Common sense may not, all by itself look at us and say, “Yes, Esau Williams’ assertions are true. They aren’t blank allegations.” But the same common sense can remind us of a beautiful Gambian proverb saying, “A wolf passes by and people start losing their chicken.” Even if the wolf never touched those birds, its record did—even if indirectly in the faintest sense of it!

But before we chirp about the Esau Williams’ matter, let me address you, Mr. Minister Sillah with few reminders. When Yahya Jammeh was being brutal, viewing the work of journalists from a very corrupted vista, you and I were in the lion’s den, sketching out a very dangerous subsistence.

On numerous occasions did we cross path, Mr. Minister. One day, with my tiny hands, I had my journalist recorder’s microphone thrust to the lips of Lawyer Ousainou Darboe at the IEC building on nomination day 2001. I was asking Darboe very sensitive questions live on camera.

Tens of thousands of Gambians thronged kairaba Avenue that day and all eyes were on the journalists asking every politician questions very seminal to our tiny nation’s well-being then. You were skin-to-skin with me, each musical-chairing for answers.

You even uttered some words directed to my poise. The scene, as often occurs in auctioning with journalistic inquiries in journalistic milieu wasn’t too chivalrous. Earlier, we had met at a press conference, somewhere in Kanifing and Justice Minister, the late Pap Cheyassin Secka was talking to all of us.

Besides Cheyassin, other government officials were there from the Jammeh petri-dish. I chose not to utter a word as the conference proceeded. Then all of a sudden, an Ebrima Sillah addressed the minister and his gang about the work of an Ebrima Colley.

Mr. Minister, you told Cheyassin Secka, pulling the latest Daily Observer copy from your bag and brandishing it to everyone, that you admired a cartoon in that paper’s edition that day. You drew his attention to my work.

But what was in that Daily Observer edition? An Ebrima Colley cartoon, depicting a Gambia of fear in the days of Yahya Jammeh. The cartoon showed a ballot box with a gun popping out of its ballot hole. It was a hand gushing forth from the box’s sliver opening, holding a gun as the 2001 elections neared.

You addressed the then Justice Minister about the cartoon you extolled. Mr. Sillah, on another day, you broadcast on the late Baboucarr Gaye’s Citizen FM about another politically sensitive cartoon that got me in serious trouble with the gov’t.

But why these vignettes, Mr. Minister? Because today’s Ebrima Sillaah isn’t yesterday’s. You cherished Journalism 101 yesterday and muzzle journalism 0.01 today! Let’s say Esau William’s assertions were just for the heck of it. There are some Gambians that are privy to what really happened.

You were and still are minister when Pa Modou Bojang and King FM’s Giby Jallow, both managers, were arrested, their radios shut down for a period. You were, and still are the information minister when journalists were slapped or beaten just like the days of Jammeh.

So, Journalism 101 and its ethics should be kept intact when Jammeh is president. But as soon as Jammeh is gone, journalism 101 is shelved to the gutters? If this isn’t true, Mr. Minister, you’d have immediately addressed the nation the day Pa Modou Bojang and King FM’s Bosses were arrested and their radios forcefully shut.

You’d have either asked the President to immediately release them—or you tender your resignation. Mr. Minister, there are many that call themselves leaders, but only few command integrity and wisdom. When Sedat Jobe resigned from his post as Jammeh’s foreign minister, I was perhaps the first and only journalist he directly spoke to when I called.

Sedat didn’t tell me it was about the then Deputy British High Commissioner to The Gambia who personally walked up to little Ebrima Papa Colley and thanked him for posing, “Intelligent questions” at Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, NCP, PPP, PDOIS, and Dr. Lamin Bojang’s GDP at the August 2001 first ever coalition talks against Yahya Jammeh at the YMCA.

Sedat might have advised angry Jammeh against sending the Deputy British Ambassador out of the country. That Ambassador personally called me and asked me to come to his send-off party. Boom goes the dynamite! And Sedat had to resign. In few hours, I was driven to the State House where I listened to very serious conversations! Sedat resigned on principle.

