By: Demba Baldeh
“Corruption is a disgusting shame”. This is just one quote from the eloquent video below that describes “CORRUPTION” for what it is. “It is a vile disease that socks the health out of every good thing.”
I have shared this video so many times, hoping it will wake and agitate some citizens to understand the magnitude of devastating destruction corruption leaves on society. Anyone who listens to the words in this video and ponders the effect of corruption must stop and think about the implications of looting public resources.
In my beloved Gambia, the time has come for us to wage a Jihadish war against corruption and corrupt citizens. It is about time we all collectively look at the impact of corruption on our society. In Gambia, whatever direction, whichever way you face, even in our own homes, we can see and feel the destruction of lives, lives, and futures caused by corruption and corrupt officials. Corruption kills, maims, and destroys innocent lives of our citizens every single day.
In fact, without an iota of doubt, I can unequivocally say corruption is responsible for the death of thousands of Gambian youths in the Mediterranean. It is responsible for the premature killing of babies and young women who lack access to decent medical care and facilities across the Gambia. Corruption is responsible for the hundreds of automobile accidents that claim the lives of thousands of our citizens every day. Corruption is responsible for the despicable, low life expectancy age in the Gambia. Corrupt officials are accountable for the massive hunger and poverty that besieged our rural Gambia from Koina to Kartong. Corruption affects all of us as Gambians, even those with the guts to steal from the people openly. The life you steal from may be your own!
Corruption is what depletes and diverts our public resources into personal and private pockets. It deprives our citizens of much-needed basic amenities, preventing the enjoyment of life, liberty, and dignity. “Corruption is filthy work” and “Corruption in a society is an evil moral infection that keeps a society in perpetual sickness.” Gambia, our Gambia, is currently in a state of perpetual immoral illness as we failed to confront this vile disease.
Gambia, our Gambia, has reached a boiling point of destruction. I don’t need to repeat any of the numerous findings of the National Audit Office and the public commission. It is past time that Gambians in every sector of society confront this existential threat to our collective well-being. It doesn’t matter if you are stealing or failing to oversee an institution that has failed to live up to its public service worth. It doesn’t matter whether you are in government, opposition, or the private sector. We are all facing this threat every single day. The sooner we confront this menace, the earlier we can rescue what is left of the moral fibers of our society.
It is not unusual for any conversation about corruption or lack of services in the Gambia to quickly become a blame game. I often say that everybody in the Gambia, from the president to the last man/woman walking the streets, is complaining about the horrible conditions in the country. Yet, very few people, if any, are doing anything, I mean anything, about the issues.
As a result of this collective threat and failure, I called on all Gambians in every sector of society to stand up and wage a jihadist war against corruption. How? One may ask. Well, change begins with us as individuals. Let’s all pledge to participate in corruption and challenge it wherever it rears its ugly head. This national pledge could be an incredible beginning to combating corruption and fostering collective responsibility.
I call on all opposition leaders and supporters to confront, in earnest, corruption at its face value. Every opposition political party can take this task up regardless of your size, learning support, or moral standing. I call on the Gambia Bar Association to take up corruption head-on, challenge public officials and the government, and hold its legal luminaries from engaging in corrupt practices through strict discipline and oversight. I challenge the Gambia media fraternity ~ The Gambia Press Union, to take up corruption and expose every ounce of corruption it can report. I call on the workers’ union, the teachers union, the healthcare workers, etc, to take on corruption. I encourage journalists to hold themselves to higher standards before holding others accountable. Charity begins at home! Practice what you preach!
I challenge the Gambia’s justice system ~ The judiciary to expedite corruption cases and weed out corrupt judges from the system. Convict and send a crystal clear message that Gambia will not tolerate corruption anymore! Most importantly, I call on the Gambia police force to live up to their obligations and prosecute corruption to the last letter. I indulged the police chief in immediately instigating uncompromising ethics and moral conduct among the police to stamp out corruption. I challenge the National Assembly and every decent Gambian citizen entrusted with public responsibility to live up to their moral responsibility of transparency, accountability, and oversight duties!
I challenge our religious leaders, our society’s moral leaders, to wage a jihad against corruption. In a society that sees and experiences so much corruption, religion should take its moral position to preach against corruption and its systematic destruction. Anything else, any other issue in Gambia, is secondary to corruption; it threatens our collective aspirations!
You notice that I did not mention the government up to this level. It is because we are the government. We are the citizens who hire and employ government officials. We are the custodians of power! When we, as Gambians, recognize our power, moral obligations, and duties as citizens, we shall wage an uncompromising war against corruption through our officials. Any Gambian who engages and or plays down corruption has blood in their hands and must be challenged in every way possible. Gambia, we must conclude that our little country is facing an existential threat, just like when we faced a threat by a tyrant who threatened our collective wellbeing. Gambia, it is past time we wage war against corruption. It is up to us to continue to complain about our despicable conditions or do anything about it! The moral responsibility of rescuing our beloved nation lies in each and every one of us!
Demba Baldeh (I despise corruption and corrupt citizens)
