Gambia, Nigeria, and these United States -By Chioma Agwuegbo

Chioma Agwuegbo

The Bible tells the story of Rehoboam, one of the kings of Israel in 1 Kings 12: 1-19. Basically, the then new king sought counsel from the elders and subsequently his contemporaries on leading the people. He went with the advice of the latter and verses 13 and 14 report the thrust of his ‘inaugural speech’ thus: “And the king answered them roughly, and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men. And answered them after the advice of the young men, saying, my father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” It obviously didn’t end well; King Rehoboam’s ‘Chief of Staff’ was stoned to death in the streets one of the days he was out to collect taxes, and the King fled.

Recent political events around the world are cause for quiet and great reflection, not just for the pitfalls to avoid, but also for the instructions we can derive. We start from Alhaji Professor Dr Jammeh of Gambia who, thanks to pressure both from the continent and beyond, has obeyed the wishes of the electorate and vacated power after ruling the country for 22 years. He joins the league of Laurent Gbagbo, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Blaise Compaore, etc. who saw the leadership of their countries (albeit erroneously) as their birthright. Jammeh, who conceded the election to Adama Barrow in December, recanted a week later saying the elections were flawed and he would stay on to conduct new elections under a “God-fearing electoral commission.”

That statement triggered the mass exodus of foreign nationals from the tourism-driven country, sparked fear amongst citizens, with over 45,000 fleeing to neighbouring Senegal, fueled anxiety and angst across the continent as leaders of countries took turns in trying to make the militant-turned democrat to respect the outcome of the election and hand over, to no avail.
The threat of military invasion finally inspired the man who said he would rule for a billion years – do we even live that long – to leave Banjul on January 22, 2017. Recent reports say he didn’t leave alone; apparently over 500 million dalasis (approximately 11.3 million dollars) allegedly ‘left’ with him, in a jet belonging to one of Nigeria’s strong men, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Tinubu provides a nice segue into Nigeria, technically in a recession but so fully aware of its role as big brother of the continent that it organised mediation trips to Gambia in the face of massacres going on in Southern Kaduna by ‘foreigners in Fulani clothing’, an accidental bombing of an IDP camp in Borno’s Rann, and mounting hardship among its 180 million strong population.

The tension in Gambia is also reminiscent of the 2015 elections where former President Goodluck Jonathan conceded the election to current President Muhammadu Buhari. Your opinion of Goodluck’s Jonathan and his leadership style (if he had one) or not, lovers of democracy (and history) are unanimous that his early concession of the elections to the incumbent saved the country a wave of violence we would probably still be in the middle of.

There is something to be said about this incumbent, however, once touted as the Messiah Nigeria needed, the one to take citizens to the promised land. Young people, about 65 percent of the population, swayed the conversation in his favour online and offline, dedicating time, effort, hopes and dreams on him, even inspiring a thank you message from Mr. President after the elections. He said, “You have been with us from the very beginning. Many of you have left your jobs to work for the campaign, contributed your money and your time, volunteered in your areas and brought the innovation and energy that comes with youthfulness to bear on the outcome.”

Twenty months after (excuses and blame-trading aside), the state of the economy, a crop of non-performing ministers (that took circa seven months to appoint), and the skewed fight against corruption suggest that this government seems to be headed everywhere but the promised land. Some of his largest supporters have downed large helpings of humble pie in very open displays of buyer’s remorse. We are left wondering if the All Progressive Confidence Congress (APC) had any plans for Nigeria post its unseating of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who had been at the helm of affairs for 16 years.

My worry for The Gambia stems from the Nigerian experience. I hope that Adama Barrow understands the gravity of his mandate and the trust his people, indeed the continent, has reposed in him. I hope that he realises that reuniting and developing his country is an urgent matter that cannot be treated with kids gloves, and that not only must he do good by his people, he must be seen to be doing good for all his people.

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Do I worry about the Americans and the freak show (powered by Twitter) they currently have going? Yes and No. ‘Yes’ because they will live out the scripture quoted above to the fullest for the next four years, and it won’t be pretty. For them, and the rest of us. But, even though China overtakes them and becomes the new senior prefect for the world, they will survive, thanks to a strong constitution and a very ‘aware’ citizenry. And ‘no’ because all this uproar over Trump is medicine after death, including the #WomensMarch (successful as it’s been touted to be). This medicine after death behaviour is the reason I haven’t as much as raised an eyebrow for the myriad of protests Nigerians are planning and sharing virally across social media.

As we inch closer to 2019 (Nigeria), and 2020 (the United States), I hope that peaceful transitions based on the results of free and fair elections are maintained, and improved upon. And for The Gambia, I hope Mr. Barrow wastes no time in fulfilling his promises and establishing a truly democratic government that runs on the rule of law.

Chioma Agwuegbo, a Social Media Media Strategist, is founder of TechHerNG.