Africa

As the emerging winner of the November presidential elections in The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh took oath of office on the 19^th of January 2012. The 30 minutes speech that ensued his swearing by the Chief Justice of The Gambia was nothing short of one of the most famous political quotes of ex-British Prime Minister Gordon Brown - he has lost the art of communication, but not, alas, the gift of speech. The president’s speech embellished in pomp and flower began by imploring all Gambians to unite under the umbrella of citizenship, to fight poverty, waywardness, underdevelopment, disunity, diseases, stagnancy.

I was born and raised in Gambia, West Africa, a predominantly Muslim population, a former British colony, and a place rich in culture. Gambia is a place where the people are warm, the Atlantic coast is constantly smiling and the laughter of children always fills the air. There, no one is sheltered from the realities of life, regardless of social status. People of all faiths live in harmony. The weather is tropical and the beaches are sandy. Gambia is where memories of My Triple Heritage are peacefully resting and available at a moment’s notice, for when I feel the need to reminisce.

In Gambia, Islam is woven into the fabric of the indigenous culture and the Western influence is the stitch that holds it together. With the mixture of Western ideas, Islam and the indigenous culture, you now have a contemporary society that is complex, sophisticated and vibrant.

Open Mic Festival 2011

December 23^rd 2011 is the date set aside for what has already proved to be without a doubt, Gambia’s Greatest Music Festival. With over ten thousand attendees of last year’s event held at the Independence Stadium, the fourth anniversary of the annual Open Mic Festival is envisaged to host an even larger crowd.

Never before,in the history of our dear nation has there been an event of such magnitude featuring solely young Gambian artistes with no international headlining act to beef-up crowd numbers. The underlying tones of the festival mainly seek to draw attention to our sense of feeling proudly Gambian and simply expressing our Gambian pride through music by staging a world-class event for all, by us.

by Buba Saho

What we've seen so far: Unofficially, about 85% of registered voters turned out to vote. Unofficially again, 75% of them voted for the incumbent Yahya Jammeh of the APRC, 15% for Ousainou Darboe of the UDP and 10% for independent Hamat Bah representing the United Front.

I don't know about you but that's pretty conclusive to me. Gambians have spoken. They're happy with the current administration and would like to see them continue for the next 5 years.

TO THE OPPOSITION: Despite the prevailing conditions where all indication was that this was a foregone conclusion, you still entered the race and stood for what you believe. You also had a part to play in making sure everything remained peaceful and civil and you should be applauded for that.

After all is said and done, I hope this experience helps you realize what you could have done better so the outcome is different come next elections.