shelve the reply. i did that not to take any thing he wrote against me personally. i believe in the intelligence of Gambians. so sam is too insignificant to mislead a whole reading populace. he tried hard to mislead but he failed.
saul saidy khan on the other hand did not let him rest. his comments are some what historical and pin-pointing. sam is forcing some strong reactions ,but people should read with open mind.if need be i will post my reply but for now lets read what saul have to say.
cutesy of www.freedomnewspaper.com
Sam Sarr, Ethnic Nationalism, and the Quest for a Gambian Nation Part II
Pa Nderry,
First, please accept my heartfelt felicitation on your two years anniversary. Both your writing and editorial quality has improved tremendously in this short time, and there is no doubt that you’ll do even better with a little more effort. Keep up the good fight, and remain as neutral as you are, and you’ll earn more people’s respect. I wish you all the best in your endeavors.
Cheers!
Saul Saidy-Khan
--------------------------------
Sam Sarr, Ethnic Nationalism, and the Quest for a Gambian Nation Part II
I’m just a little tied up these days, and I had hoped to finish off the Conclusion of my take on Sam Sarr and his scandalous Ethnic Paint Job on the Mandinka last weekend. But having re-read Sam’s various posts, I’ve decided to change tack a bit. That is because of Sam’s knack for deliberately misquoting me, and in some instances actually substituting what I wrote for his own – something I might add, that is evidently consistent with his unscrupulous personality. The only reason I wrote in detail in my first response was to provide context for my arguments against Sam’s preposterous allegations against an ethnicity-obsessed people in The Gambia call Mandinka. Any fair-minded person who reads what I wrote will see that every Counter-Argument I made against what Sam wrote is premised on a stated context (mostly Sam Sarr’s claims.) In other words, I cite Sam’s allegation, or claim, and then proceed to lay out my argument(s) to demonstrate why he is off kilter. Yet in his two replies since, Sam Sarr has consistently misquoted me, or inserted his own words into what he claims I wrote, all while leaving out the contexts I’d advanced to buttress those particular counter-claims. At first I thought this was inadvertent, until I noticed the frequency with which he has done so. Given that fact, I believe it is simply outside the realm of coincidence that Sam committed these oversights through genuine error. Rather, as incredulous as I personally was at first, this pattern of behavior unmasks Sam Sarr for what he really is: someone of easy virtue; someone seriously lacking in honor and integrity; someone who has NO regard for the truth. These are very serious charges, so I’ll substantiate.
In his reply to Suntu Touray, though Sam Sarr stated multiple times that he would get to me separately, he lifted about two pages from my Part I verbatim until he reached the very end where for only God knows why, he decided to tailor-make what I wrote to suit his objectives. He quoted me thus:
“... Even in school, they caught hell from some Aku-speaking teachers. However, that attitude proved to be infectious, because the Banjul Wolofs turned around and treated other Gambians that followed them in worse ways! So in truth, the majority of the Mandinka! Victim of whom? End of Quotation”
Here is exactly what I wrote:
“What I find very irritating about Sam’s Wolof Nationalist types is the haughty attitude that they somehow have a monopoly on the truth about Gambian history. You see, just because others don’t whine and raise hell doesn’t mean there is only one culprit in Gambia’s socio-political scene. There never has been. Banjul Wolofs themselves were routinely bullied by Akus before others got to the scene. Even in school, they caught hell from some Aku-speaking teachers. However, that attitude proved to be infectious, because the Banjul Wolofs turned around and treated other Gambians that followed them in worse ways! So in truth, the majority of the Mandinka, Fulani, Jola, Manjago, etc were more often than not at the receiving end of Colony Wolof bullying, not the other way around. Yet, it is the Wolof Nationalist who are always crying victim! Victim of whom?”
Why cut off my sentences mid-stream unless if Sam is desperate to score cheap points? (I’ll get to why he is so desperate.) Sam had realized that quoting my full sentence would have gotten in the way of how he is determined to portray me. Therefore, being the dishonest person he is, he has no qualms about cutting and slashing my words to achieve his objectives. Just look at the original and the quotation. The incongruence of the sentence speaks for itself. This is Example #1 of Sam Sarr’s blatant dishonesty.
I shall revisit some of the rubbish Sam wrote about me in that “unfinished business” with Suntu Touray but in his direct reply to me, here is another deliberate Bait and Switch:
… “I have no doubt in my mind that this Mandinka hatred has to do with the fact that they’re (Dr. Manneh and Sheriff Dibba) the only people in The Gambia who consistently stand up to Wolof Nationalism.”
Here is exactly what I wrote (note the preceding subtext):
“… The horrible Mandinka tribalist people call PPP did exactly what Pierre Njie, or JC Fye, or Garba Jahumpa would have done! ALL the new institutions were headed by mainly Wolof-speaking Banjul people! Every single one of them! So where is the Tribalism beef? Methinks, this is a great deal for any people who lost an election. You got everything else you would have had you won. Isn’t that consolation enough? Is there any concession Mandinka people can make to Wolof Nationalists that would assuage their resentment? What’s this hatred about? Must you have people wrapped around your fingers to feel relevant? I have no doubt in my mind that this Mandinka hatred has to do with the fact that, they’re the only people in The Gambia who consistently stand up to Wolof Nationalists.”
Anyone can see that the subject here is Mandinka in general (standing up to Wolof Nationalists, not Wolof Nationalism –as Sam wrote.) But more importantly, why did Sam Sarr interpret this statement of mine as referring to Dr. Manneh and Sheriff Dibba specifically? Nothing in that paragraph had anything to do with either gentleman. This is Example #2.
