Here is a piece i wrote for the Nigerian Observer daily on the Gambian question.
Henry240 , timelezz , tiwaz helinues Emassive dainformant yemmybx tyokunbo and others who have shown great interest in the Gambian question should take note of Article 12 of the ECOWAS PROTOCOL ON DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE

Why Nigeria must not support a Military Intervention in Gambia.

I.A Stephen

This December Gambia, a tiny West African Nation, surrounded by Senegal to its North, South and East, held its first presidential election. This led to the emergence of Adama Barrow of the United Democratic Party (UDP) as the President elect.
Prior to the election Gambians and the International Community in general shared the fear that Yahaya Jammeh The Incumbent President of Gambia would not relinquish his seat as the President of the Gambia, but to the initial surprise of his people and the international community, President Yahaya Jammeh came out to concede defeat to Adamma Barrow the candidate of the UDP, many who celebrated the initial triumph of democracy in Gambia, called it a good season for democracy in West Africa applauding the successful elections in Ghana and Nigeria where opposition candidates emerged as President elects with the incumbent President in both cases conceding defeat, were disappointed when Jammeh rose up later to challenge the election results, President Jammeh described the election process and results as “influenced” by foreign actors.
The fear of a political crisis in Gambia have forced leaders of the ECOWAS sub-region to hold talks with President Jammeh in Gambia, with the President of Nigeria named the Chief Mediator. The President of the West African Commision Alain Souza have since suggested that military options are not off the table if President Jammeh still refuses to honour the results of the election even the mediation efforts by ECOWAS fails to stop Jammeh from holding on to power.
Addressing the issue of the Gambian Presidential election, ECOWAS should thread with caution as the claims by Jammeh that the election was influenced should be taken seriously. The commission should investigate these claims made by a sitting Head of State, that, the election conducted by the electoral body under his Government may have been compromised. If Jammeh is able to provide reasonable evidence to back such claims as he is making , if Jammeh can provide enough evidence to substantiate the facts that a foreign power somewhere have in one way or the other influenced the just concluded election, If Jammeh as the Gambian Head of State have reasons to believe that the election conducted under his government was not free, fair or credible enough as to warrant his handing over office to the candidate produced by the election, then the ECOWAS Commission should be concerned about the capacity of electoral bodies in West Africa to conduct free, fair and credible elections.
ECOWAS, if provided with reasonable evidence of foul play in the just concluded Gambian elections, instead of supporting the idea of a military intervention, ECOWAS should form a committee to put things in place for the conduct of a re-run election in Gambia, to be conducted by a neutral and independent electoral body to be created and supervised by ECOWAS. If the Gambians do not want Jammeh as their President in the first election, I am quite sure their opinion won’t change in the second election.
The mistake of using military force to remove sitting Presidents in Africa is becoming a popular “fail” that we must begin to reconsider. If Jammeh claims are true that a foreign power is influencing election results in West Africa, then leaders of the West African region should be very concerned, if this is a problem for Gambia today, it may become a problem for another West African Nation tomorrow.
While Alain Souza, the President of the ECOWAS commission is mulling the idea of a Senegal led intervention into Gambia, we should all know this one thing about the Armed Forces of Senegal especially their Army which is regularly being trained and equipped by the United States in its claimed anti terror efforts in Africa. The irony of this is, while the United States is frustrating the Counter terrorism efforts of Nigeria which have been battling attacks from Islamic terrorism for the past few years, by blocking Nigeria from purchasing the much needed western military hardware needed for her anti-terror efforts. The United State have been training and funding the Armed forces of Senegal in a claimed Counter Terrorist effort even though Senegal is not directly threatened by any of the known Islamic Terror groups.
One could easily guess that terrorism is not the primary reason why the United States is training and funding a country not affected by terrorism for a war against terror, while those fighting the true war against terror are being abandoned by this same Foreign Power. The proximity of Senegal to Gambia being that they share major land borders is reason enough for any Foreign Power that is claiming to be “championing Democracy” to want to use the Senegalese Military as a tool to remove their long time rival and Dictator even if it takes influencing elections or going against the wishes of the Gambian people , or using military force either directly or indirectly.
We watched the same thing happen in Libya, where Terrorists posing as anti-government Rebels where assisted to topple a sitting Government, without having an effective master plan in place to prevent an escalation of the already volatile situation in that country. Africa, especially some North and Western African States have been facing terror attacks from terrorist that were radicalised, trained and equipped in Libya. What we see now as terrorism and insurgency in North and West Africa is the aftermath of the failed state situation that Libya was thrown into after the foreign backed removal of Gadaffi from power, which saw terrorist groups gaining access to Government owned heavy stock pile of weapons in the ensuing anarchy, these terrorists later used these weapons to wage a destructive Jihad in North and West Africa. These are the weapons we now see in use by Terrorists groups such as Boko Haram, Al Ansaru and other Dangerous terror groups that are presently operating in West Africa.
Democracy is more democratic if the election process to back it up is fairly and credibly conducted by a non bias and Independent electoral commission. The question ECOWAS should be asking at this point is; where these the conditions under which the just concluded Gambian Presidential election was conducted? If not, then we should look towards conducting a re-run election with a credible, neutral and independent electoral body. We should not be too quick to turn Gambia into another Libya. The competence of an electoral body created by ECOWAS to conduct elections in Gambia can be found in Article 12, page 9-10 of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.

