In Defense of Jammeh: the Gambia

Gavin Edgerton In defense of Jammeh 2/19/13 A lack of leadership and an overabundance of government corruption have impeded many African nations from developing. While many African leaders can be accused of short-sightedness and tending to their own agenda, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has proven to be one of the few progressive leaders. Jammeh has achieved political stability, mobilized resources, and built valuable infrastructure and institutions that generations of Gambians will be able to enjoy. Jammeh has achieved political stability through conflict resolution mechanisms. The Gambian government does not utilize orthodox conflict resolution mechanisms; however the results have proven to be successful. As a form of conflict resolution, Jammeh censors the media. In response to censorship criticism, Jammeh said, "The journalists are less than 1% of the population and if anybody expects me to allow less than 1% of the population to destroy 99% of the population, you are in the wrong place.” Jammeh has also implemented policies that promote religious tolerance and gender equality. Political stability has been achieved in The Gambia through strong progressive policies emplaced by Jammeh. Jammeh has been able to create national peace and cohesion by mobilizing resources. Many programs have been created to mobilize and utilize Gambian citizens. Gambian programs like the monthly National Cleanup Day and tourist guide training schools have showed that Jammeh can build unity as well as mobilize resources to progress development in The Gambia. The developments of long lasting infrastructure and institutions have been a major point of pride for the Jammeh regime, as well as a milestone in Gambian history. Jammeh made road construction a top priority and the infrastructure improvement has been vital for the development of the economic sector. A major milestone in Gambian history was the creation of The University of The Gambia. Jammeh understands the