In another desperate attempt to project his mindset onto me, Sam wrote thus:
“In the climax of his excitement, Saul Saidykhan shamelessly came up with another divisive statement frequently made by his type to undermine those great families built on inter tribal marriages. For him to say that for the “last forty years the two groups of people who cannot stay away from each other in The Gambia are Mandinka men and Wolof women” reminded me of those political misfits who relentlessly campaign against a cardinal unifying factor among polarized ethnic groups…”
Here is my entire paragraph:
“So enough of this Western Artist-style neurotic, self-analytical, and narcissistic behavior: “Mandinka people turned against Jawara because they hate Wolof;” “Sheriff Dibba broke away because he hates Wolof;” “they don’t speak Wolof because they hate Wolof people;” etc. There is something incredibly prepubescent about this mindset. It makes George Bush look like a genius. Who said Mandinka lives revolve around Wolof hatred? What is to gain from that? The one thing that we can all agree on about the last forty years is that the two groups of people who cannot stay away from each other in The Gambia are Mandinka men and Wolof women. Some hatred it must be.”
Again, note the subtle deliberate misquote. Any fair-minded person can see that I’m deriding the *****ic notion that Mandinka people are consumed by Wolof hatred as being parroted by the likes of Sam Sarr. My very last sentence “Some hatred it must be” is meant to rubbish such claims. It’s men who make the final move to marry women in Gambian society. Now if the Mandinka are so hateful towards Wolof people, why do we have so many Mandinka-Wolof marriages? That is my point! Yet Ajantala Sam, the Gambian Prince of Mendacity is using this sentence to attack imaginary “political misfits who relentlessly campaign against” inter-ethnic marriages. I have never heard of any Gambian politician do any such thing. Sam should name such people. This is Example #3.
Sam seems to be in a race to outdo himself in this one on OJ. His entire write-up was thus:
”He quoted former Agriculture Minister Omar Amadou Jallow (OJ) in an incident where he said that the Serrekunda East politician had said something to the effect of reducing the importance of the Wolofs in The Gambia because of their insignificant numbers. I was born and grew up in the same neighborhood with OJ and certainly have my doubts over him making such statements when he comes from a Wolof-speaking-Fula family in Serekunda and for over forty years was married to one of the most beautiful and respected Wolof ladies there. He was however a politician and I therefore, wouldn’t outright say that he didn’t utter the remarks. But, knowing what I now know, if I were a politician wanting to make Saul Khan happy, I would feed him with tales of horrors concerning Wolof bigotry and their imminent doom. However, knowing OJ very well, I will leave the allegation at that until later.”
Here is exactly what I wrote and the entire paragraph:
“As OJ once told me, Colony Wolof ought to “tone down their criticism of the PPP because of what we did for them.” He was talking about a people who constitute less than 10% of the Gambia’s population, yet constituted the majority of ALL IMPORTANT positions in the various PPP governments. Yet, some continue to cry victim. Victims of Mandinka tribalists. Sometimes, one can’t help but feel sick at what one hears, or reads. A little gratitude would be in order. If truth be told, Mandinka people helped Colony Wolof tremendously. What the Sam Sarrs call a “Wolof hegemony” was allowed to flourish during the PPP era, NOT BEFORE. Before the PPP era, Aku speakers were fully in charge. It was in fact the “tribalist” PPP Mandinka folks who put Colony Wolof on top! This was one area where Jawara should be extolled.”
So where in the world did Sam Sarr get his interpretation of what I quoted OJ as telling me? Where did I even suggest that OJ said “…something to the effect of reducing the importance of the Wolofs in The Gambia because of their insignificant numbers?” Goodness gracious! OJ never said any such thing, and I never even suggested that he did! I know Omar Jallow and his beautiful wife Awa Jobe. I like them both. OJ is my friend. Part of the reasons I love OJ is that he speaks his mind. When Jawara announced his Non-Retirement Retirement Plan in Jarra in 1992, OJ was one of the few PPP leaders who urged him to retire as he promised. One of the things OJ said in that conversation was that with the exception of BB Darbo and Dr. Ablie Bojang, almost all of the PPP Ambassadors were Colony Wolof/Banjulians for the longest time. Which is true! In short, despite what we hear now from the likes of Sam Sarr, Colony Wolof, or Banjulians held a disproportionate percentage of very prominent positions in the various PPP governments. Thus, like everyone else who cares for integrity, OJ was just saying that they (Colony Wolofs) should “tone down” their criticism of the PPP because of YESTERDAY! This I agree with entirely. So if Sam Sarr wants to knock down Omar Jallow, he should do so without trying to hide behind me! I NEVER wrote what Sam is shamelessly attributing to me. Sam Sarr is indeed a class act as a Master Conjurer. Thank god, this exchange is through letters not voice. This is Example #4.
Here is another needless fabrication of Sam Sarr’s about what I wrote:
“That was what came in my mind when I read Khan’s reflections, about Banjulians heckling Mandinkas in their streets calling them all bad names such as killers, rapists, etc.”
In fact, what I wrote was:
“…Some people still alive remember walking down streets in Banjul in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, and getting jeered, heckled, and taunted with words like “Santong Ko!”; “Nko!”; “Go back to the farm!”; etc. ~ Santong KO, especially only means “someone from the countryside,” in Mandinka. But it was said as if it is on a par with “thief”, “murderer,” “rapist,” or something dirty like that.”
I said words like “Santong Ko!”; “Nko!”; “Go back to the farm!” were thrown at the Kow-Kow as if these words were as dirty as “thief”, “murderer,” “rapist”; etc. Why the misquote? There is a huge difference between what I wrote and Sam’s quotation. This is Example #5.
One attribution of Sam’s to me that I cannot even find in my piece went thus:
“Khan in his angry mood has at least acknowledged the abject poverty in Banjul with all the good buildings belonging to the Creoles and Europeans although he still argued that the Wolofs denied the Mandinkas the jobs they monopolized.”
Sam will have to help me find where I wrote this. The only statement I made relating to employment went exactly like this:
“…Add to this the open discrimination they underwent in finding employment, and you get a picture of what drove various Mandinka groups under the leadership of people like Sanjally Bojang, and Pa Keita to shove aside their differences to form a coalition in order to matter in the post-Colonial period.”