ok...ok...ok

There's nothing wrong with challenging the results of the election but he [Jammeh] could do so after stepping down from power.
BTW what are the irregularities he's taking about?

Its very much obvious that the OP is either a scholar in politics or international relations, hence the reason for your arguments and points raised here on this issue.
Well sorry to shock you, jammeh has a right to the constitutional provisions enshrined in the Gambia constitution to seek redress in the supreme court after stepping down.

Zoharariel:
Stephen, thanks for this write-up. Kindly ignore the monkey above me.

why must you use derogatory remarks on someone for saying his mind. you must chop ban.

gentlemen this Jammeh had several opportunities to speak out to the ECOWAS committee and he didn't
we r always quick to play the blame game..yes America is Jezebel but still a leader of country mustn't think with his anus. If he loves his country like he claims he would have used one of d various life lines given to him

me think Jammeh is used to d luxury of head of state and doesn't want to let go

Odunayaw:
gentlemen this Jammeh had several opportunities to speak out to the ECOWAS committee and he didn't
we r always quick to play the blame game..yes America is Jezebel but still a leader of country mustn't think with his anus. If he loves his country like he claims he would have used one of d various life lines given to him

me think Jammeh is used to d luxury of head of state and doesn't want to let go

To be honest, I have been against military intervention in Gambia, i still am.

Odunayaw:
gentlemen this Jammeh had several opportunities to speak out to the ECOWAS committee and he didn't
we r always quick to play the blame game..yes America is Jezebel but still a leader of country mustn't think with his anus. If he loves his country like he claims he would have used one of d various life lines given to him

me think Jammeh is used to d luxury of head of state and doesn't want to let go

exactly my point though.
He has been there for 22yrs yet he feels he is still the best person to led. the only constant thing in life is change. jammeh would have saved himself this embarrassment by conceding defeat and become a national hero but instead he chosed a wrong part. Any way I see him escaping to Morocco before the end of tomorrow when the heat of ECOWAS comes upon him

Henry240:


To be honest, I have been against military intervention in Gambia, i still am.

I have dz numb feeling about everything
but still Jammeh is duller than a west African dwarf goat
what the heck!! 4yrs from now and he can still contest
nawa o

Odunayaw:
gentlemen this Jammeh had several opportunities to speak out to the ECOWAS committee and he didn't
we r always quick to play the blame game..yes America is Jezebel but still a leader of country mustn't think with his anus. If he loves his country like he claims he would have used one of d various life lines given to him

me think Jammeh is used to d luxury of head of state and doesn't want to let go

Jammeh the sitting head of state said the election was influenced and to that extent being a Head of State under the ECOWAS body, these claims should have been investigated. a war in Gambia would not make ECOWAS stronger. if this were to have happened in a European country i bet you there would be no such military intervention it would be settled in the European court. but ECOWAS would spend their resources to remove Jammeh and then throw him to the hands of the self righteous West who have always wanted to grab his neck at the Hagues.

[quote author=Henry240 post=52926581]

To be honest, I have been against military intervention in Gambia, i still am.
in Benin dialect we say" okuimose" meaning war is not beautiful. before this planned military intervention leaders in west Africa presented jammeh with the carrot and the stick principle of negotiations and threat of the use of force if he eventually decides not to relinquish power. He failed to realise that Africa of 2 decades ago that will really on the western powers before they do anything has changed.

overhypedsteve:
Here is a piece i wrote for the Nigerian Observer daily on the Gambian question.
Henry240 , timelezz , tiwaz helinues Emassive dainformant yemmybx tyokunbo and others who have shown great interest in the Gambian question should take note of Article 12 of the ECOWAS PROTOCOL ON DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE

Why Nigeria must not support a Military Intervention in Gambia.

