By Ali Francis Pabai
The Gambia’s foremost and most widely read The Standard Newspaper officially changed its address on the last day of the year, 2025, as the proprietor, Sheriff Bojang, graciously handed over the keys to the historic building on Sait Matty Road, Bakau New Town that was once the premises of The Gambia’s Daily Observer Newspaper to the landlord of the edifice.
As three veteran journalists who had served as editors of both era stood in the twilight sunshine in the forecourt of the famous building that had an ominous “For Sale” sign draped over the balcony, reminiscences of historic events and of remarkable personalities whose valuable contributions helped shaped the very fabric of The Gambia’s history and+ development in all spheres of the country’s socio-economic and political life dominated their discourse.
“It was a nostalgic meeting and a refreshing one at that because we relived the good old days when The Gambia’s media landscape and players were fiercely competitive, unapologetic and fearless in their pursuit of truth,” said Francis Pabai, former proof reader and editor at the Daily Observer. He had flown in from England on holiday and was fortunate to witness the final move of The Standard Newspaper from Bakau Newtown to its new location in Fajara.
“The Daily Observer era was remarkable. We had an A-Team workforce that did splendid work. We were the best paper nationwide. This old building holds a great deal of our history in terms of our growth and evolvement as a media house” said Sheriff Bojang, former Deputy Manager at the Daily Observer and now owner and CEO of The Standard Newspaper.
Time and nefarious political activities had contributed in tragically changing the course of history for the once vibrant and revered Daily Observer newspaper. The trajectory of journalism in The Gambia went south following the shocking assassination of Deyda Hydara of the Point Newspaper in December 2004. Concerned media practitioners no longer felt safe to work in a hostile environment of political intimidation, prompting some to flee into self-imposed exile while others, like Chief Manneh of blessed memory, simply vanished without trace during Yahya Jammeh’s administration.
The Observer, which was once the jewel in the crown of the country’s media establishment, was stripped of its ethical values as a credible newspaper and lost its vital human resource, too.
“There was a huge void in The Gambia’s media landscape following those seismic events and Sheriff Bojang decided to fill that void,” said Lamin Cham, former Sports and News Editor at the Daily Observer and now Chief Editor at The Standard Newspaper. Mr Cham referred to Mr Bojang as “smart enough” to see the gap in the newspaper market and seized it by establishing the Standard newspaper in the very ashes of the defunct Observer Newspaper.
The continuity is now seen as a legendary move because it was pioneered by some of the very people under whose watch the Daily Observer’s reputation went north and shot through the roof.
According to CEO Bojang, The Standard Newspaper is currently one of the most sought-after daily newspapers in the Gambia. The chief editor, Mr Cham, corroborated the CEO’s claim and asserted that they would get even bigger and better.
Both Mr Bojang and Mr Cham did promise to document certain aspects of the historic building and archive them for posterity before handing over the keys to the landlord on December 31st 2025, thus marking the final closure of the Gambia’s Daily Observer chapter.