So where did Sam Sarr read me argue that “…the Wolofs denied the Mandinkas the jobs they monopolized?” This is Example #6.
In the same vein Sam Sarr wrote:
“Those Wolof speaking Banjulians who over the past decades or even century had struggled to adjust to the most difficult times and are now coping with what they got in Jammeh may be behind what Khan interpreted as “the Wolofs kissing up to Jammeh”.
Note again that Sam acts as if he is quoting me verbatim, when in fact, he is engaging in his trademark fabrication. What I actually wrote was:
“…When some of us mention what was done to Country people in Banjul, we are condemned as bitter and hateful. But the Sam Sarrs never relent in their fabricated tales about what “Mandinka people did to Wolofs in 1960.” And this is used as justification for why they’re kissing up to Yaya Jammeh today. In their mind, they’re “Paying Back what Mandinka people did to them.” Never mind, the truth about what actually happened, or the “others” in our country.”
The subject of my statement “…justification for why they’re kissing up to Yaya Jammeh today” is the spurious allegation they make about what “Mandinka people did to Wolofs in 1960.” Surely, this isn’t hard to decipher from my paragraph – or is it? This is Example #7.
Need I say more? Sam Sarr is the type of person who will gleefully help send an innocent man to the gallows with a straight face! Can you imagine if I had no evidence of what transpired in this exchange – say if it were by telephone? What planet are people like Sam Sarr from?
Sam Sarr has proven beyond any reasonable doubt that he is indeed a major Cock and Bull Story Teller; a Master Conjurer who has no compunction about telling tall tales to malign others. In short, a Moral Lilliputian! This man is indeed The Gambia’s real life Ajantala, Prince of Mendacity. Not only does he insist on a phantom alternative Gambian history that distorts and substitutes what actually happened for what people like him want us to believe happened, he treats truth as if it is something that one could discard with convenience. Behold how Sam jumps from one discredited conjecture to another without missing a beat: no apologies, no retraction. He merely fabricates new ones, acting as if nothing is the matter. This behavior is pervasive in his writings. Sam Sarr is ethnically Serere, but culturally Wolof like Ousainou Njie and Kaaba Jallow are ethnic Fulani, but cultural Wolof. Yet in his infantile attempt to explain away the remarkable incompetence of these men (among countless others) who destroyed our public institutions, Sam suddenly found it necessary to disown both men as Wolof. But their claim to Wolof-dom is exactly the same as Samsudeen Sarr’s! What qualifies him to disown them? Especially as both men were regarded as part of the crown jewels of Banjul society in their heyday – they made many careers, and changed many lives in that town. In those days, the Sam Sarrs called them “Ours.” Today, he’s insisting that both men are Fulani, and he’s accusing others for seeing the men the way they lived their lives! You see, it’s this Ingrate culture that repulses people like me. Either someone is Yours or not – whether at his or her High or Low point. That’s what’s called honor. Here is a seminal lesson for Yaya Jammeh and the current Movers and Shakers about the Sam Sarr types: they’ll shamelessly suck you dry till the last day your Star shines, then as soon as you fall, they’ll be the very ones who’ll call for your head. Who heard from the Sam Sarrs during the Jawara days? So be warned!
And if that is not perverse enough, consider this: Sam Sarr who started off with totally false stories about pervasive Mandinka tribalism in The Gambia (even proudly announcing his determination to corrupt his young son’s mind with his filth,) is now portraying himself as a bulwark against “tribalists” like myself, and one Suntu Touray who dare to illustrate the falsities and bias of Sam Sarr’s odious claims. Sam cites my Counter-arguments in particular as evidence of what he was trying to portray all along. He claims that my “anger” has helped vindicate him as someone with an extraordinary power of clairvoyance in that I have clearly shown the hatred that Suntu Touray was masking that no one else but he could see before. Talk about absolute, unadulterated bull-crap! Somebody need to have this man’s mental state checked. The fact is, to deconstruct the outrageous concoctions that Sam Sarr made, one has to - of necessity, demonstrate through evidence that:
a.) Colony Wolof people in The Gambia never experienced what Sam Sarr and his types say they did at the hands of a mainly-Mandinka Kow-Kow political class.
b.) His countless other claims lack legs to stand on as aptly demonstrated.
Now, it’s easy to see why Joseph Yeller’s classic novel “Catch 22” still packs a punch, because debunking the false claims of a fraud like Sam Sarr the way I did entails opening myself up for attacks from him and his ilk. Watch him shamelessly twist my words around, and where that is not enough, add his own words to what I wrote. This man is a fraud through and through.
But I knew the risks involved in jumping into the fray. I’ve been there many times before with the likes of Sam Sarr, who not only have a problem with the truth, they’re simply allergic to hearing or reading it. I suppose I was too optimistic in that I had thought Sam Sarr’s high profile as a former top military leader would have had a maturing effect on his prepubescent and hypocritical views. This, I was totally wrong about, because not only does Sam Sarr still feel hurt by Virtual Mandinka political “scam artists,” he even finds it useful to mold some innocent people into that realm. What really horrified me is the realization that this man has harbored these feelings throughout his life. This is not a feeling that Sam woke up with one day some weeks ago. Like I said, some of his charges are five decades old, having been handed down from his elders to him. One can only imagine how many Mandinka underlings’ careers Sam Sarr deliberately stunted because of this prejudice.
