General practitioner more like...

I may be able to live with the person, I'm that tolerant, but I cannot trust someone who no matter the thing under consideration is, has an idea, is aware of, heard of it, felt it, saw it, seen it, knew it'd, had a better one (but will never show you), been there, done that, or knows someone, probably a grandfather or some sixteenth cousin who has, was or is.

And topics ranging from religion to politics, sociology to anthropology, economics to accountancy, climate change to chronic illnesses, preventive care to mathematics, criminology and humanity to money making, the development of technology to the evolution of humankind, from the cold war, both world wars to some other hypothetical wars to come, from The Gambia's 1981 coup to July 22nd, President Barrow studies to how Barack Obama could've gotten himself a third term, etc.

Be your own competitor...

Competition is good for performance. But what's liberating is the competition with your own self, especially where attitudes seem to be in support of a collective demise, where folks don't mind seeing you get ahead, but not too far ahead, and where the fear of failure is so rife that for one to succeed, one tends to believe that someone else must fail.

See, dread! By being your own competitor, it’s easier to count your blessings, track progress, and to see if you need to calibrate to outdo your past performance. There’s is no fear of you losing and someone else winning; you either succeed or you learn, zero time for irrational, illusory, groundless, unfounded, and unprovable Babaaláwo-seeking fears and beliefs... Isn't that a liberating experience?

The partisan zeal...

Gambia - we went to the polls to elect the leader we wanted. Whether the one chosen was the choicest or not, there could only be one. So, I think it's best we get over our individual disappointments and unselfishly be a part of the creation of the leadership we deserve of him and his.  

What's inconducive to this end is making everything seem as if 'us and them', like it's being disappointingly peddled on here, and unfortunately, by (imperceptive) intellectual elites, (pseudo) political experts and (not so liberal) liberals who still seem to be blinded by partisan zeal.

Being open is virtue...

I'm a discreet person myself, pretty much. Perhaps why I admire people who are respectful of privacy. But don't confuse it with what the Wolof's call "hoet" (overly concealing and so secretive that you can pretend naïveté), especially in dealing with those you call friends; that's so deceptive.

Really, it's easier to vibe with people who don't mask their feelings, whose honesty, even though blunt and often bizarre is admirable, because you know where you stand with them. You can rest assured that when you offend them, they'll tell you rather than hold some ill-feeling about some mistreatment that you don't even remember doing.

'Barrow-phobia'

Gambia - this bizarrely proactive stance on shortening the president's incumbency to three years, under the guise of honouring some "MoU" is just calculatedly depriving, so 'Barrow-phobic,' and ungenerous. Yeah dread, that's how I see it!

Weather forecast... August 21, 2017.

The time is 11:00AM in Banjul, and the weather is 29° C, partly sunny. Social media humidity is 78% with ‘Darboe-ly’ storms blowing from Facebook to Twitter. The pressure is 1014.00 mb and it’s on the Coalition MoU.

This wasn’t hard to tell because cloud cover is just 35%, setting visibility at 16 km. However, despite this visibility, it’s like some aren’t seeing far and here’s why:

As we detract, trying to make every scenario appear worse by unrealistically aiming for some perfection that we are not working towards; I mean as we are hard at finding faults and nitpicking in the name of criticism, folks in my area are stranded; commercials drivers are on strike, how charitable.

Some who were calling for this reduction in fares are today in solidarity with the drivers because it’s averse to the status quo, how noble. Drivers who used to accept 5 Dalasis for an 8 Dalasi tariffed distance in the name of altruism are now aggrieved by a Dalasi less than 8, how consistent.

Gambia... the politics... ray beh tass!

Gambia - it's not a crime to prefer one political figure over another; we all have our choices. But it's insincere for one to act politically neutral yet going about couching one's opposition in a very phony (but not so deep) show of keeping it real - you know, just for the heck of bringing about a reaction. My friend! Political patronage and admiration are affairs of the heart; you cannot hide them forever.

So the egos win...

I have seen beyond borders, interacted with fine minds in other places, and I can confirm that the average Gambian is relatively very intelligent. If only our egos weren't sprinters, and our perceptions marathoners - no diss.

See, because the amount of endurance and space we allocate to hold our conversations is usually not extended to sustain a "marathon", we go for a "sprint," so the egos win, hence we act too quickly, indifferent to the consequences.

Hear from both sides...

Hearing from just one side, and it happens to be one that disfavours our friends, it's not uncommon to pass emotionalised judgments. But as we hear the other party's and we rationalise the merits of each account, the causes and effects thereto, it's often a different ball game. So we end up feeling bad that we got played to justify the discreditable.

"ku e'nyaanul neh Yallaak diw."

