The Gambia President Yahya Jammeh speaks to New African aboutquitting the Commonwealth

Yahya Jammeh

It is in Africa's best interest to quit institutions that bring " disgrace, humiliation and insult to us” says Gambian President Yahya Jammeh in an exclusive with the New African magazine

The Gambian leader speaks exclusively to New African magazine following his shock decision to quit the Commonwealth and expresses no regret, but rather calls on other African countries to re-examine their relationships with "any institution or organisations of a colonial nature, which bring Africa nothing, but poverty, backwardness and exploitation…”

London, 30th October 2013 - In the exclusive interview published in the November issue of the pan-African magazine, New African, The Gambia's President Jammeh does not hold back, and explains in detail the real reasons why he took the decision to sever ties with the 53-member states body, just weeks before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is due to take place in Sri Lanka this month. He emphasises, however, that his decision should not have come as a shock, explaining in part:

"I am surprised people believe you have to have a problem with someone first before you decide to leave that person…The British were here in the Gambia for 400 years, and in that time they only built one high school... Colonialism brought us nothing but poverty, backwardness, exploitation and slavery … under it, Gambians were not [even] trained to be doctors or scientists,”

In the wide-ranging, no-hold-barred interview, with New African's deputy editor, Regina Jane Jere, the Gambian president also touches on many other key issues, such as the much derided International Criminal Court, (which is headed by one of his own country women Fatou Bensouda), foreign aid, good governance and dictatorship, capital punishment and gay rights, as well as his country's resource, including the recent discovery of oil.

On the subject of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that arouses so much controversy as many Africans believe that the court only targets African, President Jammeh points the finger of blame on African leaders themselves, explaining that all African indictees to the ICC, have been referred there by Africans themselves:

"I know there is not a single case apart from that of President Bashir (of Sudan) which an African government didn't refer voluntarily to the ICC … it is very shameful that, instead of being brave and putting cases before the African Union and letting our continental body sort it out, we want to use international institutions to solve our problems.”

In the interview President Jammeh also reveals a personal touch about how passionate a farmer he is:

"Agriculture is very important and that is why I believe in leading by example. And I want to change the notion in this country that if you are a farmer, you are a social failure and that is why you are farming. Yet in most parts of the world, the richest people are farmers. So I want to remove that stigmatisation.”

You can read the full version of this interview only in the November issue of New African.