- “I am not a fool. Some people who call themselves griots praise sing me just for money. We don’t want griots that sometimes become chameleons and other times become snakes. If you want to be APRC, you should remain APRC,” that was what the Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, exactly told his audience at his party’s ongoing victory jubilations at the weekend.
President Jammeh said he is not a fool because he knows all those who sing such praises.
Mr Jammeh said it has come to his knowledge that some public officers merely pretend to be supporters of the ruling party but they send the party’s supporters while entertaining those of opposition in their offices. He said it will take him five minute to send anyone who practices such a crime.
“Anybody who does not support my party should leave the government,” President Jammeh fired his usual warning shots.
The Gambian leader dispelled the notion from some quarters that his party is back to power to exploit Gambians. Rather, he said the party is doing the opposite.
President Jammeh drew world-wide attention few months back after he had claimed to have found a cure for HIV/AIDS and asthma with herbs and holy Quranic verses. The Gambian President said he is ready to confront western doctors for not accepting cure for classified diseases.
Mr Jammeh bragged that he is set to prove the western doctors and sceptics wrong by eradicating all such diseases before the year ends.
Turning to energy, Mr Jammeh warned that state secret agents would soon arrest and detain people for not settling their utility bills. He said after a long struggle to nail the coffin on the country’s electricity crisis, his government cannot allow any unpatriotic elements to sabotage the good work.
He said Gambians who complain of high utility cost are free to disconnect electricity in their homes, use generators and shut their mouths. Gambian President blamed the opposition for peddling such “unpatriotic and selfish propaganda”, that does not move him an inch because such people will soon die of heart attack instead.
The Gambia's energy bills are said to be the highest in the West Africa region.
President Jammeh would not spare Muslim scholars either, describing some of them as hypocrites and unbelievers who cover themselves in Arab attires.
The Gambia's military-turned-civilian leader came to power through a bloodless coup in 1994 which saw the overthrow of the former President Sir Dawda Jawara. Since 1996 Mr Jammeh had been sweeping elections, although his opponents cried foul against irregularities in the polling system.
Mr Jammeh's last victory was in September 2006 when he scored over 69 percent of the votes to defeat Ousainou Darboe and Halifa Sallah of the United Democratic Party and National Development for Democracy, respectively. His party also repeated a landslide in the legislative polls.
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