All things happen by God's permission; that's my belief. But, though your blessing, acknowledging someone through whom you're blessed is not ruling out the fact that it came from God, it's gratitude. So, saying "it is because of God and so-and-so" is not blasphemous, say it! Olof Njie neh: "ku e'nyaanul neh Yallaak diw."

truth is powerful.

It's natural to feel disappointed that someone so close to you, or one who pretends to know you can go all Judas against you, accepting every awful thing being said about you as the truth - just like that, and particularly where this person's expected to defend your honour.

But while feeling all disappointed is granted, it will be so unhealthy and unyieldly to give up as beyond hope of vindication and in the allegiance of man. Rest assured in knowing that in the end, the truth about you that is being caused to be called into question will always have the upper hand, because truth is powerful.

Some people are just likeable...

Some people are naturally easy to like. If you want to be as likeable, don't hate; just try and be as sweet, simple!

Saying defamatory stuff about them, speaking ill of them, trying to put them down, belittling them through speech, or driving a wedge between them and the people they vibe with wouldn't change what people feel about them. Well, except for the naive, and not for long.

One more thing: because theirs is an innately kind disposition, know that whatever you say about them will more than likely be passed on to them.

Distrust...

'Olof Njie nayna, ku dai sa fowukai, dehloufa nala teh.' (He who poops at his playground is only making his return so difficult). So before forming your beliefs, have proof. Don't just base your reaction(s) on hearsay. It can be very dangerous.

In fact, it creates distrust, and where there's distrust there's doubt, where there's doubt there's suspicion, where there's suspicion there's fear, where there's fear there's anxiety, where there's anxiety there's self-defence, usually against threats that do not even exist.

And if you allow your ego to win by failing to talk about the cause of the distrust, with a view to resolving it that is, swear down you will end up embracing the enemy whilst shunning your true friends... I joke a lot but I hardly talk nonsense. I have seen a lot.

Pray for Sierra Leone...

Wonderful prayer from the Catholic Relief Services and I dedicate it to the beautiful people of Sierra Leone

"Compassionate Lord, we pray for those who have been devastated by recent natural disasters. We remember those who have lost their lives so suddenly. We hold in our hearts the families forever changed by grief and loss. Bring them consolation and comfort.

Surround them with our prayers for strength. Bless those who have survived and heal their memories of trauma and devastation. May they have the courage to face the long road of rebuilding ahead.

We ask your blessing on all those who have lost their homes, their livelihoods, their security and their hope. Bless the work of relief agencies and those providing emergency assistance. May their work be guided by the grace and strength that comes from You alone.

Help us to respond with generosity in prayer, in assistance, in aid to the best of our abilities. Keep our hearts focused on the needs of those affected, even after the crisis is over. We ask this in your name,

Amen."

Tukki (travel)...

"We think too small, like the frog at the bottom of the well. He thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view." - Mao Zedong

Where I come from, it is said that: "Ku yaaga tukki, yaaga gis" (he who travels for a long time sees a lot), because travelling gives experience. Like I was told and I believed that our airport was one of the best around the world; that was before I had that escalator fail at some airport in '09.

"Professionals" ayard...

Perhaps they also feel the same about me, but really, some of these Gambian "professionals" bore me; so nitpicking that besides theirs or some babylonian consultant's, nothing that someone else does is ever good enough for them - you know, each be tryna justify his credentials until you're like: 'maneh, yen forlen tojj?'

Bring them together to criticise some work and all they'll do is "creaticise" (create faults to find). Ask them to rectify it, they'll cause a total malfunction, "wrecktify" I call it; so not conducive to progress.

At a certain validation workshop, one suggested that entrepreneurship be made a "core" skill. Another was like: I would rather "key" than core, then the rest of the day saw twenty-ten other synonyms. 'Abeh ning sembo' that you wonder if a workshop or war zone was what it was. Saddest thing is, the thing will get validated, either for 'ha' or for 'hanni.' Now come two years later to assess impact and all you'll get is finger-pointing. 'N'tol teh taa!'

It's not tribalised yet...

N'ko, my dear friend! There's no tribalism nor tribalised politics in The Gambia - at least not as you would expect from reading some of the commentaries on social media. So, I don't know about y'all wye mann, I have decided neh ken duma horh.

It's just unfortunate that some who cannot reason, and some who dare not reason are often carried away by adverse judgments passed by those who cannot come to terms with change, and who go about judging others by their own inclinations and preferences.

And because we take our pens and keyboards for hammers, every problem we write about will resemble a nail. So, rather than caressing where necessary, we just hit hard at everything - sometimes doing more damage than good.

Word...

It's good to network, to be connected, to know and be known. But be reasonable in your quest. You don't want to spend your whole you tryna please some (unwelcoming) circle that you end up hurting those who genuinely love you... keep in mind that tables always turn.

Understanding...

When the reader's mental or emotional process of comprehension is constipated, the writer's thoughts get delimited.

