President Muhammadu Buhari is set to travel to The Gambia today to intervene in the crisis brewing in the country after the incumbent President, Yahya Jammeh, rejected the results of the presidential election which he lost to his opponent.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that Buhari would meet with and persuade Jammeh to hand over to Adama Barrow, the president-elect.

BBC further reported that Buhari would be joined by other West Africa leaders, in a bid to end the political crisis brewing in the West African country.

Jammeh lost the just-concluded election in the country, and conceded the elections to Barrow, a real estate mogul who has never held a political office.

“I’m calling you to wish you all the best, the Gambian people have spoken and I have no reason to contest the will of Almighty Allah,” Jammeh had said at the time.

The December 1 vote saw Barrow win 222,708 votes (43.3 per cent), while Jammeh polled 208,487 (39.6 per cent).

 In a dramatic u-turn, Jammeh later rejected the election result, saying: “After a thorough investigation, I have decided to reject the outcome of the recent election.

“I lament serious and unacceptable abnormalities which have reportedly transpired during the electoral process. I recommend fresh and transparent elections which will be officiated by a god-fearing and independent electoral commission.”

John Mahama, Ghanaian President who just lost and conceded in the West African country, will also join the African leaders in persuading Jammeh to relinquish power.

The United Nations, African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had all called on Jammeh to relinquish power.</s>Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari (left), Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (second left), Sierra Leone's Ernest Bai Koroma (second right) and Ghana's outgoing President John Mahama (right) with The Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh (centre) at State House in Banjul on December 13, 2016. PHOTO | NIGERIAN PRESIDENCY

Four African heads of state landed in The Gambia on Tuesday with a mission to persuade President Yahya Jammeh to leave office after his defeat at the ballot box.

Jammeh's party has vowed to challenge the December 1 vote result in court, leading to an avalanche of international condemnation and multitude of calls for him to cede power to opponent Adama Barrow, who was officially declared the winner.

They were not met at the airport by the president but by his deputy Isatou Njie-Saidy.

"We hope we can talk and that the will of the people will prevail," President Sirleaf told journalists after her arrival as head of the delegation.

The heavyweight grouping, all of whom who have significant ties to The Gambia, will be joined by United Nations West Africa envoy Mohamed Ibn Chambas.

Banjul-based diplomats say Buhari in particular has long been annoyed by Jammeh's provocative behaviour and disdain for protocol.

Up until now the president of the tiny country of fewer than two million people may have exasperated his peers but has never threatened peace in the sub-region, a situation that has dramatically shifted since Jammeh's move to void the election.

"It is unacceptable that there is an election and one person turns down the result," Liberia's information minister Eugene Nagbe told AFP on Tuesday. "The message of President Sirleaf and her delegation to Jammeh will be that he accepts the result and gives way to smooth transition."

If Jammeh and the delegation did not reach an agreement, west African states would "contemplate more draconian decisions", a top official with the regional ECOWAS bloc headed by Sirleaf told French radio station RFI late Monday.

Meanwhile Gambian army chief Ousman Bargie seemed to reverse a previous declaration of support for Barrow and arrived at the talks sporting a badge with Jammeh's face on his uniform.

Bargie said he supported the "commander in chief, President Yahya Jammeh" in brief comments to journalists.</s>A lecturer at the Legon Center for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD) Dr Ken Ahorsu has warned against military intervention in Gambia following confusion over the recently held election results.

The West African country is in a constitutional deadlock after its leader Yahya Jammeh rejected results of that country's election held earlier this month. Dr. Ahorsu in an interview with Citi News said,

“I'm against any form of military intervention in the domestic affairs of a state although those things are sanctioned. The results that we’ve seen in Libya, in Iraq and even in Ivory Coast is that you can sometimes remove a dictator but that harm that you’ve done in terms of people right and other sorts of things, it becomes harmful to the society and retrogresses progress,” Dr Ahorsu said.

