By Aisha Tamba
The Point newspaper is 30 years old. The first desktop printed newspaper hit the streets on December 16, 1991, founded by three journalists, Deyda Hydara, Baboucar Gaye, and Pap Saine.
One of the trio, Deyda Hydara, was assassinated 17 years ago to the day by gunmen later identified as members of the hit -squad of former president Yahya Jammeh called the Junglers.
Another, Baboucar Gaye who had left to start his own Citizen newspaper and radio, died in 2007.
Yesterday, the newspaper staged a low-key anniversary of the three decade long history of the institution as well as the life of founder- editor Deyda Hydara.
Speaking at the ceremony Government Spokesman Ebrima Sankareh, himself with a long history of association with the paper, said The Point has survived as a credible media carrying on the legacy of Deyda Hydara who he described as a freedom and democracy fighter.. “He personified freedom and democracy, and died fighting for both,” Sankareh said.
Sankareh added that the late Mr Hydara was a man of profound greatness, an intellectual as well as a man who dedicated all his life to the advancement of democracy.
“He was a professional journalist who was not partisan, reported balanced stories and respected the ethics of journalism,” Sankareh said of the late Hydara.
Pap Saine, co-founder of The Point expressed gratitude to the Hydara family, the staff and all development partners of the company for joining the commemoration and remembrance of the late Deyda Hydara.
He described his late fellow co-founders as good people who were always dedicated to developing humanity and prayed to God to bestow his blessings on them and continue protecting their families.
Baba Hydara, the son of the late Deyda expressed gratitude to all for attending the annual event.
He said the company was launched thirty years ago to consolidate freedom, democracy, and justice in the country but later suffered a huge blow when his father was murdered which made the institution undergo lots of challenges.
He acknowledged that Pap Saine has done a lot of improvements and positive changes in the company in the trying times of its history. “We cannot thank him enough for leading the struggle,” he said
Information Minister Ebrima Sillah paid tribute to the quality work of The Point and the legacy of Deyda Hydara.
Other speakers included veteran journalist D A Jawo, long time associate and contributor Essa Bokar Sey and GPU president Mohammed S Bah among others.