But Sam’s irritating Neither-Here-No-There ramblings are not without purpose: they’re meant to mask the fact that he is cornered – a desperate man. I have proven in my Part I that Sam Sarr is a pathological Fabricator who mistakes perception for fact, and his own prejudice for others’. I have directly questioned Sam Sarr’s integrity in my piece, and any honorable person would have sought to clear his/her name by countering what I wrote – point by point. Not this Moral Lilliputian! He acts as if I or Suntu Touray or one Janko are the problems. Yet, before any of us wrote anything, there was Sam Sarr’s outrageous Ethnic Smear of the Mandinka. The truth is simply not on Sam’s side, and instead of accepting that, and making amends, he has chosen to compound his moral turpitude by dragging more and more people down. The fact is, Sam Sarr had a Senator Trent Lott moment (racist GOP leader from MS who forgot where he was, and said the kind of racist things he routinely says in private.) What Sam wrote is classic Wolof Nationalist anthology. That is the kind of anti-Mandinka tribalist crap his types feed each other in private. Sam merely forgot the forum he was on. That was the only difference. In physical settings, when you hear his types say these kinds of things and challenge them, they pretend that they’re “joking.” How can hatred be a joke? What is even more telling about Sam was his response to Suntu Touray. Behold an arrogant Ethnic-baiter bully. The nerve of this man.
In order to keep things in perspective, let me re-cap the gist of my first piece vis-à-vis what Sam Sarr wrote originally. It is noteworthy that Sam Sarr has NOT challenged my take on any of these points –thus they remain indisputable:
When Sam Sarr indicated to us that he didn’t realize the “filth” behind tribalism until the Mandinka (PPP) Politician-fraudsters came along, Sam Sarr was in fact being fraudulent himself because he wasn’t old enough to have understood politics at the time that hateful campaign took place - 1959. A honest person would have begun his argument by quoting, or citing those that had first-hand knowledge of what happened. Sam can clear this for all by telling us how old he was when he “realized the filth behind tribalism” in 1959.
As I’ve demonstrated, there was no “Wolof hegemony” in Banjul in 1959 that anyone could have been trying to uproot. Unless if we are supposed to believe that the PPP folks are clones of Don Quixote, basic commonsense rubbishes claims of a “Wolof hegemony” at the time. In 1959, almost every single Director/Head of Department in the Colonial Government in The Gambia was an Aku-Speaker! The Wolof were fighting hard to break that Aku hold on native power. They were allowed that opportunity under the “tribalist” PPP Mandinka.
I.M Garba Jahumpa, who Sam Sarr’s parents supported was the person who formally introduced ethnicity into Gambian politics.
Consequently, the political environment was already poisoned with sectionalism, or ethnicity, or tribalism BEFORE the PPP was even formed. (See a quotation from Dr. Fye? below.)
Discrimination against the Mandinka-dominated “Kow-Kow” (Country people) was rife, and their demeaning and degradation routine in Banjul at the time.
Not a single Banjul party cared to take up the cause of this Mandinka-dominated “Kow-Kow” majority before the formation of the PPP.
When Sam Sarr insinuated that Jawara turned a blind eye on Dr. Saho’s “tribalist” Change of Radio Gambia News Reading Schedule, Sam Sarr is being selective and totally hypocritical because there are countless parallels of Jawara doing the same that Sam knows about that he conveniently ignored.
When Sam Sarr insinuated that Drs. Manneh and Saho got away with falsely parading themselves as PhDs because of their ethnicity, that claim is not rooted in facts.
Again, when Sam Sarr boldly stated how and why Sheriff Dibba parted company with Jawara and the PPP, Sam is simply demonstrating his remarkable ability as a conjurer!
There is no evidence to support the insinuation that Colony Wolof suffered discrimination at the hands of an evil Mandinka-led PPP. To the contrary, they held a much larger share of important PPP government positions than their proportion of the Gambian population.
There was nothing unique about Mandinka politicos, and their campaign style.
The Mandinka-PPP people won an election to lead The Gambia in 1962, but they never took power! I repeat: The Mandinka-PPP people won an election to lead The Gambia in 1962, but they never took power!
Here is where I was unfair to Sam: I called him an Ethnic Nationalist without defining what this means. An Ethnic Nationalist is one who ratchets up ethnic pride to the inordinately high level of “We Special” -Us v. Them mentality. When it comes to his/her native ethnicity, he/she generally sees no evil, and hears no evil; and will defend his ethnic kin for the same infractions that he/she condemns others. Sam has consistently ascribed my critique as referring to the generality of the Wolof. In actual fact, people like Ousainou Mbenga are the opposite of Sam Sarr’s types. If Ous Mbenga were to run for office in The Gambia, not only will I fully support him, I’ll be honored to campaign for him anywhere he wants in our country. Wolof people like Ous, I have nothing but respect and admiration for. So don’t flatter yourself Sam – you do not inhabit the same planet as some Wolof I know. Call it what you want, but I have a serious problem with your type of Wolof. No apologies there.
If I had the time, I’ll list countless instances that betray Sam Sarr’s Wolof Nationalistic mien. Because I’m pressed for time, just one will suffice. Read Sam Sarr’s latest take on Pierre Njie – the most important Wolof politician to emerge in The Gambia:
“I will also go a step further to say that PS Njie, as we used to hear about him was just another lousy politician who screwed the minds of his followers in the same way most politicians did and continue to do. I remember stories about his political rallies with uninformed followers, mostly women, stupefied by the fake telephone hand set he used to hold pretending to be speaking directly to Queen Elizabeth in London. Yet it was reported to have worked perfectly for him, winning him votes until the other Banjul parties started awakening the people on the hoax. They said PS Njie would be protesting on the phone, fisting on the table and demanding for resources to help the Banjul residents who were generally, pitifully poor. As he spoke laying tough demands over the phone sheep-like crowd cheered and screamed until they ran out of gas. That’s how colonial politics had been in the past with slight changes in the way it is conducted in the post-colonial era. Before they unlocked the secrete of the hoax, many Banjulians went to bed convinced that PS Njie was a Wolof hero who challenged the Queen.”
