Red Black Nonsense - The Power of Public Media

There was a time before this one when our entertainment was a yoke on the shoulders of our closest neighbors. Do you remember when we had to depend on RTS for our broadcasts of African Cup of Nations? I remember it like it was yesterday for we would sit around the television set in my parent’s living room crowded, as we hoped RTS would make its signal available to us. I cannot truly remember the year but it must have been 1994 when Zambia played Sierra Leone and dealt them a 4-0 blow. Every now and then, the signal would be lost and no amount of twisting and turning the over-house antenna could allow us to feel the comfort of watching a game my family and its guests had spent the whole day looking forward to.

A few years later, we were greeted with signals from our very own GamTV and there was such excitement in the air as can only be defined by the “euphoria of a child on Christmas eve”. My memories are those of Sambou Suso on national holidays with a gang of instrument players flanking her on left and right as she sang in a beautiful afro-manding voice to an audience of Gambians that were proud of finally owning something they could be proud of.

I was one of the very first people to work with the brilliance of a growing breed of television broadcasters and show producers. I can still remember my stint as a presenter on Gam TV’s “children’s television” with Aunty Marian, Nana Ama Ofori-Ata and others. The pride of the flag in my heart and the anthem in my head was one which made me look forward to television every Saturday. It’s a memory I cannot forget even if I want to, for a couple of years later, history in the making in the form of our very first movie was broadcast and the “Modou” name followed me for a year as I played a young child in a movie starring people I can only call Gambian legends. That was how my love for the art of movie production started over a decade ago.

These “kids” will not understand. Those were the days of “extra touch”, “the breakfast show”, “weekend magazine”, “children’s television”, “Dr. Mum’s medicine” and more. A spinner’s wheel is not the instrument of choice in this essay. Even advertisements were an appetizing meal for Gambians young and old and the crème de la crème of Gambian society flocked in, hands on deck to create what was supposed to be the envy of all in Africa. That was the Gambian dream for me. However, as years drew by, this dream sadly got swept away with the debris of a society where teeth and tongue refused to live next to each other.

The Pains of Today

My pains are not those of history untold. My pains are rather tears I shed today. Losing an appetite for our ONLY television station is not the source of my tears, but rather the fact that it has forced me to grow a sudden addiction for Senegalese media. My fluency in French has improved greatly due to the fact that over the last few months, I have spent more time watching Pap Ali present political debates on 2STV than any normal Gambian should. Is it my fault? I wonder. My essays on “red black nonsense” have continuously striven to point out the fact that our population in The Gambia is as young as it gets and will definitely keep getting younger. The non-existence of private TV stations in the country could be an unrealistic dream but allowing the power of television to die with the old is a mistake the “powers that be” should not allow to happen.

A few months ago, a new programs director was appointed for GRTS TV and there was an uproar of celebration by the masses on facebook and radio kan-kan, revealing a hidden frustration over the quality of programs on our ONLY television broadcaster. My celebration was however subtle. My celebration was a prayer that a system which I could blame for the infectivity of our TV would allow a young man of great vision to achieve what a young population needed in our TV. It is a prayer that I still perform every time I sit before the “magical box”.

We complain of illiteracy in the smiling coast and personally, I feel the TV’s role in educating the masses is one which must never be underestimated. Over the last few months, I have been privileged to learn more than I should from television broadcasts in Wolof and French. How many homes depend more on TV broadcasts from across the border than within. Is it not something worth mourning?

I do not know who we must blame for this failure. As weird as it seems, we have created a system in our TV which has forced quality out! Those that can truly make a difference blatantly refuse to work to innovate new ideas which would truly force us to grow from the ruins that remain. The television surprisingly seems to cater to an audience above 60 which ironically is more interested in watching international news on CNN and BBC than they could ever be in watching our nation’s broadcaster.

Popular Culture Is A Magnet

Our neighbors on the North, South and East have discovered a simple formula. It does not take a scientist to figure out that popular culture sells. The global village we live in is a village of young people. Music, Sports, Technology and Politics are the engines that keep the world running. A long day’s work should be rewarded with audio-visuals that blow the mind away. It is saddening that every house I have visited over the last few months are more focused on the entertaining studios across the border than in ours. Yet, it is not their fault! Is it?

Our society does not encourage intellectual debates that would encourage the young people to search for their books. We have lost that hunger to search for the truth and it is that vacuum that religious extremists and sick zealots now seek to fill. Quality time in front of the television set which should be able to bring our family values back on track have been replaced with hours of gossip at the bantaba. Are you not saddened by this fact?

Football is our passion, yet between potential sponsors and our national broadcaster, people are now forced to pay monies which could be better spent tackling the sad realities of a looming food crisis on video clubs that crowd people in, risking the spread of diseases which could further add another hole in the national food basket. Is RTS supposed to save us yet again?

The late nineties saw another rise in Gambian music. Through the intervention of our television, “Born Africans”, “Pencha Bi”, “Da Fugitives”, “Peppa House” etc were welcome guests in our homes. My mother whose love for music is one confusing loop would dance to the tune of “Praises” after a hard day’s work and my father, without so much as a word, encouraged me to keep the cassette in the car for his daily journey to Banjul. We must never underestimate the vacuum that now exists as per our music on the television.

Working the streets of Jollof, I have been privileged to see how much work our young people have put into Gambian music over the years. It is true that more work is needed. Our young people need to learn that music is an art and will need dedication and sacrifice to truly compete on the global stage. However, regardless of that fact, we need to replace “sad productions” being broadcast on our television with quality material being produced by a modern generation. It is only through the intervention of our television that we can truly break through that frontier.

I conclude

Today, my essay on “red, black nonsense” is a quiet pondering of the heart. It is not the usual rant that is typical of my pen for today happens to be my day of reflection. After a rather bold response to my last edition of “red black nonsense” from a reader, I was humbled by the fact that people have used time and effort to read through my essays on a public platform. It however, also brought me to realize that education of our people is a national responsibility. Understanding our rights, the contours of our laws, the basic tenets of the English language which we use every day to communicate is a huge necessity.

We have sadly allowed self-education to escape from our grasp. Education is the duty of every Gambian that has the means to spread it. From newspapers, to radio, to TV to “word of mouth”, we must endeavor to teach our citizens the basics of communication in education. This is the missing block in our development and reckless disregard for that truth is not an option. My plan is to keep this short and to allow readers to reflect.

Gambia di sunu reww….mu neex mu naxari….Ligueye lenyu jeem….gorr gorrlu len…Gambia di sunu reww

TGBA