He said Yayha Jammeh's decision to contest the elections after initially conceding defeat to President-elect Adama Barrow, could be attributed to Mr Jammeh's fear of facing trial for crimes he committed while in office.

“What is important here is the United Nations, IMF and World Bank are all calling on Jammeh to step down just as the people have spoken and he initially agreed. I think the main concern is that there must be some form of transitional arrangement. Jammeh has been a dictator and a lot of people are saying that he and his military and security commanders have carried out they must be punished and I think this is the reason why he is trying to reverse the decision of the elections,” he said.

Ghana President John Mahama on Tuesday joined other West African leaders to mediate the current political situation in The Gambia.

The team included the Chair of ECOWAS, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari who seek to persuade President Yahya Jammeh to hand power over to Adama Barrow.</s>The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, has said President Muhammadu Buhari arrived Banjul, The Gambia, tuesday to meet with the country’s President, Yahya Jammeh, who lost the presidential election penultimate week.

According to him, Buhari, who arrived together with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, the current Chairperson of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, and President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra-Leone, were received at the airport by Gambia’s Vice-President, Isatou Njie-Saidy.

The statement said the out-going President of Ghana, John Mahama, who had earlier arrived Banjul, would join the other West African leaders to meet President Jammeh at the CoCo Ocean Resort and Spa, Banjul.

Jammeh had earlier conceded defeat in the election, after a 22-year rule, but recanted a week later, asking for fresh polls to be conducted by a “god-fearing and independent electoral commission.”

Adesina said Buhari and the ECOWAS leaders would discuss the ensuing impasse in The Gambia with Jammeh, and insist on the sanctity of the electoral process, and respect for the wishes of the people.

They would also ask their host to respect the constitution of his own country, and maintain the inviolability of an electoral process that had been concluded, and in which he had admitted defeat, and congratulated his main challenger.

The statement said the leaders would also meet the President-elect, Adama Barrow.

 The statement said Buhari was expected back in Abuja yesterday.</s>DAKAR, Senegal — Gambian security forces blocked access to the electoral commission office Tuesday, refusing to let staffers enter, as several West African leaders arrived to urge the country's president to respect elections that voted him out of power after 22 years.

The head of the West African regional bloc, Marcel Alain de Souza, told French radio RFI that military intervention could be considered if President Yahya Jammeh does not step down. The bloc has warned that the tiny nation of 1.9 million could be plunged into violence if he doesn't respect a peaceful transition.

Jammeh initially acknowledged defeat, even conceding in a telephone call broadcast on state television, but last week he announced he was rejecting the Dec. 1 vote results. He alleges voting irregularities.

Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize leaureate, is heading the meetings with Jammeh. Other leaders from the regional economic bloc, known as ECOWAS include Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana President John Mahama, who also was just voted from office.

Soldiers remained in the streets Tuesday as Gambians worried about unrest, a stark contrast to days of celebration in the streets after Jammeh's loss. Jammeh, who seized power in a bloodless 1994 military coup, has long been accused of overseeing a government that imprisons, tortures and sometimes kill its opponents, according to human rights groups.

His ruling party has said it would file a petition to the Supreme Court challenging the election.

President-elect Adama Barrow has denounced Jammeh's rejection of the vote, saying he has no authority to call for a new vote or declare the election null and void. Jammeh's term expires in January.

The U.N. Security Council, the United States and other countries and international organizations have called for a peaceful transition of power and warned against the use of force.

An Associated Press reporter in Banjul, Gambia, contributed to this report.</s>Ever since former president Jonathan made that call to president Buhari congratulating him on his “victory” at the last presidential polls, and following the enormous goodwill that has attracted to him worldwide, it is fast becoming a norm in Africa for incumbents to easily accept defeat at the polls and congratulate the winner.

Yahya Jammeh, the outgoing president of Gambia, was on his way to making history as one of the very few African presidents who would follow the enviable example of Nigeria’s former president and Africa’s hero of democracy, Goodluck Jonathan, by conceding defeat as an incumbent to an opponent in a political contest.