The man that Sam Sarr is describing here is a dishonest individual who preys on the ignorance of the masses; someone who is a political “scam artist” to borrow Sam’s own words. Yet, despite Sam’s virulent condemnation of Gambian politician-conmen in his original piece, he conveniently left out PS Njie. Instead, going by what he wrote, the worst of the worst were all Mandinka politicos: Drs. Manneh and Saho, Sheriff Dibba, Sheriff Sesay, and Jawara. Ironically, none of those men went to the extreme of con-artistry that PS Njie did! Yet Sam Sarr is pretending to be the ethno-blind Gambian fighting to keep us as One, while those of us who dragged this admission out of him are the “tribalists.” What perfidy! Here is a man crucifying someone for stealing one Dalasi while shielding the one who stole ten Dalasi! And he is the impartial arbiter! This is the self-anointed Rule Maker/Definer role Wolof Nationalists ascribe to themselves in Gambian society that I wrote about previously.
But in fairness to people like Samsudeen Sarr, it’s really not their fault that they’ve been able to get away with this type of behavior for so long: that fault lies with the rest of us who have put up with this crap for this long. What the behavior of Wolof Nationalists has proven is the utter failure of Jawaraism. But since it’s they who have for the past thirteen years been dancing on the grave of that benign Les Affaire’ social philosophy that have let them get away with murder in the past, it’s about time the rest of us pay our final respects to Jawaraism and the ineffable naïveté behind it. It’s simply an ideal whose time has not yet come. Not when people like Sam Sarr hold sway in our polity. Anyone who thinks Sam Sarr is an isolated case better take a second look at the absurd anomaly that is Yaya Jammeh’s government. His types are the fuel behind the anti-Mandinka, anti-Fulani fire that has burned, and continues to burn so many careers in our country. And they do their hateful job with a smile accompanied by that most trite of all false Patriotic Sing-Songs “I’m Serving My Country.”
Reading Sam’s replies to myself and Suntu, to say that I’m disappointed would be an understatement. If this incoherent rambling is what passes for scholarship among us as Gambians, then we are in bigger trouble than many of us seem to realize. On Suntu, Sam took fourteen pages to say what he could have said in two pages! In short, the man wrote a lot, but said absolutely nothing! On me, it’s even worse. Is this man out of his league or what? Or perhaps, it’s his misguided attempt at his ilk’s addiction to Transference (projecting their ideas and mentality onto others.) The problem is, it won’t work. The facts of this debate remain clear: Sam Sarr wrote an article full of half-truths and brazen outright fabrications, recklessly disregarding BASIC tenets of scholarship. When a fellow named Suntu Touray threw him a Life Line; instead of correcting his mistake, Sam Sarr arrogantly slammed the man, and added even more garbage to his already considerable pile of concoctions. But like I said, Sam’s initial article is the result of a Trent Lott moment: He said what he truly feels about Mandinka people; he only forgot where he was.
And the word “confused” does not begin to describe Sam Sarr. He called my counter-point on the experience of the Kow-Kow in Banjul as a “tale” and promised to rubbish it, but he flipped around to give what is otherwise, a rational explanation of what might have informed the behavior of the Banjulians. The story should have ended there had Sam not tried to eat his cake and have it. But in his meandering commentary, he kept alluding to a Saul Saidy Khan that I wouldn’t recognize myself if I were to meet him. Sam asked repeatedly where that man was when bad Mandinkas like the Singhatehs were killing good Mandinkas like Basiru Barrow and Koro Ceesay, and so on. And those silly questions alone are very revealing of this character’s mentality: the lumping of people into neat Ethnic Boxes. What the hell do I have to do with these people? This man is a real believer in Collective guilt. It’s a theme that jumps out at one in his often convoluted posts. Here is a basic fact: Edward Singhateh, Alagi Kanyi, or other murderous criminals like them are the ONLY people responsible for their behavior! Even their parents are NOT TO BLAME in my book. These are adults who choose to be evil. They and their accomplices should be held to account for what they did. No one else. Equally, no innocent Jola person needs to apologize for Yaya Jammeh’s madness! So those Gambians that are telling Sam Sarr (if they exist at all,) things to the effect that the generality of Jola people will suffer because of Yaya, are complete *****s! What has the average Jola done to anyone? Which two Gambians have done more to uproot Yaya Jammeh than two Jola brothers named Joseph Sambu and Shingle Nyassi? Not only are some of us joined at the hip with Jola people, we’ll stake our lives on ensuring no such scenario ever come to pass. If Sam Sarr wants to promote this kind of ignorance, let him preach it to his types! I am hundred times more wary of his types than I am of any Jola person. What his types are doing now is nothing but Hedging. They realize now that they’ve over-played their hands in their anti-Mandinka games, so they think it would serve them in good stead to shift the blame on Jolas. But it’s not going to work. Yaya Jammeh is a damn clown, but Jola people are a humble and hard-working people. So leave my Jola people alone Sam! It’s your types ALL Gambians need to worry about. Behind EVERY genocide lies this dangerous belief in Collective Guilt!