I.A Stephen

This December Gambia, a tiny West African Nation, surrounded by Senegal to its North, South and East, held its first presidential election. This led to the emergence of Adama Barrow of the United Democratic Party (UDP) as the President elect.
Prior to the election Gambians and the International Community in general shared the fear that Yahaya Jammeh The Incumbent President of Gambia would not relinquish his seat as the President of the Gambia, but to the initial surprise of his people and the international community, President Yahaya Jammeh came out to concede defeat to Adamma Barrow the candidate of the UDP, many who celebrated the initial triumph of democracy in Gambia, called it a good season for democracy in West Africa applauding the successful elections in Ghana and Nigeria where opposition candidates emerged as President elects with the incumbent President in both cases conceding defeat, were disappointed when Jammeh rose up later to challenge the election results, President Jammeh described the election process and results as “influenced” by foreign actors.
The fear of a political crisis in Gambia have forced leaders of the ECOWAS sub-region to hold talks with President Jammeh in Gambia, with the President of Nigeria named the Chief Mediator. The President of the West African Commision Alain Souza have since suggested that military options are not off the table if President Jammeh still refuses to honour the results of the election even the mediation efforts by ECOWAS fails to stop Jammeh from holding on to power.
Addressing the issue of the Gambian Presidential election, ECOWAS should thread with caution as the claims by Jammeh that the election was influenced should be taken seriously. The commission should investigate these claims made by a sitting Head of State, that, the election conducted by the electoral body under his Government may have been compromised. If Jammeh is able to provide reasonable evidence to back such claims as he is making , if Jammeh can provide enough evidence to substantiate the facts that a foreign power somewhere have in one way or the other influenced the just concluded election, If Jammeh as the Gambian Head of State have reasons to believe that the election conducted under his government was not free, fair or credible enough as to warrant his handing over office to the candidate produced by the election, then the ECOWAS Commission should be concerned about the capacity of electoral bodies in West Africa to conduct free, fair and credible elections.
ECOWAS, if provided with reasonable evidence of foul play in the just concluded Gambian elections, instead of supporting the idea of a military intervention, ECOWAS should form a committee to put things in place for the conduct of a re-run election in Gambia, to be conducted by a neutral and independent electoral body to be created and supervised by ECOWAS.

Exactly!!


This is all I've been saying all along. The claims by Jammeh should not be taken lightly. They should be investigated, then a re-run held.

20,000 eligible Gambians were dis-enfranchised from voting in the election. Do these people not have the right for their voices to be heard?

I mean it's like we don't have a history of foreign interventions in African elections. Let us not be blind to history.

Libya presents us with a recent example of the disastrous nature of poorly thought out interventionist policies.

overhypedsteve:
Jammeh the sitting head of state said the election was influenced and to that extent being a Head of State under the ECOWAS body, these claims should have been investigated. a war in Gambia would not make ECOWAS stronger. if this were to have happened in a European country i bet you there would be no such military intervention it would be settled in the European court. but ECOWAS would spend their resources to remove Jammeh and then throw him to the hands of the self righteous West who have always wanted to grab his neck at the Hagues.

oga do u remember June 12 in Nigerian history?
hell a man basking in d lust of power would say anything to keep that throne
what more did Jammeh want -to rule Gambia on scholarship?
if the election was influenced did he challenge it in ECOWAS court?
this man is stroking d whiskers of tyranny and you are seeing the good side of it?

abiolert:

exactly my point though.
He has been there for 22yrs yet he feels he is still the best person to led. the only constant thing in life is change. jammeh would have saved himself this embarrassment by conceding defeat and become a national hero but instead he chosed a wrong part. Any way I see him escaping to Morocco before the end of tomorrow when the heat of ECOWAS comes upon him

This is not true. Nothing is black and white. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is about to run for a 4th term in office as ruler of Germany. Is she the only person fit for the Job.

Vladimir Putin has been there since 1999

Erdogan was Prime-minister for 8 years, he is now President, he still plans on running for a second term.

Let us not always be too quick to demonise African leaders. If there is a clear case of foreign manipulation in the Gambian election, an independent re-run should be held. If the Gambians don't want Jammeh, he would be voted out.

Henry240:


Exactly!!


This is all I've been saying all along. The claims by Jammeh should not be taken lightly. They should be investigated, then a re-run held.

20,000 eligible Gambians were dis-enfranchised from voting in the election. Do these people not have the right for their voices to be heard?

I mean it's like we don't have a history of foreign interventions in African elections. Let us not be blind to history.

