As
Yahya Jammeh, together with his wife and son, boarded the Guinean national
aircraft for Equatorial Guinea via Conakry, the mood at the airport tarmac was
somber.
With
each step Jammeh took up the stairs towards the door of the aircraft of Guinean
President Alpha Conde, a lot of people, including the airport authorities and
Jammeh’s protocol, wept heavily.
Some
women who were wailing were heard saying, ‘daddy, daddy, you are leaving us
behind’ as they bent down to use the edge of their green T-shirts, with the
photo of Yahya Jammeh, to wipe their tears.
Unlike
the others, the soldiers in the presidential guard did not wail, but tears
rolled down their cheeks as they stood motionless. With guns in their hands and hand-grenades in
their chest pockets, the soldiers did not even try to hide their tears.
One
female soldier was even taken out of the crowd as she sobbed uncontrollably.
The
cry was not because of the fact that, for the first time in 22 years, Mr Jammeh
left The Gambia on another nation’s plane different from the one on which is
written ‘Republic of The Gambia’.
It
was because of the affinity built with him over the past 22 years of his
leadership.
Jammeh
was airlifted out of The Gambia with the Guinean president, Alpha Conde, on the
presidential flight of Guinea Conakry.
Jammeh
left The Gambia following the success of the last minute diplomatic negotiation
to end the political impasse that followed his [Jammeh’s] total rejection of
the result of the 1st December presidential election.
Jammeh
lost the election to Adama Barrow, but rejected the result barely a week after
accepting it, causing weeks of fear, anxiety and uncertainty in the country and
beyond.
When
the first two diplomatic mediation missions of Ecowas failed to get Jammeh hand
over power peacefully to the winner of the election, Ecowas sent its standby
military force with a mandate to get Jammeh out.
When
the troops arrived at the borders of The Gambia determined to enter, Mr Conde
of Guinea arrived in Banjul with a delegation including the president of
Mauritania, as a last ditch effort to peacefully solve the impasse.
After
about 10 hours of diplomatic manoeuvers, Mr Jammeh announced in a televised
statement aired on state television, GRTS: “I have decided today [Friday] in
good conscience to relinquish the mantle of leadership of this great nation.”
As
part of the 14-point agreement that made him to step down, Jammeh was to
“temporarily leave The Gambia” on Saturday, and he eventually left.