So, I wasn't mad when my colleague went to my boss to read out a certain post I did on Facebook - you know, purporting reference to the boss.

Empathy...

Before the beginning of the demise of intelligent civilisation, there was so much empathy in humanity that once you've been there, gone through shit, your experience motivates a natural understanding of the thoughts, feelings, and emotional state of those going through the same shit.

Once that awakening, you cannot cultivate despair, neither do you have the heart to taunt nor vilify those enduring the same trying moment, because you know how it feels. I wish I could say the same for us today, especially seeing how even our news items are always about avoidable drama or someone else's misfortune.

The two types of friends...

When you have friends "in spite of," cherish them. Friends "because of," screw them; they deserve it. They'll do anything to be in the presence of celebrated and respected people. So, as long as you're influential or beneficial to them, they'll prioritise you over their humanness, their friends, even family.

Nbeh wo bootlicker'l ning kumangding jellelal leh la:

They can be overly nice to you, laughing at your unfunny jokes, showing amazement in everything you say or do, even if "my name is Omar" was what you said, usually using not more than two syllable words like: aww, chaa, dor-nit, ndeysan, wow, eskay, etc.... you think they're nice people? Check how rude they're to those around you that they expect nothing from.

Achievement...

So, if they become so self-important, strutting all over the place barking authority, thinking themselves the best of all who once had what they prolly just have, it's more than likely handed to them or was attained by accident.

About this, Raheel Farooq was said to have said this: "Consider an achievement accidental if it is not coupled with modesty. Because if the achiever had endeavoured for it, it would certainly have killed their pride."

Guarding yourself against deception is not cynicism. In fact, way to go if you want a timely detection, deletion or neutralisation of today's human-based viruses.

Refusing to let everyone walk all over you as if some doormat is not arrogance. You're just recognising and respecting your worth, making mama proud if you ask me.

From once it's legit and not intended to be attained by taking away from others, no self improvement drive is selfish... but we tend to confuse these things.

Some things are callings in life...

In school, some of us have always admired and celebrated the academic successes of those kids who were marked by proper behaviour, and so much that they were always in their school uniforms, always seen discussing past exams papers, even when it was inter-house sporting day at the stadium.

However, just because someone else wasn't given to study like that, wasn't devoted to all the rules nor everything from books, never liked those morning assemblies, hated tucking in his uniform with trousers pulled to his navel like "Pa Secure and Pa Apesko," and just because the person spent more time on the basketball court and in the garden than in the classroom doesn’t guarantee his failure, nor were they that were inclined towards all these and that good-kid image guaranteed a certain success.

If you ask me, this doesn't make God unfair; God blesses differently. And unlike man, God gives second chances to whoever He wishes. Personally, I was afforded thirteen second chances and I'm grateful. So, it's best we count our own blessing and respect each other's, knowing that some callings in life, or some glory to another, though the person wasn't as hearsome as you were in school, you cannot snatch away through spite.

The devil in people...

Two evils, but you're well off with those who let you know their hard feelings about you, and don't mince their words about it, than those who despise you and try to remain politically correct about it, as if they wish you well.

Once you pay close attention, none of these demons can surprise you, trust me, even if their gimmick capacitors are on steroids:

Signs: around you, they'll pretend to like everything you dislike, glorify the people you vilify, or vice versa, just to make you angry. They'll favour anything they know will make life difficult for you, feed the rumour mill about you, only to come back gossiping to you as if they're out for your best interests, and just so they'll remain under the radar. Watch out fi dem!

Bolt's last, Kagame's just getting started.

Usain Bolt: Usain St Leo "Lightning" Bolt, OJ, CD. You're the greatest sprinter of all-time; that's established, and no legendary figure can come classier. For my part, I'm just so glad that I'll be able to tell my kids about the amazing things you did, and that I was a contemporary. Respekt konkrete bredda. Big up and good luck to new beginnings.

Well, in sports, we retire. Politicians don't want to leave, so I digress:

In politics, whenever you hear unanimous decision, it's never a 100%, best believe. There's always a dissenting voice that's suppressed. So, just because a thing's the majority's decision doesn't always make it the wisest.

Anyway, 99% of Rwandans have made their position clear by renewing the incumbent's almightyship, like it's usually done in Africa, and as they did during their referendum - you know, allowing Paul Kagame to remain in power until as far as 2034.

It's democracy, so I wouldn't call it a foolish majority. In fact, good luck with the man. However, my thoughts and prayers are with that wise 1% of Rwandans who voted for change. I feel that they deserve my prayer for the fortitude to bear whatever it is that their fears are.

All humans have two sides...

We all have two sides - a split personality sort of; my friend calls the two: a "selfish-self" and a "selfless-self." But we also have a free will to dictate which of the two will have its way in our life, at every given moment.

