Posted by 
Alagi Yorro Jallow.Fatoumatta: The reason Jesus refused to allow anyone he healed to become his disciple is that indebtedness is the worst kind of sycophancy: It kills motivation and reason. In 2016/17, some people said President Adama Barrow is a great leader. Some even committed blasphemy to liken him to Prophet Moses the Messiah and our savior.
Gambians supported Adama Barrow because he fitted their assessment of him, and sycophants called him Anabilai Prophet Moses. Others described him as Patriot (Sunu Waggi). Sychophants start seeking political patronage and republican identity only to bolster and flatter President Barrow in exchange for favors and praises with unethical fragile narcissistic behavior, unsolicited personal cheap gifts to President Barrow.
In 2017/2018, they said Adama Barrow was a god-sent. We observed them with beaming eyes. They called him a Patriot and a Prophet. They were scheming to corridors of power as shadows figures for the spotlight. We have been privileged with certain information given out to us in confidence because people trust us. In some other instances, we are living witness familiar with court jesters who attempted to cavort president Adama Barrow and his government since its heyday in 2017.
Fatoumatta: In 2018-19, despite personal gifts and praises, they turned against President Barrow and became some of the loudest voices against him. However, we decided not to go with them or agree with the things they said in their Kakartarr behavior or fake Patriotism.
What is Patriotism? Is it someone who has no mind of his own, or cannot hold and express independent views? Is Patriotism defined by unrefined and virulent attacks on the President? We thought Patriotism is an act or action done in the country’s overall interest and not in trafficking hate-filled, incendiary, and divisive rhetoric? You see, we have “Kakartarr syndrome” who masquerade as democrats and Patriots if we refused to see things only from the prisms of progressive people in The Gambia and the Diaspora and others who are emblematic of centrifugal tendencies in our country?
The people putting scissors to the fabric of the country by words or actions are not Patriots. They are “Kakatarr” and power-addicted mercenaries disguising as people who love a country. Patriots and democrats act and do things in the country’s overwhelming and overriding interest and do not favor their parts of the country. Like every other person, we have our fears about the Gambia. However, we will not throw up our hands, roll over, and surrender to the forces of cynicism. Senator John McCain, the late senator from Arizona, said,” we have been taught correctly that courage is not the absence of fears, but the courage to act despite our fears.”
A significant challenge President Barrow faces at various levels, not just in addressing the people’s needs and aspirations, is the “Kakatarr syndrome” issue and ignoramuses and sycophancy. A fool and sycophants are so powerful that they could quickly reduce a performing state servant to a disgruntled one. Their motives are to infect the government system and end up doing grave damage to our democracy and our beautiful country’s future development. Furthermore, for us, this is the evil scaring our democracy!
Today, there exists a thin line between loyalty and sycophancy to such an extent that the two seem to be synonymous with each other. People no longer mean what they say and say what they mean.
Sycophancy is not far from full-time praise-singing, perennial lobbying for personal gains, obsequious flattery, servile, parasite, fawning, buttering, and sucking up. Our democratic process faces an unprecedented elevated level of respected professionals from across the board playing to the gallery through sycophancy. Their primary weapon to achieve laurels is to “effectively lick the boots” of leaders at the right place and time.
The display of loyalty by blind support without cause and those sycophants who lacked moral rectitude and political ideology remained living in cloud cuckoo land of bitterness, hate, and vitriolic attack on government and people when their unfulfilled wishes surpassed their primary politics and logic. However, the level of political illiteracy we are experiencing in our political circles turns into something evil that can derail us from the democratic track if not checked. Furthermore, for us, this evil is more dangerous to our democracy than the coup makers. This evil is what we know as sycophancy, the “Kakatarr syndrome,” and political illiteracy.
The stakes are high: Too often, Gambians confuse criticism with impoliteness. It is not in doubt the “Kakatarr syndrome” in our socio-economic and political life is the biggest threat we face in shaping our society. People are just licking fathers’ political God’s shoes in the name of political loyalty; some try to score their own self-destruction goals to challenge others.
Fatoumata: Life is perspective! Is the cup half-empty or half-full? Perspective! Unless you desist from being audacious and political bravado, desist share your dangerous and unalloyed views, and vice versa, stop acting like a court jester, learn to be matured in politics. Stop blowing hot air. Stop mischaracterizing people because they do not share or agree with your dumb views and your political movement. I am not saying everything is not perfect under Adama Barrow.