Thursday, February 20, 2014

Statement by President Yahya Jammeh on the occasion of the Gambia’s 49th Independence anniversary 18th February 2014

 
President Yahya AJJ Jammeh

 Bismillaahir Rahmaani Raheem 

Alhamdu lillaahe Rabbil Aalameeen

Alhamdu lillaahe Rabbil Aalameeen

Alhamdu lillaahe Rabbil Aalameeen


Fellow Gambians and friends of The Gambia

I greet you with the most noble salutation “Assalaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullaahe wa Barakaatuh,” on the important occasion of the 49th anniversary of our independence. I salute and commend you for the journey we have all been making to usher in a modern prosperous and dignified independent motherland for the past 49 years and even more significantly with the assumption of a more profound meaning of our independence as a sovereign Nation during the last twenty years from July 22nd 1994.

We continue our march for greater prosperity, progress and independence as a proud and dignified nation and taking charge of our destiny with THE ALMIGHTY ALLAH as our only MASTER to WHOM alone we bow down in worship. Our independence was achieved through the hard work of patriotic independence minded citizens but that independence was a sham as Gambia’s leadership then plunged our country deeper into the complete hegemony of the British Empire and therefore failed to bring about any significant socio-economic development.

For a country that was once labelled as a “hell hole on earth” by a former US President during the height of massive looting of our resources by our merciless colonial Masters; we should definitely be proud of ourselves considering the rapid development we have achieved so far during the past 20 years i.e. from July 22nd 1994 when we became truly independent from the exploitative hegemony of the ungrateful Kingdom of our former colonial Masters.


Fellow Gambians,
 I can assure you that the developments achieved under my leadership will continue to make us all proud. My philosophy is that independence should have a practical meaning and in my words and deeds The Gambia will continue to stand tall among the world’s nations as a dignified proud country making sustainable progress based on self-reliance and always putting our own destiny in the care of the Supreme MASTER , The One and Only ALMIGHTY ALLAH.

As we celebrate yet another independence anniversary in peace and harmony, we thank Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta’alaa for His rich blessings and also urge all citizens to continue to jealously guard and protect the peace and stability of the Gambia. On the eve of this year’s independence anniversary

The Economist Magazine has ranked The Gambia among themost stable countries in the world and such a feat must never be taken for granted but should propel all of us to stand firm in unity to safeguard and preserve it for posterity. With the Almighty Allah on our side we can always achieve higher heights.

Fellow Gambians and friends of The Gambia,
My Government places a high premium on national security and this sacred national interest will never be sacrificed on the altar of satanic and ungodly international standards that continue to promote the evil Agenda of the world powers that are today playing god to Africa and the third world. Our democracy will be built on and sustained by our religious beliefs and cultural values; and as I declared for a theme during the last July 22nd anniversary, we will continue to “live according to our religion”. Therefore the coercive and dictatorial pressures by some foreign powers aimed at imposing on us their ungodly and decadent cultures like homosexuality and unbridled freedoms that endanger the peace and welfare of the majority, will never be accepted in this country.These dangerous and irresponsible freedoms by these satanic forces would one day lead to brothers marrying their biological sisters and fathers marrying their own daughters and mothers marrying their own sons.Such an evil world they are preparing for mankind, cannot be accepted by We ALLAH worshipping Muslims and Christians the world over; more so Africans especially Gambians.

Fellow Gambians and Friends of The Gambia,
Independence, development, peace and stability cannot be attained and sustained without a price; every citizen should be willing to pay with his/her sweat at the least for rapid socio economic development and peace. At the most, every citizen should be willing to pay with his or her blood and tears to maintain our Independence, Freedom, security and permanent stability in a country where all ALLAH-Fearing Muslims and Christians can worship our Creator and Master with absolute peace of mind and soul. I call on every Gambian to take greater personal responsibility for the socio economic development, stability, security and Independence; and, in a nutshell, the well being of our Motherland The Gambia. We should not rely on the state for a disproportionate share of our welfare, rather, we must endeavour and be bold enough to take full control and responsibility for our own socio-economic Advancement and that of our Country. It is only in this spirit of living by one’s sweat and contributing to Our Country’s development that we as a nation working together with only the ALMIGHTY ALLAH AS OUR MASTER and Our Religion as Our way of life and Governance; that we will turn this great country into the Economic Super Power that we yearn for in a shorter period of time than anticipated. 

My Government continues its programme of socio economic development with Religion and our religious value system as the cornerstone for national psychological emancipation and liberation from the shackles of neo-colonialism in all its shapes and colours. In my Government’s drive to provide education for all Gambians, religious Education will be further buttressed and strengthened from primary, secondary and to tertiary Education.It is only when religion and faith in ALLAH only is established in the Heart of Every Gambian, that we can become truly Independent and dignified people. We cannot be called dignified and independent when instead of putting our destiny in the MIGHT OF THE ALMIGHTY ALLAH’s custody, we look up satanic powers that be; whose only objective for humanity is to glorify all that is Evil and Ungodly.These so-called world powers of today’s world comprising racist, Homosexual, Devil-and-material- worshipping perverts bent on the continuous sucking of African blood and resources to perpetuate decadence, abject poverty, violence and mayhem in Africa, cannot be listened to by ALLAH-worshipping people like us more sobe taken for Masters.I am sure that even Iblis or Satan believes that he is less evil than these powers who have set one set of standards for themselves, and another for the rest of mankind especially Africans.