Sam has called my take on the Banjul of the ‘40s and ‘50s a “tale.” However, a friend of mine doing some research on the region sent me an article that he attributes to one (Dr. Fye?) I have never heard of Fye. But thankfully, my friend says the article was once published by Mbye Sarr and Momodou Sillah on their website, which would make it easy for Sam Sarr to verify. So Sam, call Mbye Sarr and have him supply you the full article and the details of the author, because this man confirms some crucial parts of my “tale.” He has also afforded me the opportunity to make a correction: the colonial delegation visited in 1957, NOT 1958 as I thought (I take the good Dr.’s word for it.) Here is the first paragraph of what Dr. Fye has to say:
“Most of those who formed the delegation that approached Mr. Jawara had been themselves farmers or the sons of Mandinka speaking farmers who had moved from the miseries of the Gambian countryside to seek greener pastures in the capital city. In Bathurst they had felt by and large like outsiders, despised, disenfranchised and discriminated against. Just about a decade and a half earlier, they needed recommendation notes (carried like apartheid South African pass books) in order to be allowed to reside permanently in Bathurst, as the capital city was then called. In the early 1940s, many who were caught “loitering” around Bathurst were rounded up and sent along with First Gambia Regiment that was in 1942 sent to fight in East Asia. In the town of Bathurst, they could see block houses rising out of the “krintin” and corrugated shanties, the prideful trophies of the Bathurst-based groundnut traders who seasonally lorded over the rural folk. Also, they could from time to time see the capital’s citizens in frenzied campaigns of elections in which they couldn’t participate. They were not like citizens of the British Empire but members of the Empire’s Protectorates. They were considered not as from the colony but from the protectorates. The series of elections that were contested for the Legislative Assembly from 1943 onward were only a Bathurst affair. The elections were therefore a privilege for the people of Bathurst, but because they were contested on ethnic or ethno-religious grounds, they left Bathurst deeply divided. The political parties that there were represented the different communities including the Wolof-speaking populations, the Catholic and Aku communities. The leaders of the fragmented Bathurst population were the likes of Rev. J.C. Faye, P.S. Njie, St. Claire Joof, and Garba Jahumpa who gained his fame during the great floods of the late 1940s and a student strike at the Yundum College in 1950. Some of the non-political influential Bathurst community leaders were the likes of Collingwood Thomas, Melvin Jones, Sheikh Omar Faye and Alhagie Ousman Jeng. There was also a so-called Committee of Gentlemen who served to give voice to the voiceless composed of Melvin Jones, Dodou Matarr Njie, Ousman Secka, St. Clair Joof and Mbemba Bojang, a World War Two veteran. But towering above all of them and above all sectarian sentiments, was M. Edward Small, dedicated anti-colonialist and pan-Africanist.”
You still want to call my take on Bathurst a “tale” Sam? Do you think all adult Gambians fabricate stories the way you do?
Anyhow, the one thing that jumps at me throughout Sam’s writing is his remarkable ignorance about this hateful people call Mandinka, which is the one thing all his types tend to have in common. I’ve once heard one of them say that the Mandinka are actually Dinka people who migrated from Sudan. Like I said before, with them, history is not what happened, it’s what they say it is. But this goes beyond them.
Part of our problem as Gambians is the general lack of knowledge about ours and each other’s identity and past. Our education system has always been very inadequate in this area, resulting in many of us taking “My father/Grandfather Said...” as substitute for historical facts. Lack of knowledge about Mandinka people especially has been a major factor in the misperception of the group. There is a basic misunderstanding of who Mandinka people are. Ironically, the name says it all. But in fairness to all, I had to do my own research to unearth what I should have known in Gambian Schools. It turns out what we call Mandinka or Mandingo in Gambia is only one of dozens of people found in every single country in W. Africa from Mauretania and Chad to Cameroon. They are known under names like: Soninke, Susu, Bambara, Bamana, Mende, Mande, Vai, Mandingo, Mandinka, Malinke, Maninka, Maninke, Mannin, Manding, Jula, Marka, Marakan, Saranhule, Jahanke, Jahanka, Worodougou, Wojenaka, Maninka Tilgee, Maninka Tilbo, Maninka Sankaran, Maninka Mori, Maninka Kita, Maninka Konyanka, Maninka Koniagianka, Wasulu, Khasonke, Saasongasango, and Kagoro. The parent name is Manden, and the association on which their empires were based is called Manden Kurufa (Manden Federation.) If you find this claim of the spread and influence of the Manden exaggerated, consider this: seven W. African countries have produced either a Manden Head of State, or Head of Government: Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast.
We just finished watching the Africa Cup of Nations featuring Manden boys from various W. African countries: Didier Drogba, the Toure brothers, the Kone brothers, Kieta, Sanogo, etc from Ivory Coast; the obvious (Malian and Guinean boys); Haminu Draman from Ghana (Drammeh in Gambia, nDharamane in Ivory C. & Burkina); and of course Senegal (which I found out to my utter surprise actually has more Manden people than Gambia does.) I also discovered to my amazement that a brother named Sulayman Kanteh created a Manden Alphabet called Nko in 1948! (This is NOT a trans-literation; it’s an independent script that bridges the gaps between the various Manden languages in terms of phonetics, and grammar.) A friend of mine from S. Leone showed me a Koran that is written entirely in this language, as are over sixty other books. Schools in N. Guinea Conakry, Mali and Ivory Coast teach in this language.
The Tarikh es Sudan/Tarikh Al Sudan written in the 17thc by Abdurrahman Al-Said (the Library of Congress has a copy,) and other Arab historians like Al Maqurizi, Ibn Battuta, Ibn Khalifa, and Europeans like Alvisto Cadamosto credit the Manden for being the one people who had something to do with each of the three great W. African empires recognized by the outside world: “Ghana”, Mali, and Songhai. These historians, and their accounts tell us that from around 300AD to 1645AD, the Manden held sway in W. Africa. A man named Dinka Sisay was the first significant ruler (called Ghana) of the first Manden empire known alternatively as Wagadou, Wagadougou, Ba-Ghana, and Ghanatta. (Like I said, it was the rulers of this premier empire who were called Ghana, NOT the territory!) This empire like its successor Mali, comprised the Manden kingdoms of Wagadou, Mali, and Mema, and the twelve dependent Vassals that were called Mali Bundaa Tang Ning Kiling (The twelve Doors of Mali.) The Ghana (ruler of Wagadou) was acclaimed as the "richest king in the world because of his gold" by an Arab traveler Ibn Hawqal on his visit to the capital city of Kumbi Saleh in 950AD.
