Samsudeen Sarr has explained that his publishers were tipped by someone that his popular “Meet Me in Conakry” was cancelled for curricular use by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) due to his continuous support for former president Yahya Jammeh and his APRC party. Sarr’s book, he stated, has been replaced by Senegalese Mariama Ba’s “So Long a Letter.”
In a jeremiad he released to this medium Friday, Sarr dismissed WAEC’s claim that his book was unavailable, reasoning that Ba’s “So Long a Letter” was equally out of print. His publishers, he mentioned had already printed 3000 copies only to be informed of a cancellation of order. Below, we reproduce Sarr’s points:
ABOUT MY BOOK MEET ME IN CONAKRY
In my morning audio today May 7, 2021, I expressed my disappointment with the Gambia West African Examination Board (WAEC) for cancelling my book that was selected for Gambian schools to use as one of their literature books for the period 2021 to 2025.
I was in New York when my publishers who had initially printed 3000 copies were informed about the devastating cancellation news in a latter dated December 5, 2019 saying that the book was not available in the country and was therefore replaced with So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba, a Senegalese author. That book was not available in the country either.
Like me, my publishers were very disappointed with the cancellation after investing so much money in the printing and importing. They were however tipped off by someone that the actual reason for cancelling my book was political and had everything to do with my continuous support of the APRC and the former president of the Gambia, His Excellency President Yahya Jammeh.
They couldn’t tell me who said so but the author of the letter of cancellation signed it as Alhagie Dampha, for the Head of National Office, WAEC, Banjul. Letter will be shared below.
If that is the only reason for such a decision then I must say that the people who arrived at it were unfair to me and the Gambian students who could have learnt a lot from an epic book of contemporary significance.
Meet Me In Conakry is a book conceived from realizing how the emotional, physical and psychological burden of transitioning from childhood to adulthood could take a huge toll in the behavior of the young man and woman. A period in human growth scientifically identified as “adolescence” my book tells of my personal experience at that age where I narrated the story of three young friends including me who before completing their final growth process and ultimate maturity encountered a very turbulent experience in what is best described today as a “back-way” journey. Defying all parental and establishment norms, we ventured in a journey we all had lived to regret in the end.
The beginning of that journey was the climax of our defiance to both parental advice and illustrating our rebelliousness towards the establishment.
There could’t have been a better time than now to read Meet Me In Conakry when our young men and women, despite the fatal risk involved in leaving home to travel to Europe by the back way, are still unyielding in their determination to leave or create hell for their parents.
I think all families with school-going children should purchase the book and encourage the kids to read it. Because at some point in their growth, boys and girls will reach that transition period that scientist estimate to begin around 17 years and end by the age of 24.
Although scientists have further identified the occurrence of few boys and girls who would never transition successfully and are those older folks who avoid the responsibilities of adulthood, always acting like kids and are ever dependent on their parents; they are also easily controlled by friends, especially bad friends and would rather blame people for their misfortunes than their rigid mindsets.
There are those according to psychologists who also could get severely ill at this age and could even lose their minds.
Though, the WAEC have missed this opportunity of introducing our young school children to this book whose author is a Gambian, still alive and willing to tour every school to explain its background and purpose, I will conclude by recommending it to parents to purchase and add to the home library.
The book is sold at an affordable price of D150.00 only, at SUNNY BEST TRADING bookstore in Serekunda, located at 26 Sayer Jobe Avenue around “barrtess” area. Their telephone number is: 9929719/7745455.
Bookstore manager is called Mr. Best.
Samsudeen Sarr,
Banjul, The Gambia
dis should not have anything to do wth politics they are not fair to gambian studentswho could hae learnt a lot from this book