Today, no one can attack him about Jammeh’s misdeeds, right? But you didn’t do what Sedat did in 2001. On the contrary, you’re doing the raw antithesis of such noble actions of Sedat. As if that isn’t enough, you want Esau to be silent while our country perishes under the aegis of a leader who knows it not, and acts like he never wants to know it?

We are not asking you to resign, Mr. Minister. But please leave good journalists alone! Good journalists ask intelligent questions. Dumb ones ask an Adama Barrow for money to tilt the tables to his vantages.  Gambia is in shambles, Mr. Minister—and you know it! But you want people not to ask intelligent questions, one of the best reasons Africa continues to be trump’s “shit-hole countries!”

If Trumps words really anger you as they have many Africans, please leave Esau Williams alone! I don’t know Esau from Adam. But I know what a good journalist looks or acts like! No one ever wins against truth. Please look at the sorry state of Gambia today, and look at yourself in the mirror!

Before your colleague, Dr. Samateh went public about massive corruption in your government, it was this medium that has been blowing the whistle about it. In fact, we published an insider’s whistle-blowing verbatim from the health ministry days before Samateh went public out of no choice! Things like this will continue as long as you detest truthful journalism!

And of course, not only Pa Modou and King FM incidents, multiple other cases were under-reported. You see, Mr. Minister, you wanted not just journalists, but the whole Gambia to tell and correct Jammeh’s excesses. But today, Esau Williams, Pa Modou, King FM, etc can’t do the same about a very corrupt government you’re part of?

Jammeh has blood on his hands—no damn doubts about that! But killings occurred in Faraba, Kanilai, etc., under your very watch. Mr. Minister, what response will you have today for a younger Ebrima Sillah toiling as a freelance reporter in the Gambia who happens to ask you this simple question, “Were you in journalism yesterday just to wait for today’s ministerial job and then kill the profession?”

My answer to that young Ebrima Sillah is this: Please don’t look at today’s Ebrima Sillah. You’ll lose hope in the beauty of this noble profession and detest it to posterity! Mr. Minister, today’s societies, governments, and socio-economics are too complex to be without journalists and journalism!

In 500BC, societies were very simple. There was very little need for cunning ways of burning down important documents at the fisheries ministry in broad day light and brazenly lie to the public. There was very little need for hiding papers of the stolen Covid funds.

There was very little need for hiding massive fund diversion that denies our hospitals a simple medical drug as oxygen. There was very little need for hiding the dark deals involving the operations of Chinese Fish meals not only draining our marine resources, but polluting and infecting poor Gambians.

There was very little need to hide the details leading to millions of funds diverted to the First lady’s account, only for liars to lie that they couldn’t tell neither the depositor, nor the withdrawer! And you don’t want Esau Williams to ask questions?

There was very little need to hide secrets of the Janneh Commission white paper as there is very little need to hide Semlex, Senelec, and Banjul city contract without tender. There was very little need to hide the reasons why billions are being pumped into little Gambia, but our mothers are still suffering in poor markets, struggling to make the simplest living!.

There was very little need to hide information leading to answers why our streets are being flooded, poor houses crumble, and those who voted you into office live sleepless nights at the mercy of mosquitoes and muddy, unkempt environment while we pay D25 million to Senegal’s Senelec for an electricity we never get properly.

But ours isn’t 500BC anymore. Ours is 2020! Every generation of humans learn from history to be more and more sophisticated. You’ll never win against journalism, especially in this digital age of nano-second information sharing! Leaders of great nations come to power to make history. Why do we Africans kill for power just to reach the cash register? The  government you’re part of continues to shame us and help Trump’s assertions! Gambia shouldn’t be a shit-hole country! Please think, Brother!

Photo Above: Ebrima Sillah in 1994 shaking Yahya Jammeh's hands as a BBC Reporter.