However, with his sudden u-turn on that stand, Jammeh, it seems, is about to throw that tiny West African country into a needless and avoidable turmoil.

After having been commended by major political players and the media worldwide, what could have caused Yahya Jammeh to retrace his steps just less than a week after conceding defeat and hailed the process that saw his closest rival, Adama Barrow, an otherwise political neophyte, emerge as the president-elect of Gambia as “the most transparent election in the world”?

Jammeh had told Barrow while conceding defeat to him, “I’m the outgoing president; you are the incoming president”.

Also, in a telephone call to the president-elect, Jammeh was reported to have told Barrow, “I wish you all the best. The country will be in your hands in January. You are assured of my guidance. You have to work with me. You are the elected president of The Gambia. I have no ill will and I wish you all the best”.

He repeated the same thing in a televised statement when he said, “I take this opportunity to congratulate Mr Adama for his victory. It’s a clear victory. I wish him all the best and I wish all Gambians the best. As a true Muslim who believes in the almighty Allah I will never question Allah’s decision. You Gambians have decided”.

Even the Head of Gambia’s electoral commission, Alieu Momarr Njai had said: “It’s very rare that this present situation now, in Africa, that this happens”

The question on the lips of everyone is, why would Jammeh suddenly make a volte face after what seemed like a firm resolve to hand over power to the winner of the election, Adama Barrow?

The answer to this puzzle may not be far-fetched. Jammeh took his cue of conceding defeat from Nigeria’s Jonathan, he must have also thought he was making a mistake going by the happenings in Nigeria today.

With the relentless vindictive persecution of Goodluck Jonathan’s family by the Buhari administration, the unending vendetta against Jonathan’s former ministers and government officials, the use of the military, secret police and other security agencies to harass, intimidate and even kill innocent, harmless and helpless citizens in droves with little or no provocation, high-handedness in dealing with sections of the country that did not support the emergence of president Buhari, it probably became obvious to Jammeh the enormity of risks he is taking by conceding defeat.

His family members must have reminded him that there is nothing good in conceding defeat in Africa. They must have reminded him of what is going on in Nigeria despite the magnanimity of Goodluck Jonathan. Even his cabinet members might have become apprehensive. They must have become afraid of being witch hunted and persecuted.

Some of them might even be ready to face prosecution should there be any need for that, but then, they realize that what their counterparts in Nigeria are facing is more of persecution than prosecution. They must have all brought Jammeh’s attention to al the atrocities going on in Nigeria. Jammeh gives all these a long and hard thought, and then thinks it is not worth it in the end.

This is only just a part of the many consequences of Buhari’s tyrannical approach to governance in Nigeria. The message of his style reverberates across Africa. The goodwill and novel approach of incumbents conceding defeat in the continent is being endangered rather than being engendered. Consequently, Buhari’s style of leadership is rolling the political progress of Africa kick-started by that famous telephone call from Jonathan and his peaceful handover centuries backward.

Even Nigeria’s electoral system that was beginning to make tremendous progress under Jonathan has suffered unwarranted grievous attacks under Buhari. The nation’s electoral system has been so bastardised within the short period Buhari’s administration has lasted that electoral malpractices have been given an official toga.

Not even the ECOWAS court has been spared the torrid experience of having its court orders disobeyed by the Buhari administration as it concerns its pronouncement on Sambo Dasuki, Nigeria’s former National Security Adviser under Jonathan. It is therefore even more shocking that the same ECOWAS would rely on such a man to be a mediator in the political logjam about to befall Gambia.

Well meaning Nigerians have continued to warn that the autocratic manner Buhari is running Nigeria has very grave implications not only for the country but also for Africa. Gradually, those implications are beginning to unfold right before our very eyes. The UN that is asking Jammeh to accept defeat and hand over power to Barrow seem to be only interested in treating the symptoms of a disease without looking at the root cause of such a disease.

