What a bizarre year 2016 have been? It is as if the world politics was waiting for one particular year to explode. From Brexit to Donald Trump to many other major political phenomenon in the world, 2016 doesn’t seem to want to hold any surprises for the coming year. Yah Good Luck 2017.

Speaking of 2016 surprises, The Gambia hold an election and Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia or as he would like to be called (His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh Babili Mansa) lost the election. He then went ahead to concede the election in a manner that surprised and shocked many across the globe. Yahya is a dictator that ruled the Gambia for over 22 years and once planned to rule for a “Billion Years”. So watching this guy conceded was a music to the ear. It was seen as (Coupled with other 2016 elections in Africa Such as Ghana) an important step in the democratization of Africa.

Pleased by the election results the opposition didn’t waste time to imply that they won’t withhold from bringing Jammeh to justice for his alleged Human right abuses spanning the years in his administration. Well, great who doesn’t want to see a human right abuser brought to justice?  Except it was said too soon and well  I can only imagine the chill vibe it send down Jammeh spine as he now has to contemplate the future without the office of the presidency in his hand.

In a week period, some “Irregularities” regarding the election arose and the “Bridge Leader” (Babili Mansa)- Seriously!? decided to take his words back  disregarding his pledge for a smooth transfer of power and now says the country need to go through another election.

Wait! So this guy is doing everything he can to rule the Gambia for A billion years? That’s not fair, right? Well depends on how you look at it.

Today we are hearing that the military has taken control of the election headquarters  while leaders of four west African countries are in Gambia to convince the president to concede his power.  ECOWAS – the west African regional block also states that they might send troops to the Gambia should the situation escalates and the president refuse to step down.

I wished we hadn’t entered this period and Yahya just step out of office but the truth is his moves are not completely unprecedented. He obviously fears for his and his follower’s safety. It’s not easy to be told and not act that way when one threatens to jail, someone. Fearing for his safety and ensuring a future where he and his followers are protected, he did the only thing he knows how to do best- Cling into power.

Yahya’s problems are not only prone to the Gambia, it’s an African issue that is deeply seeded with the tribal power structure and a deep sense of insecurity arising out of the very structure that put these leaders in power. When those ceremonial elections are held in most of the countries in Africa and the opposition sometimes win (Hello Ethiopia), the person/party in power fear of what to come for them and their supporters. This is mainly because they know they messed up while in power and understand the repercussions of not being on the ruling side.

If we are truly adamant about building a democracy that works for everyone in Africa, we need to know how to handle our zeal and find ways that are sometimes unorthodox and tricky to execute. I’m by no means suggesting the tolerance of Human Right abuses but we need to find better ways to deal with leaders such as Yahya Jammeh and others who have long hold the grip of power and yet are playing hide and seek with democracy.

As tempting it is to held Yahya accountable for his actions, well because it’s the right thing to do, the opposition shouldn’t be naive to hold on to the hope the election brought to the people of Gambia. As decisive as the election was to the people, it’s also important not to alienate the president and his followers from the political environment to ensure a democratic Gambia where Jammeh will be the last of his kind. Failure to recognize this will only lead to more unrest and will send Gambia back to where it was.