Libya presents us with a recent example of the disastrous nature of poorly thought out interventionist policies.

I am sure Sirleaf must have advised him this way
a wise man sees destruction and hides his head
isn't it clear Jammeh prefers to sell himself as macho to d public?

his body language has always been "damn the consequences, I am not leaving"

Odunayaw:
oga do u remember June 12 in Nigerian history?
hell a man basking in d lust of power would say anything to keep that throne
what more did Jammeh want -to rule Gambia on scholarship?
if the election was influenced did he challenge it in ECOWAS court?
this man is stroking d whiskers of tyranny and you are seeing the good side of it?

he is a tyrant. that is all you see.

overhypedsteve:
he is a tyrant. that is all you see.

I do not know if you are on jammeh's advisory team but I believe dz man knoweth what he is doing

meanwhile... what do you see Jammeh as - a good Shepherd?

Odunayaw:
I do not know if you are on jammeh's advisory team but I believe dz man knoweth what he is doing

meanwhile... what do you see Jammeh as - a good Shepherd?

I know you are very happy to see an expeditionary Nigerian Armed forces. i know you are a military enthusiast and a war in West Africa is good news for your hobby. well if things get out of hand you would soon see more than you can take in.

overhypedsteve:
I know you are very happy to see an expeditionary Nigerian Armed forces. i know you are a military enthusiast and a war in West Africa is good news for your hobby. well if things get out of hand you would soon see more than you can take in.

u r now what- a clairvoyant?
I am not a war monger cause when push comes to shove men would come home in boxes covered with the flags of our fathers
nonetheless a spade is not a shovel, you can't say jammeh doesn't know d right thing to do
choosing to tow d path of blood is on his head

OverhypeSteve, nice and factual write-up, brother.

However, president Jammah made his claim for a partial election look like an after thought especially after initially conceding defeat.

Had he raised an alarm during the election or before when he observed the disenfranchisement of legal voters he would have had a prayer.

But having allowed the election and calling President-elect Barrow then turning around to reject the election all made it look like a classic African power grabbing scheme.

However, I do suspect Senegal and France as third party actors. Senegal's overzealousness to go after President Jammah is worrisome given both countries have not enjoyed good relations in the past, as President Jammah of The Gambia had threaten to attack Senegal in the past over allegation of the later giving support to Gambian renegades.

However I just hope the military intervention would leave a bloody wake of civil unrest there as Lybia hasn't finished dealing with the aftershock of its own military intervention like you pointed out.

this is clearly the hand of Esau but the voice of jacob.

i am pained everyday that i live in a country full of daft and gullible people who don't know how dumb and naive they are.

overhypedsteve:
Jammeh the sitting head of state said the election was influenced and to that extent being a Head of State under the ECOWAS body, these claims should have been investigated. a war in Gambia would not make ECOWAS stronger. if this were to have happened in a European country i bet you there would be no such military intervention it would be settled in the European court. but ECOWAS would spend their resources to remove Jammeh and then throw him to the hands of the self righteous West who have always wanted to grab his neck at the Hagues.

Unfortunately,Africa is not Europe.
Yes,there were some irregularities with the gambian election,but according to the gambian electoral agency,it does not change the fact that Barrow won.
If gambian citizens so love Jammeh,why arent they on the streets protesting his removal?,why are they celebrating the swearing-in of Barrow?
I think Jammeh's claims are over-exaggerated to depict a probably non-existent conspiracy.

Henry240:


Exactly!!


This is all I've been saying all along. The claims by Jammeh should not be taken lightly. They should be investigated, then a re-run held.

20,000 eligible Gambians were dis-enfranchised from voting in the election. Do these people not have the right for their voices to be heard?

I mean it's like we don't have a history of foreign interventions in African elections. Let us not be blind to history.

Libya presents us with a recent example of the disastrous nature of poorly thought out interventionist policies.

Cry me a river.

Jammeh should step down. Simple

He lost an election because people are definitely tired of him after over 2 decades. He congratulated and conceded victory to Barrow.

He now remembers there were "irregularities", as if his stay in power had not been perpetuated by irregularities in previous elections after 4 terms, or the brutal dictatorial style he has adopted and absorbed.

Now someone who once suspended the country's constitution when he seized power form Dawda Jawara in a military coup is using the same process he once undermined as his alibi to cling to power. And people like you for whatever reason don't seem to see the irony in him clinging to power and making this hullaballoo about blood shed by invoking a totally different situation in Libya.


If any blood shed occurs, it's on him.

Libya can't be compared to this. And you know it.