When internal strife destroyed this empire around 1035AD (the Manden Susu under King Sumanguru Kanteh kept attacking the other sister kingdoms especially the populous Mali kingdom under the hapless king Dankarang Tumang,) the rest of Manden resolved to fall behind Dankarang Tumang’s exiled half brother named Sogolon Kedjou. That was the real name of the man we now call Sunjatta Keita. He returned from seven years in exile to defeat Sumanguru, and raise a United Manden flag once again under a new entity called Mali. Sunjatta Keita’s Mansa (throne) name was Mari Jatta Folo (Mari Jatta I.) By the time Sunjatta passed on, the Manden had taken charge of much of the area between the Niger and Senegal rivers. It is on record that by the time of Sunjatta’s death, it took a whole year to travel from the east coast to the west coast of the Mali empire. Yet, by the time Mansa Kankan Musa came along two hundred years after Sunjatta, the Mali empire had expanded even further to the Atlantic. It was also Kankan Musa who put the Mali empire on the world map. Around the year 1324AD, he is reported to have taken a large contingent with him on a pilgrimage to Mecca (estimates range from 10,000 to 60,000 men) –each with three kilos of gold. (UNESCO General History of Africa, Volume IV says he took 180 tons of gold with him!) What is not in dispute is that he carried so much gold with him that when he passed through Egypt, he not only devalued the price of gold, the commodity’s value (in their currency called Dirham) did not recover for twelve (12) years after Mansa Kankan left! The entire world at the time was directly affected by Kankan Musa’s trip, thus the curiosity about this rich African empire. Europeans quickly had Mali and their main gold-trading center Timbuktu on the world map – the first for an African dominion.
Anyhow, by the end of the 16th c, the sort of internal strike that destroyed Wagadou/Ghana empire had started again. Previously conquered non-Manden people took advantage of this internal disharmony and started to rebel vigorously. The most notable being the Tukur/Tukulor/Fulani warrior named Sunni Ali Bah who started what was to become the Songhai empire. But it’s vital to note that Sunni Ali Bah’s right hand man was a Manden Soninke named Mohamed Touray. Despite the disapproval of the Songhai majority, it was Mohamed Touray who succeeded Sunni Ali, and he and his descendants were the ones who expanded the empire to become the largest W. African empire of all times. Because of the resentment the real Songhai felt about a Manden Soninke “usurping” their throne, they named Mohamed Touray “Askia” (thief, usurper) Mohamed. (Unlike the account I remember reading in Gambia that claims “Askia” means “The Great,” the term is apparently not one of endearment.) So the man called Askia Mohamed is in fact a Manden Soninke named Mohamed Touray.
And when the Moroccans came down with more lethal guns and destroyed Songhai about a hundred and fifty years after its formation, it was a very disunited and much weakened Manden kingdom that rushed to the Songhai’s rescue, and almost beat back the Arabs with their European guns. The Arabs were said to be so impressed by the bravery of the Manden that they opted not to pursue them back to their base in a place called Kangkaba. Another point that these various historians note is that even at their lowest point, the Manden controlled more territory and wealth than most other groups in W. Africa did at the zenith of their power.
These same historians also tell us that the Manden are the first to build the first three universities in Africa, south of Egypt: Sankore, Jingaray Ba, and Sidi Yahya (a discovery that truly surprised me;) as well as being among the first in the entire continent to devise ways of making their own clothes; inventing unique musical instruments, etc. Today, there are many musical instruments that we associate with other ethnic groups in Senegambia that Matt Schaffer (Pakao Book; Bound to Africa – The Mandinka Legacy In The New World,) an Anthropologist who did extensive research on our region, claims as belonging to the Manden very convincingly. I wouldn’t even bother to elaborate on this.
If Sam Sarr is a real Pan Africanist, he must be familiar with the popular book “They Came Before Columbus, The African Presence in Ancient America” By Ivan Van Sertima. This wonderfully written book is based on the voyage of the Manden emperor Mansa Abubacar Fula (II) around the year 1310AD. Mansa Abubacar II (original name is Bata Manding Bory) was so determined to find out what lay beyond the large sea to his empire’s west (the Atlantic,) that he decided to leave his throne in the care of his Kankoro Sigui (Chief of Staff,) Kankan Musa, to find out for himself after the first expedition he sent didn’t return. He left with four thousand (4000) pirogues, half laden with provisions on that fateful voyage. Well-known Pan Africanists like Dr. Maulana Karenga and Dr. Haki Madhubuti have expounded on this theme adequately. Ivan Van Sertima himself has demonstrated with very convincing evidence (the presence of African crops, artifacts, and other relics dating back to the pre-Columbian era) that Mansa Abubacar II’s voyage was not only successful, but that he and his people went on to assimilate with various native American peoples.
Why am I noting these facts? Because in Gambian parlance, we see Mandinka people as we do the Wolof or Jola or Manjago. Nothing could be more erroneous. It’s therefore little wonder that we wallow in ineffable misconception because the very premise from which we start is WRONG. The Manden are unlike any other group in the Gambia. Their Footprint is not only larger than that of any other group we have, it is much larger than that of the Ashanti, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo combined! This of course, bursts the Ethnic Chauvinist bubble some of us have in our heads from “My parents/My grandparents said” but these are historical facts going back over a thousand years. And they’re all written by non-Manden people. Those who have issues with these accounts of African history, are most welcome to take on the Van Sertimas, and Matt Schaffers, and Al-Said. Schaffer, in particular links the Manden to leadership in many well-known revolts around the world: Haitian Revolutionary leadership (Boukman and Cicile Fatiman); the 1835 revolt by Muslim Slaves in Salvador, State of Bahia in Brazil; the takeover of the Slave ship Amistad; the successful revolt by Muslim slaves in Guyana, etc.