Unfortunately and because of greed, many tend to adapt to the demands of their selfish side, and so their interest is always at the expense of everyone else's. You help them too much, you make a rival, or a cynic, if they don't do to you what Judas Iscariot did to Jesus that is.

He said she said BS

Someone came to me, and said that someone told him something that someone so close to me said about me. As if I wasn't used to that classic "he said she said" bullshit, I got so mad that I almost made a call to not nip a beef in the bud, but to open a can of whoopass on someone.

As I took the phone and dialed the first three digits, I realised that doing so will not just be petty, but stupid and foolish, so I refrained and invoked article 11: everyone of my friends has the right to be presumed innocent until I prove you guilty, and I need no help in doing that. I hope you understand?

Gambia, the politics....

Well, some are, but not all what you see on here are facts or sincere opinions. Some are sentiments, some baseless charges, some undue demands, some just goading others to get angry, some pretentious, some airs of absolute righteousness and justifiability, of professionals claiming rights to whatever they seek, say and do, even if wrongly so. So today, I opened two files to prioritise attention and to separate the grain from the chaff:

Age, the immunity...

It's not just tiring to vibe with killjoys, it’s depressing like geez, loosen up! I mean those people who cannot be happy for, nor appreciate anything without soiling it, using attitudes to drain the fun out of even the most harmless of things that others do.

So uptight - y'know, unfairly bashing everything, from Facebook-ing to Sunday beach-ing, as if de facto prophets of 'killjoyanity,' or holders of postgraduate degrees in morality and 'am faida,' and the rest of us looked upon as diploma holders in idiocy and 'nyaaka johm.' Wye nyu dem rek. Di ngen baytou.

Killjoys

It's not just tiring to vibe with killjoys, it’s depressing like geez, loosen up! I mean those people who cannot be happy for, nor appreciate anything without soiling it, using attitudes to drain the fun out of even the most harmless of things that others do.

So uptight - y'know, unfairly bashing everything, from Facebook-ing to Sunday beach-ing, as if de facto prophets of 'killjoyanity,' or holders of postgraduate degrees in morality and 'am faida,' and the rest of us looked upon as diploma holders in idiocy and 'nyaaka johm.' Wye nyu dem rek. Di ngen baytou.

Gambia, the VP's...

I wouldn't call the amendment obscure, and it wasn't as if the rules are being changed in the middle of the game, but we yap as if it's a violation of a commandment from God? I thought the bone of contention was that it was unconstitutional, and now there’s redress, right? So what? I mean the constitutionalisation of the VP’s appointment. Was this amendment not a part of the reforms that Mr. Sandeng (RIP) was martyred for?

What’s with the disinclination? Why is it too hard to just countenance the thing and move on? Is there something else, eh? I don’t think so... so I cannot overstand why the fiery debates, the fuss, the stone-casting, and the daily prayers that are being said to the devil on here. I’m asking because I hate to believe that the avoidable controversy is just one of those side effects of “Haterade” – you know, that drink made from the tears of detractors.

Minding your own business (MYOB)

Refraining from meddling in other people's affair is a good moral conduct. However, when there's a potential conflict that you can nip in the bud, minding your own business (MYOB) will amount to apathy, unconcerned nonchalance if you like.

Hear this: the thing about apathy is that there usually comes a time when you too will be in dire straits, requiring the need for people's take in your business, and you'll be sorry, because then, they too would've decided not to interfere in your affairs, so your MYOB begets OYO (on your own).

Riches...

A wise man once told me that people who’re really and truly wealthy hardly ever go broke; they have cash flow issues perhaps. By his theory, if you go broke as I’m in the habit of, you were only ‘chapteh’ (you had some economic fluke); so you were actually not rich in the exact sense of the word.

I don’t know about that, but here’s a fact: how much you’re really worth is the value of everything you own, minus all your debts; ask any accountant.

Sometimes we’re so into the things that we own that we pay no attention to what we owe, and so we become ostentatious whilst deeply in debt - like that dude that was so indebted that he was so tormented that he’s now demented was like:

“Yo, nice kicks Mike! I had the same pair of Jordans that I lost with my Louis Vuitton backpack. They were on the passenger seat of my Bimma. Glad the thief didn’t touch my Rolex in my Armani suit.”

I think it's a measure of intelligence...

"English is a language not a measure of intelligence." Hmm? In my opinion, this notion is debatable, but it's the claim, and it's often quoted as a back answer to grammar Nazis. However, even if I want to give it that benefit of the doubt, I sometimes see it as a deliberate downplay of someone else's skills and it's unfair; it makes me angry.

For my part, someone who was schooled in English and is able to hold an intelligent conversation in English, fluently translating his thoughts into words is intelligent. Stupid is the one who went to English school to study English proficiency but comes out with English deficiency, and I have seen it happen; I'll name names if I have to. In fact, if I'm lying then examinations also do not reflect intelligence, at least not accurately.