Opposition Leaders in the Gambia, Africa, and Beyond Should be Tested

Imagine ten girls hearing you complaining about your wife and each may say a few fractional facts and lies, but each insists you must marry her for five years without testing her or questioning her. You can foolishly divorce your wife/girlfriend but which girl will you marry? The most beautiful or charismatic politician? Well, you have tools to test them. Every political party can present a private bill (law), it is not very expensive for a party. If all the political parties refused to sacrifice and present even a bill, that means stingy or they are happy with the present laws. Some laws can actually contain or direct the executive towards good actions. You can present a law to decriminalise or legalize cannabis, but the foolish youths will take silent promises where public promises sometimes failed, because Obama, Trump, etc could have presented the bills as Senators or as good caring opposition. Disagree with cannabis, but I am showing how politicians trick folks, just varyingly.

A good opposition can present a bill that says: 'all cops , Nawec employees, etc must wear body cameras and document things for hundred years (for judicial and study+ purpose) --- it will force the executive to buy cameras or the opposition can raise funds for a camera store or factory. But you think vague transparency or reform promises is better than passing a few laws?

A good opposition can pass a law that starts an independent institution for 100% child education implementation: sensitize parents to send children to school or jail parents where need be. Send stubborn children to a boarding school. The spirit of the law will say: No more child neglecting on ihqrah (learning) and the Gambia or xyz must attain above 99% literacy within 5 or xyz years. So you can even offer reasonable adult education programmes. The child partially belongs to the Gambia+, we are taking 5 or xyz hours for five days , and allow you to teach them what you believe during xyz hours... You can start private schools if you can offer better, but there is a minimum standard you must meet. This institution can study and re-direct mistaken minds. Many Gambian youths think life is about luck and belief in respecting work when 'well paid' to care for endless extended family members? You ask them luck is what percentage in life and train them 'determination or love for family ' starts with respecting learning, including thinking and even conscience. Transforming places may start with transforming minds. The list is long but an independent institution like such is indeed needed in almost every African country. The central government cannot do it, because they overvalue votes to challenge questionable beliefs and confront guilty parents.

A good opposition can have ' multiple shadow ministers' per ministry or special insiders, studying each ministry and presenting detailed plans for every ministry , department, or major institution. The days of vague manifestoes should be over, or they will dance for votes and offer promises without details, including by when. Well, you are a semi-naked girl, dancing well, claiming you can cook better, have different sexual positions than my wife or girlfriend, etc so should I divorce her? You cannot cook for me to test if you can cook better than my questionable wife or girlfriend? Is it the same dishes or can you copy or invent cooking recipes? I mean can you pioneer or support something that is yet to exist in any country? Governments are similar and different, because governments mean immediate replacement and a 'jail or xyz' for 5 or xyz years.

A good opposition should support great ideas like Researchers Access Store (RAS ) with words and actions, upto law presenting. You can search for it for details, it is better than museums and many things. You can present or pass a law to start it. If you run out of funds because you passed ten laws you deem more important, then by saying you will implement RAS when voted in, people can have hope. Also the sitting government and other opposition parties will then compete with you on law passing and which specific projects to discuss and act on?

A good opposition should have micro-examples . You may not be able to fund water access for farms nationwide, but you should be able to do a district at a cost, not free. By asking the questionable diaspora+ folks to fund more than dancing rallies, about ten to fifty percent may crowdfund a specific project or special branch of the party. A borehole drilling machine is not expensive for many individuals, let alone a whole political party. You choose one or two districts , one in the south and north bank for competition+. First, anyone in the district that can afford 25% to 50% of the total cost , we will loan you a borehole for mild drought resistant and year-round farming. Let's say ten to thirty percent sign-on within a month, you will be able to easily make the whole two districts much better. All under cameras loaning, you will be able to eventually loan everyone within the two districts to have boreholes and do year-round farming. That will be an impressive micro-example in the Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, etc. You will literally force the sitting government to do the rest of the country and grateful people may still vote such a party to power. Or which voter will then not trust you will do nationwide if voted in? This is just one example, but think of anything you care about and start doing micro-examples. You can do a district or neighbourhood on a strong culture of cameras to prove you are serious about security and countless character uplifting. Copying good deeds is ok, but diversifying is much better. If opposition party A does boreholes; opposition B does Cameras; Opposition C does preventive health centers for two or xyz districts, etc then a country may rise by inspiring even sleeping business folks . Avoid free, any politician or party that gives things like 'free ambulances' is likely just baiting. By loaning boreholes, ambulances, gyms, etc you can expand the gestures towards 4 or 10 districts and be much more impressive on micro-examples. Just like PDOIS can have a small affiliated business called Foroyaa that targets a small percentage of almost non-reading Gambians, every party can have a business and/or NGO. Yes, they upgraded to a radio station but by when? Considering the strict laws around NGOS, I would rather recommend you register as a business but operate like or close to how NGOS operate.

