MUSA JAWARA FIRES BACK AT GROWN-OBSESSED, THIRD-RATE SCHOLAR ALAGI YORRO JALLOW OVER MEMOIR ATTACKS

Prominent author and economist accuses Jallow of bitterness, jealousy and a relentless campaign to undermine his memoir

The social media imbroglio between Musa Bassadi Jawara and Alagi Yorro Jallow is moving with the speed of a British express train, with no sign of slowing down despite previous attempts to bring the bitter exchanges to an end. What was supposed to have been a civilised exchange of literary opinions has developed into a war of words of almost Dickensian proportions, with enough twists and turns to keep even the most seasoned Fleet Street hack reaching for another cup of tea.
Just when the dust appeared to have settled and the proverbial hatchet seemed destined for burial, another controversy erupted, giving the tabloid press more grist for its editorial mill and another opportunity to sharpen its quills, replenish its inkpots and feast on a literary feud that refuses to die a natural death.
It will be recalled that just last week, the respected literary icon and top-flight economist Musa Jawara reportedly threatened to file a formal complaint with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over allegations of harassment, bullying and stalking against Alagi Yorro Jallow. Mr Jawara has now delivered what resembles a final ultimatum to his longtime critic to get his act together.
Jawara is apparently sick and tired of seeing Jallow drag his name into virtually every public debate. To borrow an old English expression, the author appears to believe that his critic has made a mountain out of a molehill, turning literary criticism into something resembling a personal crusade.
The latest controversy concerns a purported book review in which Jallow took aim at Jawara’s memoir, From Village Life in The Gambia to Global Views in Washington, D.C., and Beyond, questioning its literary merit and dismissing the author’s intellectual credentials.
But Jawara was having none of it.
In his latest response, titled A Final Word on My Memoir ‘Village Life’, dated 10 October 2026, Jawara suggests that Jallow’s motivation is bitterness, jealousy and a desire to undermine the book’s success.
In Jawara’s telling, his critic has mistaken the literary arena for a bare-knuckle contest, exchanging the measured language of scholarship for the rough-and-tumble of personal confrontation.
According to Jawara, what should ordinarily have been a legitimate literary discussion has instead degenerated into a campaign of personal attacks, insults and attempts to discredit his reputation.
Jawara questioned why a memoir chronicling his humble beginnings, family upbringing, faith and personal journey should become the subject of such hostility. He appears particularly bewildered that a work intended as an expression of gratitude could generate such a tempest in a teapot.
After all, the publication of a memoir is hardly a declaration of war. Nor does writing about one’s childhood amount to throwing down the gauntlet before the entire literary establishment.
Yet, judging by the ferocity of the exchanges, one might be forgiven for imagining that Jawara had published a manifesto challenging the foundations of Western civilisation rather than a personal account of his life.
Jawara also took issue with Jallow’s claimed Harvard credentials, arguing that an Ivy League education should ordinarily produce intellectual maturity, restraint and respect for others rather than the kind of public exchanges he attributes to his critic.
Jawara’s argument is that the possession of academic credentials, however impressive, should be accompanied by the intellectual temperament to distinguish reasoned criticism from personal invective.
In the grand tradition of British letters, where even the fiercest intellectual disagreements could be conducted with a well-aimed turn of phrase, Jawara appears to be asking whether scholarship has surrendered its pen to the bludgeon.
The author further accused Jallow of seeking damaging information about him from contacts in Banjul. In his statement, Jawara also rejected what he described as fabricated stories concerning his past, accusing his critic of resorting to personal allegations instead of engaging with the substance of his published work.
What began as a quarrel over literary merit has consequently travelled into considerably murkier waters. The memoir itself risks becoming the forgotten volume on the bookshelf while the personalities surrounding it command the entire stage.
Jawara maintained that his memoir was written principally to thank Almighty Allah and honour his parents, who raised him with dignity, discipline and faith. He described the publication as a peaceful account of his life’s journey rather than an invitation to personal confrontation.
The author expressed disbelief that a book documenting his experiences could attract what he considered such an extraordinary degree of hostility.
There is a distinctly Shakespearean irony in the spectacle: a story conceived in gratitude has become embroiled in recrimination, while a work celebrating personal development has occasioned a quarrel in which the protagonists appear unable to agree even on the proper boundaries of criticism.
To invoke the Bard, the controversy increasingly resembles Much Ado About a Memoir.
Jawara further alleged that several associates of Jallow had contacted him with accounts of the latter’s conduct, although those claims remain unverified.
Indeed, the dispute has acquired something of the character of a long-running West End production: the same protagonists, familiar accusations and an audience repeatedly assured that the final curtain is about to descend.
Yet the curtain somehow remains stubbornly aloft.
What makes the affair particularly curious is that both men have ample opportunity to engage the public through their writing. The proper province of literary criticism is the examination of a book’s substance, structure, ideas and contribution to public understanding. Personal histories and allegations unrelated to the text, however sensational, cannot substitute for a rigorous assessment of what an author has actually written.
In what appears to be his final response, Jawara declared that he had written his story and would leave judgment to Allah and his readers.
He concluded by announcing that, as far as he was concerned, the matter was closed and that he would not dignify further personal attacks with another response.
For now, the author has made his position clear. He intends to move beyond the controversy surrounding his memoir, leaving his published account of village life and his subsequent experiences to speak for itself.
But whether this declaration represents the closing chapter or merely another intermission in the unfolding drama remains anybody’s guess.
The English have a rather apt expression for such occasions: enough is enough.
Jawara appears to have reached that conclusion.
And perhaps the greatest irony of all is that a memoir chronicling a journey from a Gambian village to the wider world has now inspired a controversy whose protagonists seem determined to travel everywhere except towards reconciliation.
For the moment, the last word belongs to Jawara.
Whether it remains the last word is another matter.
As any veteran of Fleet Street will tell you, the trouble with announcing the end of a public quarrel is that someone invariably turns up with a fresh chapter just as the presses begin to roll.
EDITORS’ DISCLAIMER
This social media war of words is between Musa Jawara and Alagi Yorro Jallow. The Daily Observer has already announced that it will no longer engage Jallow because we have permanently banned him from the newspaper. He can cry tears of blood, but we will not dignify his provocations with a response. We closed that chapter following an appeal by former GRTS Director General Bora Mboge, who urged the parties to appeal to their better angels and bring the bitter exchanges to an end.
However, we cannot, as a newspaper, censor another private citizen or deny anyone the right to clear their name and defend their reputation against what they consider baseless accusations and lies.
The Editors
Daily Observer Gambia

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