Fellow Gambians, I am sure you will agree with me that National pride and Independence are meaningless without one’s ability to rely on and feed oneself. Therefore, as we celebrate this independence anniversary, let us take this solemn and sacred responsibility to grow what we eat and eat what we grow. For a country to be highly developed, secured, peaceful stable and independent, it must be a very healthy country. We cannot assure a healthy Gambia as long as we do not grow what we eat and eat what we grow. In fact, eating what we do not grow, which means eating what we do not know, is detrimental to the attainment of a healthy Nation and by extension, a wealthy Nation. Eating what we do not grow or know is responsible for the strange health problems that are encountered in today’s Gambia. Our traditional Gambian dishes or foods are being replaced by unhealthy and for most Muslims, haram junk food being imported into this country. This dangerous trend must end and I am determined to end importation of basic food items by 2016 without fail by the Grace and Might of the Almighty Allah.

Fellow Gambians, Friends of our Dear Motherland and Non Gambians
Let me take this opportunity to also remind you all about the importance of a clean environment in the maintenance of perfect health and sustainable development. Allah has endowed us with all that we need to ensure healthy lives but it is our responsibility to ensure a clean and conducive environment that ensures and guarantees good health to all of us as taught in our National Anthem “We strive and work and pray that all may live in Unity, Freedom and Peace each day.” Therefore let justice and the Fear of ALLAH guide our actions towards our common Good. This means our attitude towards our environment, our homes and neighbours, our public institutions like markets, hospitals, schools, NAWEC, GAMTEL, our flora and fauna etc must be taken care of because they determine our Common Good. Our hospitals, roads, public infrastructure etc. all determine our common wellbeing.

Therefore as we approach our fiftieth Independence Anniversary in 2015, let us for once forget I-ism and opt for We-ism.
The philosophy of I-ism can only lead to greed, selfishness and division.The philosophy of We-ism can only lead to Unity, virtuousness and to ALLAH. A typical example of this in our religion, is the high premium that the Almighty ALLAH has placed on congregational prayers as opposed to individual prayers.

The environment is inextricably linked to our survival and culture. Therefore we must not only preserve our natural heritage but also study it and document it for posterity. My Government will continue to support research on our cultural heritage and also encourage Gambians to make good use of our natural resources for the benefit of everyone. In this vein, I am pleased to inform you that henceforth, January 17th will be celebrated as National Natural Medicines Day. This Day will be set aside to appreciate, celebrate and also embrace our Indigenous ways of Medical Treatment. While celebrating this day for the glories of our rich past, it should also be a moment for further reflection, thought and research for the improvement of our Indigenous knowledge of Natural remedies for their adaptation in a dynamic and increasingly materialistic commercial world.

Fellow Gambians, Friends of the Gambia,
On the international front, The Gambia will continue to pursue a foreign policy based on equality and genuine friendship with the rest of the world. Such friendship must be anchored on mutual respect and the inviolability of our sovereignty and independence. We are not against any country or race but we demand absolute respect for our religious values from all nations regardless of size race, wealth or ideology. In interacting with the rest of the world, we shall continue to jealously guard our independence and sovereignty. We do not and shall never interfere with the domestic politics of any nation and therefore we will not tolerate interference in our domestic affairs under any guise. Our Islamic Faith is precious and we shall guard and preserve it by all means necessary. While we wish to maintain peaceful relations with all countries near and far, we will never accept any Ungodly, Satanic and Anti Human behaviour as a way of life or a human right.Homosexuality will never be tolerated and in fact will attract the ultimate penalty since it is intended to bring humanity to an inglorious extinction. We will fight these vermins called Homosexuals or gays the same way we are fighting malaria-causing mosquitoes; if not more aggressively.We will therefore not accept any friendship, aid or any other gesture that is conditional on accepting Homosexuals or L.G.B.T. as they are now baptised by the powers that promote them. As far as I am concerned, L.G.B.T can only stand for Leprosy, Gonorrhoea, Bacteria and Tuberculosis; all of which are detrimental to human existence.

Let me also make it very clear that Gambia will not spare any homosexual and therefore no Diplomatic Immunity will be respected for any Diplomat who is found guilty or accused of being a homosexual. We will also not accept Diplomats that are homosexuals.

Fellow Gambians, Friends of The Gambia
 Our Natural resources are ours and we will only exploit them to the utmost benefit of our country and nothing else. We will always be in the Driving Seat of any extractive activity and any outside involvement would be based on our terms and nobody else’s. This means that we will work with other countries and entities based on a win-win situation for both sides.

Our Emphasis will be joint state to state ventures with our true friends and strategic Allies. No amount of blackmail, smear campaign or bullying tactics would make me deviate from this position and allow those marauding locusts to loot our Natural resources to our own detriment.

With the ALMIGHTY ALLAH’s Guidance and Protection, Our Mineral Resources will soon launch us out of poverty into eternal prosperity and to the Economic super power status without fail.
In conclusion, my Government would give priority to the peaceful resolution of all these deadly and catastrophic senseless proxy conflicts that continue to plague our Mother Africa. These conflicts are reducing our socio-economic development prospect as a continent by 90% year in year out, and unless all of us as Black Africans realise that the more we fight each other the deeper we sink into Abject poverty, and take drastic steps to put a definitive end to fighting, prosperity in many parts of Africa would only be an elusive and far-fetched dream.

We believe that Africa should solve her own problems rather than pandering to the whims and caprices of foreign powers whose actions are always inimical to the supreme interest of our continent in spite of their best efforts to disguise as genuine partners. Therefore we will continue to advocate for the speedy resolution of conflicts in South Sudan, Central African Republic and other trouble hot-spots on the continent.

Fellow Gambians and friends of The Gambia
While we celebrate our independence in peace and harmony, let us remember the less privileged around the world who continue to yearn daily for peace, security and progress. Let us all pray for Allah to bring stability and peace to the troubled regions of the world and to bless the poor and hungry with sustenance.

I wish you all a happy 49th independence anniversary.

END......

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