Excuse offering politicians versus excuse buying voters or citizens: The excuses of sitting governments are sometimes scrutinised by about ten percent of the public, but how about excuses by the opposition parties? It is shameful for a party of one year not to present laws, but you have decades old parties with no passed bills or even presented bills. They can offer excuses like 'it won't pass', but efforts and historical records matter. If each party presents ten bills they deem vital, how many will pass versus the debate around such bills for voters? If a bill that says "10% of our budget or road budgets must be matched towards research, AI, etc. A compromise may be reached in which ways or how do we argue it may translate to building our own roads through our own factories, building our own electricity supply, etc?

They said my articles can be long, because they hate even fifteen to thirty minutes reading. So should I stop or detail how opposition parties can start a university, AI research centre, etc as micro-examples? Shame on the journalists of all or many African countries for failing to help build strong opposition parties. Your job as journalists is not just to scrutinise the sitting government, but to improve the opposition leaders, institutions, and even influential individuals. I honestly think the Gambian journalists are too soft on the opposition and even the state. The Gambia is undergoing some violent protests that include riots and vandalism, but countless mediahouses allow the opposition to use them as echo chambers. You can demand interviews and ask them why they refused to strongly condemn the violence. If all the opposition leaders strongly condemn the violence, then the youths will calm down and not 'marry ' in gambling. Of course politicians are crafty, they may use terms like 'I understand the frustration of the youths', but good journalists must push back. You can add 'frustration cannot justify violence and burning tires against climate change and sick people inhaling terrible air...' You can say : Are you implicitly encouraging violence, because there is nothing to understand about senseless violence when you have a few months to choose? The worst of them are chanting 'Barrow must go' without stating who must come and based on which records. I fairly understand it is similar in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, etc but this is why the nasty cycle also repeats in almost all of Africa. You are constantly choosing in a desperate mood and in a gambling way. The politicians repeat the problems, but the journalists and the ordinary people are also repeating bad ways and not learning fast. There is almost no difference between 'anyone but Barrow' and 'anywhere but the Gambia, Africa...'. A desperate non-thinker can dangerously gamble. So how many Gambians, Nigerians, etc will then die through the journey to the west, or live like cowards or prostitute minded folks in the west? You will see wrongs there, but do you care enough to protest+ , or reckless enough to riot? I verifiably fought wrongs in the West, Africa, and worldwide. Although Western journalists and politicians can be questionable, they will generally condemn violence in very clear language. So please do not vote for anyone who refuses to strongly condemn the violence, light or late condemnation is not enough. I am publicly saying that I have not decided who to vote for, so let no one suspect I will vote or support Barrow. I have many other articles or small posts I criticised or defended Barrow. Even this very article shows I am a principle oriented person. Barrow or his advisors may see me as 'anti-Barrow' and giving the opposition ideas, but am I not trying to build better opposition+ in Ghana, Liberia , Nigeria, etc? I am a Transformer to those willing to learn and certainly making it harder for those who reject truth and kindness. I expect more than publishing from journalists and caring individuals, but forward it to all opposition leaders and universities in your respective countries. May God bless Showlove Trinity: let's learn, let's work, let's have fun.

By Jarga Kebba Gigo
An Activist and Transformer
Author of Juts Quhr-aahn