Dr. Tangara, a former staff and editor of The Point visited was received by the management and staff, as he expressed delight and satisfaction that The Point is still in existence making groundbreaking contributions in the media, with stance to maneuver the test of troubling times as far as Gambian media is concerned.
“I am here mainly to pay tribute to the founders of The Point, the late Deyda Hydara and my senior brother here, Pap Saine, and salute them for the tremendous effort in not only setting up The Point, but allowing it to go up to this level. They started in very difficult conditions. Without their conviction and their courage, we would not have been here to celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Point,” he said during his visit.
The minister said that he would have loved to be with The Point today, while The Point commemorates its 30th anniversary, but unfortunately, he would be on a national duty, which is very important as well.
“The Point has contributed a lot; not only in the lives of individuals, but even in opening the broad democratic space here, in The Gambia. The Point started operating during times, when many people would not speak. Today, everybody is courageous; everybody speaks his mind. But difficult times when many of those who are very vocal today did not have the courage to speak, The Point was here to make the voice of the people loud and clear.
“Now today, we have many media houses and they compete with The Point, but I am saying when it was very difficult, when many people did not even have the courage to register or to be on the media, The Point was here. So today, if they are clamoring all the success, they are dwarfs standing on the giant shoulders of The Point.”
“At the personal level, it was a fulfilling journey, where I met with great people, learned from great people, like the late Deyda Hydara, from Pap Saine, from the late J. Saidy and many other people. I think, as a person, it helped me to widen my horizon and to know that when you have willed, you can achieve a lot, because with the little resources, The Point is doing miracles.”
“You see here and you see what you are producing, there is a wide gap. That is due to the fact that you have people who are convinced about what they are doing, who are passionate about what they are doing.”
He advised journalists, especially the young journalists, to develop themselves and counter and tackle the “copy and paste” style, which has arisen and become widespread due to the emergence of advanced technology.
He advised an emulation of the good practices from veteran journalist like Mr. Saine by young reporters and those that aspiring to become reporters. He emphasised togetherness, team spirit, and unity for more tangible achievements as much as Gambian media is the subject of the matter.
For his part, Pap Saine, the co-publisher of The Point, commended Dr. Tangara for coming, saying Tangara stood by The Point in difficult moments.
According to Mr. Saine, Dr. Tangara was one of the few people who encouraged him to keep the ball rolling after Deyda was killed, and based on his advice, The Point is still existing.
