Welcome back, again!

Our current dawn broke, literally, in the last hours of the fifteen month-long night of our closure on new year’s eve when Gambia Television announced the decision by President Jammeh to allow us to resume publication. We were the least expecting such a decision at that time and indeed it was the best new year’s gift to the erstwhile employees of The Standard. For this, firstly, we thank President Jammeh and some of his key mandarins who unbeknown to us, vouchsafed for our good character and our good intentions for the country contrary to the malicious  impugnation of faceless others. We reassured the President that we are supportive of the good policies of his government. We also heartily thank our many readers and patrons who have been most generous with their words of encouragement throughout our latest ordeal. Also worth mentioning is the appreciable support we have received from our colleagues notably the editors of The Foroyaa, the management of Daily Observer and the general membership of the Gambia Press Union.
As we wrote in these columns before, we are resolved to make The Standard a veritable national bantaba where Gambians of all shades of opinion can freely engage each other in a debate in a language befitting civilised and self-respecting people to move our country forward. It is the civic duty of all Gambians as individuals and as entities to help the government build and maintain an even tenor between accelerated development and the maintenance of our cultural and democratic values; between the sword and the shield issues; between the formulaic and the creative and between the needs and the wants of a modern nation state like the one we are trying to build in The Gambia. Whatever happens, it must be ‘The Gambia First!’ We want to reassure all our good readers and patrons that we will strive day-in, day-out to give good  value for the D15 cover price of this paper. In this regard, we will strive to do our job as best as we can in the prevailing circumstances. We will not engage in incontinent personal attacks or what is called newslordism with anyone anywhere. Rather we will endeavour to become a dedicated vanguard; a positive if critical, amalgam, to complement the government’s efforts in developing our country.
We pray that you continue to patronise us as you did in the past by buying your copy of The Standard every morning and by giving us much-needed succour through advertisements.