Being cognizant of these facts will also help ALL of us understand why Manden people are often the most reluctant to abandon their ways. When former American Slaves were deported back home to form the State of Liberia in 1847, they took with them very twisted ideas about their Superiority over “Never-Left” Africans. Not only did they engage in enslaving the Africans they found in Liberia, they also forced entire ethnicities to not only convert to Christianity, but to change their Family Names from the “uncivilized” (African) to the “civilized” (Western.) Consequently, many Liberians walking around today with names like Gibson and Jackson are actually “Never-Left” Africans. But need I tell you that the ONLY indigenous African ethnic groups in Liberia that refused to follow the former slaves are the two Manden groups: The Mandingo, and the Vai? People don’t easily give up what they’ve fought hard to establish. Ironically, despite the fact that they have the lowest Western education rates, they’re the most successful indigenous group in Liberia today.
So for the Sam Sarrs who are hell-bent on wrapping Mandinka people around their fingers (ala Senegal) as they’ve done with the Fulani, Liberia’s experience offers very dim prospects for you. There are exceptions like a Dawda Jawara, but that’s what they are: exceptions. Show me someone who doesn’t know his history, and I’ll show you one who is messed up, and easily manipulated.
I’ve spent some time studying our region these past couple of years, so I’ll be really interested in reading Sam’s take on the history of the Serere/Wolof provinces of Kayor, Baol, Waalo, Sine, and Saloum which all reported to the Burba Jolof. Perhaps that would help me understand the basis for this haughtiness, and Superiority Complex that is the hallmark of Sam Sarr’s writing. Don’t go Oedipus on me Sam, please educate me on what it is I am missing.
The only thing worse than being prejudiced, is basing it on complete ignorance. Left to their own designs, the Sam Sarr types will give to the Gambia what they gave to Senegal – civil strife. It’s his type of baseless ethnic chauvinism thrown in people’s faces that drove the Cassa to the guns. The rest of us will ignore this fact at our own peril.
Finally Sam: no more bull-crap fabrications! If you cannot stick to the truth, don’t write. I know this is an impossible demand for you, but if you have to drink Truth Serum, go buy it! If you put out your usual fabrications online again, not only will some of us expose you, this whole nicety, Kids-glove treatment is going out the window. This is the nicest response you’ll ever get from me. I’m tired of your cock-and-bull stories; I’m tired of biting my tongue; I’m tired of all this Political Correctness crap. You put out one more outrageous bull-crap online, and I’ll rip you apart. NO HOLDS BARRED. Just try me. What an intellectual phony!
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Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com |
Edited by - Santanfara on 13 Feb 2008 11:40:30 |
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kaanibaa
United Kingdom
1169 Posts |
Posted - 13 Feb 2008 : 14:39:50
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| That was a very mature response but then to the posturing Sam this may not be so .I am sure he will come in again to twist as usual. Once again can we just ignore him. For the purposes of exposing the truth one can say enough has been done.History about events were recorded and recounted by honorable personalities before Sam was born, his try to twist things with a hidden albeit transparent agenda did not stand up for long.It has tumbled to the ground. Saidykhan mori. Bubboo ni Yoro Ining Barra Baakeh |
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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2008 : 12:57:25
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All Saul's articles/analysis appear to be borgus, distortions of FACTS and inflamatory. There has never been "WOLLOF NATIONALISM!" throughout Gambia history. That word has been coined by Saul in the TRIBALISM deliberations to counter Sam's so-called analysis, theory and description of prominence of wollof ethinicity and traditional popularity of its dialect within Banjul (Bathurst);"WOLLOF HEGEMONY!".
To my understanding Sam's theory of "Wollof hegemony" was a flow on his arguments or proofing a point why traditionally, Radio Gambia news was in the TRADITIONAL order of "1st"(ENGLISH), "2nd" (WOLLOF) & "3rd" (MANDINKA); until advertently change in policy to "1st" (ENGLISH), "2nd"(MANDINKA)& "3rd" (WOLLOF); under late Dr. Nafa Saho's as former Minister of Information; (May his soul R.I.P and may we meet him in Jaana firdawsi!). The RATIONALE for that informal or official change of abrubt change of policy was not explain or clear to most of us on that BREAK IN TRADITION OR CUSTOM BY DEFAULT!. If anyone can produce an official document/gazette or press release from our NATIONAL ARCHIVES, please forward through Bantaba Admin. for further clarifications. We must bear in mind that BRITISH were our colonial masters and not at the moment or have ever been THE MAJORITY ethnic group but notwithstanding ENGLISH LANQUAGE is OFFICIAL LANQUAGE and ever still NO. 1 spot.
Our political history have lots of oral narrations, rumors, scaremongering, tribal/caste castigations not formally written in Gambia history. Furthermore jibes of "COLONY WOLLOF" and other vile or derogatory remarks are inflamatory and counter productive in the quest to became MORE MATURE (i.e HIGHLY POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS COMPATRIOTS/GAMBIANS); "And Join Our Diverse Peoples Towrads The Common Good!" inoder to contain the notion of TRIBALISM, NEPOTISM & ALL FORMS OF SAGREGATION OR DISCRIMINATION. Finally O.J, Dr. Saja Taal, Dr. Manneh amongst others were unfairly branded in all forms of smearing campaign against them. Sam's personal attacks backfired against him as well as those that are using the same tactics of Sam to inform us or counter attacks not only on Sam but against certain ethnic group(s).
We would cover the historical facts; about why wollof dialect as a medium of communication is TRADITIONALLY popular within Banjul (Bathurst), integration of Sene-Gambia and prominence of certain towns & city including, Kaolack, Banjul, St Louis ("Ndarr"), etc. Some were too young to understand certain TRADITIONAL SOCIAL/COMMUNAL norms institutionalised. One thing is clear that Radio Gambia was in Banjul during 60s and coverage was limited and TRADITIONALLY wollof lanquage follow ENGLISH by default.
Thanks to Daily Observer for a well researched article about; The Road to Independence under http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/2008/2/15/the-road-to-independence
Later other TRIVIAL ISSUES would be addressed to FORWARD THE GAMBIA OUR HOMELAND! |
Edited by - kobo on 16 Feb 2008 17:31:34 |
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