No one is saying that governments should not prosecute past governments where and when necessary, but everyone would want such prosecution not to degenerate into persecution, intimidation, harassment and vindictive pursuit of family members and officials of any previous government.

Diligent and civil prosecution of anyone would always encourage peaceful handover of power from one government to another in Africa. But first, the ECOWAS, AU, UN and other such international bodies must also not look away while any government deals with its people with an iron fist under the guise of fighting corruption and or other such otherwise noble guises.

Until this is ensured, there are likely to be many more Jammehs in Africa than anyone can imagine.</s>"I think he should step down now," Barrow told AFP. "He has lost the election, we don't want to waste time, we want this country to start moving."

Barrow is due to welcome a heavyweight group of African heads of state and UN representatives Tuesday to persuade Jammeh to go, which the president-elect said gave him hope that he would soon take power.

But Jammeh's party complicated what was expected to be a peaceful handover when it announced Saturday that a legal complaint would be filed with the Supreme Court challenging the December 1 election result, as well as calling for new polls.

Outgoing Ghanaian President John Mahama is also expected to join the group on Tuesday, a regional example of a leader who just lost his own election but is nonetheless expected to hand power over without issue.

The delegation and international support "(is) giving us confidence and it will give confidence to every Gambian that the world is concerned about Gambia," Barrow said.

Barrow urged Jammeh to meet the heads of state when they arrive but could not confirm that the longtime leader would be present, saying that he had not spoken to him since December 2.

"I urge him and advise him to meet the international community. They are partners to The Gambia and The Gambia is a signatory to those institutions, so we have to give them that respect," he said.

Adding that his own safety was "a concern", Barrow said he believed the army's declaration that he had top brass backing still held.

The president-elect said that Jammeh's legal complaint over a vote recount was baseless and that he had no power to appoint to the Supreme Court new judges who would be necessary to hear the case. The court has sat dormant for more than a year.

"We don't have time to fight again. The Supreme Court wasn't existing for the last one year. There are a pile of cases that are waiting... but he doesn't care about it," Barrow told AFP.

A readjustment of the votes counted in the election was made on Monday, reducing numbers of ballots for all three candidates but ultimately confirming Barrow's victory.

In his speech on Friday, Jammeh said he would now "reject the results in totality", and called for new elections.

Jammeh has led the tiny sliver of a nation of just under two million people for 22 years since taking power in a coup.</s>Gambian security forces blocked access to the electoral commission office Tuesday, refusing to let staffers enter, as several West African leaders arrived to urge the country's president to respect elections that voted him out of power after 22 years.

The head of the West African regional bloc, Marcel Alain de Souza, told French radio RFI that military intervention could be considered if President Yahya Jammeh does not step down. The bloc has warned that the tiny nation of 1.9 million could be plunged into violence if he doesn't respect a peaceful transition.

Jammeh initially acknowledged defeat, even conceding in a telephone call broadcast on state television, but last week he announced he was rejecting the Dec. 1 vote results. He alleges voting irregularities.

Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize leaureate, is heading the meetings with Jammeh. Other leaders from the regional economic bloc, known as ECOWAS include Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana President John Mahama, who also was just voted from office.

Soldiers remained in the streets Tuesday as Gambians worried about unrest, a stark contrast to days of celebration in the streets after Jammeh's loss. Jammeh, who seized power in a bloodless 1994 military coup, has long been accused of overseeing a government that imprisons, tortures and sometimes kill its opponents, according to human rights groups.

His ruling party has said it would file a petition to the Supreme Court challenging the election.

President-elect Adama Barrow has denounced Jammeh's rejection of the vote, saying he has no constitutional authority to call for a new vote or declare the election null and void. Jammeh's term expires in January.

