Exploring the future of the youth

Never in history has any nation achieved any meaningful development – going by the true meaning of development that is – without such a nation having attained absolute independence.

Yet absolute independence is not awarded; it is gained. Every single citizen of a nation which desires absolute independence has their role to play, because it takes the contribution of every single person to take such a country to its glory.

This is the underlying driving force behind the concept of Janneh Mori Engineering Manufacturing Import and Export Company LTD (JMEMIEC). This is an exemplary outfit principally conceived, as in the words of its architect, ‘to showcase Gambian talent.’ That, by the way, is not the principal idea behind this potentially invaluable venture. It goes far beyond that.

The gentleman behind all this is Mr Buba Janneh. In his mid thirty, and an engineer by profession, Mr Janneh, resident in Bakau Newtown, where he maintains his workshop, is with the strong conviction that The Gambia can never achieved its dreams without ‘arming’ its citizens, especially the youth, with the requisite skills to develop it. After a thorough thought, he decided to constitute this youth development project, as he put it: ‘purposely set to develop the youth towards our national drive.’

The youth folk, he argues, are the most instrumental in determining the future of every nation. He went on to argue that the only guarantee of peace and stability for any nation is how to get the youth engaged in useful ventures.

Having worked as a civil servant for about two decade or so, Mr Janneh felt the need to venture into a course that would propagate transformation of core local materials into valuables. He disclosed to the Daily Observer that he set this project through the encouragement and support of the Gambian leader, President Alhajie Dr Yahya Jammeh.

The idea, he further went on, is to manufacture badly needed instrument crucial in the development of the country; from agricultural implements to machines used in wood and metal works. Mr Janneh told Society that as at the moment their preoccupation goes beyond money making, rather, they intend to set a base for what they are doing. ‘If we were concerned about selling our product, he explained, you wouldn’t have met a single trace of what we have doing.’

‘These are purposely for demonstration,’ he said, pointing to a display of tools you would not think could possibly have been manufactured in this country. A diesel-fuel ‘Listar Auto Truck’, used for moving heavy equipment, was on display. Mr Janneh told us that although they did not manufacture the original materials the log carrier was made out of, they had to assemble scraps of metal from here and there. As though to proof to us that the machine really works, he operated it before us, saying that ‘‘we do not just produce, but we also show proof.’ From milling machine to horse-drawn plough, the local factory, with a staff capacity of only three men, (Mr Janneh himself included) portrayed a Gambia with tremendous potential.

According to its owner, there are plans to decentralize the technologies involved, but only after they will have taken it to a multipliable level. Their goal, he said, is not just to manufacture, but to train Gambians on the operational mode of the materials, as well as their in maintenance. This, he said, will help solve the problem of rural-urban drift. Stressing the need for the maintenance aspect, he pointed out that the reason why most infrastructural developments do not last long is because of the poor culture of maintenance, which he said was tied to lack of the skills.

Although the success of Janneh’s promising venture is restricted by a low staff capacity, which he totally blamed on unavailability of finance, a situation he said was in fact restricting the number of trainees he can keep, he had initially trained none (9) youth who are already taking care of a sugar bagging plant owned by another distinguished Gambian-owned enterprise, LB Gaye and Sons LTD. This is another venture Mr Janneh, is said to be a pioneering architect of, alongside its owner, Mr Lamin B. Gaye; this is aside from Mr Janneh’s full time work as a production assistant at the Gambia Groundnut Cooperation. ‘Regardless of all the obstacle we are faced with, he said, we decided to move on, with 100% sponsorship from myself.’

Indeed, Mr Janneh and his team have attained tremendous achievement, barely two years on since the formation of his venture. Today, he and his men are just a few steps away from meeting the demands of the country’s development drive, but only if he gets the help he thoroughly deserves from everybody, especially government and the private sector. ‘We do not just produce, but we also show proof,’ he stressed, pointing at a hydraulic oil-extracting machine, which he said was the first of its kind to have been manufactured in this country.

For even more proofs, on display were big clogs of groundnut cakes, by-products of the oil-extracting exercise; a bottle containing fresh vegetable oil extracted from the ground; and some pieces of soap supposedly made from the by-products of the same ground from which the oil was extracted.  The extraction capacity of his machine, Mr Janneh said, stands at up to 60 to 70%.

He sought to drive home the seemingly genuine point that since The Gambia is a farming community, and that since most farmers were engaged in small scale farming, their was the necessity for a perfect idea to pursue a mission that seeks to help them to add value to their produce. Therefore, the oil extracting machine and other implement he feels they were capable of manufacturing would be instrumental in that.

He pointed out that since people were running away from agriculture, all because of its labour intensive nature, venturing into the manufacture of agricultural implements like animal-drawn implements, an example of which was also on display, meant that scrap metal sale to clandestine buyers should be a thing of the past. He also expressed the need for the establishment of a well equipped engineering workshop, which would guarantee the production of key equipment needed for the production of these materials in the desired number. As a show of appreciation, he thanked the management of GGC for their unflinching support and understanding in allowing him for the usage of their engineering workshop.

Mr Janneh also had unreserved thanks and praises for His Excellency, President Jammeh, ‘for his continued support;’ he also had good words for his adviser, Mr Dodou MS Faye, and all those that have contributed one way or the other to where they are right now.
Janneh MORI enterprise might be somewhat obscure today, but it definitely carries with it the promise of a whole generation of development prospect. Only helping hands can assure its realization.