The Wall Street Journal quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on the two Americans who have been charged with attempting to overthrow the government of Gambia:
Mr. Jammeh doesn’t appear likely to cede power soon. His picture hangs on billboards plastered across the country, above the words, “Say No to Drugs and Corruption.” He is frequently trailed by singers and drummers who praise his name, and he is seldom seen without his trademark set of prayer beads and a ceremonial scepter.
“If I have to rule this country for one billion years, I will,” he told the BBC in 2011.
“He’s almost a caricature of a banana republic,” said J. Peter Pham, Africa director at the Washington-based think tank Atlantic Council. “A little bit of attention wouldn’t hurt a place like that.”