The U.N. Security Council, the United States and other countries and international organizations have called for a peaceful transition of power and warned against the use of force.</s>DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Gambian security forces blocked access to the electoral commission office Tuesday, refusing to let staffers enter, as several West African leaders arrived to urge the country’s president to respect elections that voted him out of power after 22 years.

The head of the West African regional bloc, Marcel Alain de Souza, told French radio RFI that military intervention could be considered if President Yahya Jammeh does not step down. The bloc has warned that the tiny nation of 1.9 million could be plunged into violence if he doesn’t respect a peaceful transition.

Jammeh initially acknowledged defeat, even conceding in a telephone call broadcast on state television, but last week he announced he was rejecting the Dec. 1 vote results. He alleges voting irregularities.

Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize leaureate, is heading the meetings with Jammeh. Other leaders from the regional economic bloc, known as ECOWAS include Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana President John Mahama, who also was just voted from office.

Soldiers remained in the streets Tuesday as Gambians worried about unrest, a stark contrast to days of celebration in the streets after Jammeh’s loss. Jammeh, who seized power in a bloodless 1994 military coup, has long been accused of overseeing a government that imprisons, tortures and sometimes kill its opponents, according to human rights groups.

His ruling party has said it would file a petition to the Supreme Court challenging the election.

President-elect Adama Barrow has denounced Jammeh’s rejection of the vote, saying he has no constitutional authority to call for a new vote or declare the election null and void. Jammeh’s term expires in January.

The U.N. Security Council, the United States and other countries and international organizations have called for a peaceful transition of power and warned against the use of force.

An Associated Press reporter in Banjul, Gambia, contributed to this report.</s>The show of unity by regional leaders came as diplomats said the United Nations Security Council would meet behind closed doors later to discuss Jammeh's refusal to hand over power.

Jammeh had quickly conceded defeat to his challenger Adam Barrow in the Dec. 1 presidential election, but in a volte-face that drew international condemnation he then said he would challenge the result in the Supreme Court.

The election had appeared to end Jammeh's authoritarian 22-year rule was widely seen as a chance to end repression in a country seen by many as a police state.

Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel peace laureate and current chair of the West African regional body ECOWAS, will be accompanied by Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari, John Mahama of Ghana and Sierra Leone's Ernest Bai Koroma.

"These heads of state will ask him to leave power," the foreign ministry of Gambia's neighbor, Senegal, said in a statement. It called the trip "a last chance mission for Jammeh".

Gambia's Communications Minister Sheriff Bojang was not reachable for comment on Monday.

Barrow told Reuters in the capital Banjul that Jammeh had made a mistake, shocking the world, and said he hoped Johnson Sirleaf's delegation would ensure an "expedited transitional period" that paved the way for a transfer of power.

"We are not talking about a military option. We want to safeguard our democracy and we want peace," he said, but added that he was concerned for his own security.

"I have no official security. As president-elect, I should not be exposed in the way I am today," he said.

Barrow said he had not had any communication with Jammeh's government since the president's televised announcement on Friday.

Jammeh seized power in a coup in 1994 when he was an army lieutenant and has ruled ever since, wining four elections that were criticized by rights monitors and surviving several coup attempts. International human rights groups accuse him of widespread violations and repression.

He declared Gambia an Islamic Republic last year and in October announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court.

A statement from Barrow's opposition coalition called for Jammeh to step down immediately.

Before his surprise change of mind, he had pledged to hand over power to Barrow in January following the transitional period dictated by Gambian law.

Gambia has no sitting Supreme Court, and so in order to hear Jammeh's complaint, legal experts believe at least four judges must be hired.

"We do not recognize that the outgoing president has the constitutional authority in the last days of his presidency, to appoint any Supreme Court judges in the Gambia for the purpose of receiving his petition," opposition figure Mai Fatty said.

The United States, European Union, African Union, United Nations and ECOWAS have all pressed Jammeh to respect the result.
The president of ECOWAS, Marcel de Souza, says the West African bloc could send troops into The Gambia if Yahya Jammeh refuses to step down from power.