Jarga Kebba Gigo on Venezuela, Reverse Precedents and the Perils of Unlimited Immunity
Gambian activist, author, and public intellectual Jarga Kebba Gigo has weighed into the global controversy surrounding Venezuela, United States actions, and international reactions with a deeply layered argument that challenges prevailing narratives. In a wide-ranging intervention titled “Reverse Precedents and the Dangers of Unlimited Immunity,” Gigo does not merely criticise global powers; he interrogates fear-driven thinking, legal stagnation, moral cowardice, and what he sees as the world’s selective outrage.
Rather than offering a simplistic pro- or anti-United States position, Gigo advances a complex framework that blends law, ethics, religion, history, and political realism, urging the world to rethink how it interprets precedent, sovereignty, intervention, and immunity.
Reverse Precedents: Challenging Fear-Based Reasoning
At the heart of Gigo’s argument is the concept of “reverse precedents.” While many journalists and intellectuals warn that U.S. actions in Venezuela could set dangerous precedents—encouraging China to move on Taiwan or Russia on Ukraine—Gigo argues that this fear-driven logic ignores deeper historical and legal failures.
READ HIS ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
According to him, the world has already tolerated far worse precedents: unchecked greed, arrogance, selective immunity, and institutional failures stretching up to the United Nations level. He stresses that he does not dismiss fears of imitation or abuse, but insists that global discourse is dishonest if it refuses to acknowledge how past inaction, cowardice, and flawed international laws contributed to today’s instability.
In Gigo’s view, inaction itself is often the most dangerous precedent.
Fear, Greed, Arrogance and the Roots of Evil
Gigo frames global politics through what he describes as three ancient forces that predate humankind: fear, greed, and arrogance. He argues that these forces, when distributed unevenly between actors, create deadly combinations. One group’s fear, combined with another’s greed or arrogance, often escalates into oppression, exploitation, or war.
He believes that cultural eras, religious eras, and modern governance have all failed to honestly confront these forces. Instead, societies normalise them until a “bigger devil” emerges and power is simply rebranded rather than restrained.
Sovereignty, Re-education, and Legal Evolution
A central pillar of Gigo’s position is that sovereignty exists at multiple levels—personal, national, and international—and that each level requires re-education and renegotiation.
He argues that many national leaders still refuse to accept that personal sovereignty exists and must be protected, while international institutions fail to properly limit national sovereignty through enforceable, evolving laws. In his view, laws—from homes and workplaces to the UN—are often faulty or outdated, and history repeatedly offers lessons that societies choose to ignore.
For Gigo, legal evolution is difficult but unavoidable, and refusing to reform flawed systems only entrenches injustice.
READ HIS ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
God, Evil, and Human Responsibility
Addressing critics who may dismiss religious references, Gigo notes that even atheists frequently describe certain state actions as “evil,” implicitly acknowledging the concept of evil if not God. He argues that the debate is not about preaching religion, but about recognising moral responsibility.
Gigo suggests that God may be testing humanity: whether people will worship power, weapons, and greed, or confront evil—even when the oppressor appears stronger. He rejects the idea that copying “devilish” behaviour is justified simply because it appears effective.
Venezuela, Maduro, and Selective Moral Outrage
On Venezuela, Gigo takes a nuanced position. He acknowledges that celebrating the removal of President Nicolás Maduro may be unpopular, but insists that opposing plunder and exploitation of Venezuela’s resources is equally critical.
He criticises journalists who assume that U.S. intervention automatically legitimises similar actions by Russia or China, describing such arguments as rooted in fear rather than learning. In his view, this mindset mirrors historical acceptance of oppression, including slavery, through normalisation.
Gigo argues that the real question is not who intervenes, but why and how—and whether intervention serves justice, ends oppression, or merely replaces one form of exploitation with another.
READ HIS ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
UN Failures and Electoral Legitimacy
Gigo is sharply critical of the United Nations, arguing that even its charters are insufficient and often protect illegitimate leaders. He insists that election rigging should disqualify leaders from UN protection, and that sovereignty must not be used as a shield for abuse.
He calls for stronger verification mechanisms, including widespread use of cameras during elections, noting that technological progress makes blind trust indefensible. According to him, the UN should demand more than financial contributions; otherwise, it risks becoming an organisation that shields what he calls “devils” in power.
He further argues that elected and non-elected leaders should not enjoy the same privileges at the global level, and that symbolic monarchs should not dominate international decision-making.
Intervention: Not All Are Equal
Gigo strongly rejects absolutist slogans such as “no intervention no matter what.” He argues that such positions send dangerous signals to abusive leaders, effectively granting them untouchable status.
While acknowledging that some interventions have been disastrous, he insists that bad interventions should not blind the world to the necessity of good ones. Intervention driven by greed is dangerous, but refusing intervention even to confront clear oppression is, in his view, morally worse.
He believes that strong, coordinated pressure—especially from powers such as Russia, China, and Iran—could force fairer outcomes and restrain U.S. excesses without descending into chaos.
Limited vs Unlimited Immunity
One of Gigo’s strongest positions is his rejection of unlimited immunity for leaders. Whether presidents, ambassadors, or opposition figures, he argues that immunity must always be limited and conditional.
READ HIS ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
He clarifies that even the immunity discussed in relation to former U.S. President Donald Trump is widely misunderstood. According to Gigo, it refers only to mistakes made in official acts, not blanket protection from accountability. Impeachment and prosecution remain possible, proving that total immunity does not exist in functioning systems.
Extending this logic internationally, Gigo argues that victims of authoritarian leaders—such as Maduro—should pursue accountability through international courts, including The Hague.
Trump, Greed, and Global Hypocrisy
Gigo portrays Trump as unpredictable in rhetoric but consistent in greed, arguing that his interest in Venezuela reflects economic calculation rather than principle. He contrasts global outrage over Greenland with silence over Venezuela, accusing European leaders and media of selective morality and cowardice.
He criticises journalists for failing to ask hard questions or propose actionable solutions, arguing that silence and inaction make them complicit if exploitation proceeds.
The Most Dangerous Precedent: Inaction
Ultimately, Gigo concludes that the most dangerous precedent is not intervention, but inaction, delay, and insufficient response. He argues that history shows oppression thrives when fear is normalised and courage is punished.
For Gigo, confronting injustice—from the home to the international stage—requires bravery, patience, and evolving laws. He warns that defending the status quo under the guise of caution only entrenches abuse and rewards arrogance.
READ HIS ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
A Call for Courage, Reform, and Accountability
In his closing reflections, Jarga Kebba Gigo calls for a world that confronts evil honestly, limits immunity wisely, reforms international law courageously, and refuses to normalise fear. Whether through legal reform, ethical intervention, or global re-education, he insists that humanity must choose the harder path of accountability over the comfort of indifference.
As global debates on Venezuela, sovereignty, and intervention continue, Gigo’s arguments challenge policymakers, journalists, and citizens alike to examine not only what precedents they fear—but which ones they have already allowed to stand.
By Joseph Iyaji | Akahi News
Akahi News www.akahinews.org
READ HIS ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
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