Arfang Madi Sillah, a Washington D.C.-based Gambian scholar and commentator, has written a compelling and thought-provoking e book titled The Curtain Falls on the Press and Presidency Relationship—Barrow Goes Berserk.
Known for his incisive political evaluation and deep understanding of Gambian affairs, Sillah examines the fraught relationship between the press and the presidency in The Gambia, notably below President Adama Barrow’s administration.
Below is an abridged model of the e book.
Chapter 2: The Fall of Mighty Tabloid
For 25 years, The Daily Observer stood resilient, weathering storms that may have sunk even the mightiest newspapers in locations like imperial Russia, the place the Tsarist regime shut down publications with brutal regularity, or in revolutionary France, the place pamphleteers had been imprisoned for daring to criticise the state.
Much like these within the early days of Fleet Street or the clandestine newspapers of Weimar Germany, The Daily Observer fought on, publishing in an surroundings the place the very act of reporting may invite retribution.
Its pages, just like the defiant underground presses of Franco’s Spain or Apartheid-era South Africa, held inside them the heart beat of resistance, a fact too daring to be silenced. And but, regardless of the fixed menace of state retaliation, the paper endured, standing as an emblem of defiance and a tribute to the resilience of the press.
For the journalists who labored at The Daily Observer, particularly in the course of the darkest years of Yahya Jammeh’s brutal dictatorship, the battle at no cost speech was not only a metaphor—it was a life-and-death battle. Editors and reporters weren’t merely censored—they had been pursued, arrested, tortured, and deported with the ruthless effectivity of a state decided to suppress each dissenting voice. Jammeh, very similar to Stalin’s NKVD or Pinochet’s secret police, led a campaign in opposition to the press, rounding up international journalists just like the illustrious Sule Musa, deporting them as in the event that they had been harmful revolutionaries.
And when expelling international correspondents did not quench his thirst for management, Jammeh turned his sights on Gambian-born journalists.
Baba Galleh Jallow, a son of Farafenni and as soon as the top boy at Gambia High School, narrowly escaped deportation after being mistaken for a foreigner in a farcical episode of state paranoia. It was the absurdity of despotism at its most interesting—the place even your nationality could possibly be questioned by the regime in its frenzy to regulate the narrative.
Inside The Observer’s newsroom, the environment was charged with the strain of a conflict zone, the place the easy act of reporting grew to become a subversive strike in opposition to the iron fist of the state. Journalists operated below the fixed menace of raids, arrests, and state-sponsored intimidation.
Yet, just like the muckrakers of early Twentieth-Century America or the daring writers of Samizdat publications in Soviet Russia, the journalists at The Daily Observer remained unbowed. They had seen the worst the regime may throw at them, from secret police interrogations to the shuttering of their workplaces.
So, when Barrow’s administration took over, many seasoned reporters thought it was simply one other spherical of political theatre—a brand new regime flexing its muscular tissues. After all, that they had outlasted Jammeh—what may Barrow’s authorities presumably do this they hadn’t already survived?
But Barrow’s ways had been subtler, much less overt, however no much less efficient. This wasn’t the period of secret police and midnight knocks on the door. Instead, Barrow’s administration wielded the weapons of economic suffocation and bureaucratic strangulation with the precision of a seasoned autocrat. The assault wasn’t about arrests or disappearances—it was about tax payments, regulatory fines, and authorized notices.
What Jammeh couldn’t obtain by way of pressure, Barrow sought to perform by way of paperwork and monetary smash. Like the quietly insidious authorized warfare waged by Nixon’s administration in opposition to the Washington Post in the course of the Watergate scandal, Barrow’s authorities used forms to strangle The Observer out of existence with out ever firing a shot.
For the battle-worn journalists, this was a brand new sort of conflict. It wasn’t fought within the streets or with megaphones—it was a conflict waged behind the closed doorways of administrative workplaces, the place ledgers and tax codes changed handcuffs and riot police.
So, what had began as a hopeful new daybreak for democracy below Barrow shortly morphed into one other chapter of press repression, this time cloaked within the well mannered language of fiscal accountability and legalistic process. The battle for The Daily Observer was removed from over, however the battlefield had modified, and the enemy now wore the face of bureaucratic effectivity moderately than army dictatorship.
The fall of The Daily Observer was a watershed second in Gambian media, marking a profound shift within the dynamics of the press. Founded in 1992 by the esteemed Liberian journalist Kenneth Best, the paper had lengthy stood as a torchlight of fearless journalism, exposing corruption and talking fact to energy with the sort of boldness that solely the really unbiased can afford.
But the tide started to show in 1999 when Kenneth Best bought The Observer to Amadou Samba, a businessman firmly ensconced in Jammeh’s internal circle. Much like Hearst’s buy of main newspapers within the early Twentieth Century, this wasn’t merely a enterprise deal—it was the start of the top for the paper’s editorial independence.
The shadow of Jammeh shortly unfold over the once-independent Observer, reworking it from a vibrant, essential voice into little greater than a mouthpiece for the regime. Journalists who had constructed their reputations on integrity and braveness—individuals like Baba Galleh Jallow, Demba Ali Jawo, Alieu Badara Sowe and Pa Nderry Mbai—had been swiftly dismissed in a purge that despatched shockwaves by way of the media panorama.
The newsroom that had as soon as been a bastion of press freedom grew to become a state-controlled megaphone, with each phrase scrutinised and sanitised by the regime’s ever-watchful eye. Like the nice purges of essential voices in Weimar Germany, The Observer’s transformation was swift and devastating.
Despite its fall from grace, The Daily Observer remained a significant participant in Gambian media. But when Yahya Jammeh was lastly ousted, the paper’s destiny was sealed, very similar to a Greek tragedy the place the hero’s downfall is sealed by the lack of divine favour. No longer shielded by the regime it had as soon as supported, The Observer grew to become weak to the identical ways it had helped implement.
In June 2017, the Gambia Revenue Authority closed the paper’s doorways, citing an unpaid tax invoice of 17 million dalasis. But few believed the official story. Much just like the closure of The Times below Margaret Thatcher’s authorities in the course of the Wapping dispute, this was about energy, not cash. The demand for a right away 30% settlement of the invoice was monetary warfare, designed to make sure the paper’s demise.
On June 14, 2017, The Daily Observer was shuttered, its workplaces sealed, and tons of of workers left with out jobs. The administration’s supply to settle the debt over twenty years was rejected out of hand, a transparent signal that the closure had nothing to do with taxes and all the things to do with silencing a possible menace to the brand new political order. The ways had been new, however the end result was the identical—The Observer, as soon as the titan of Gambian journalism, was no extra.
What was maybe most unsettling was the silence from the remainder of the media. The Gambian Press Union issued a light assertion, however there was no collective outcry, no present of solidarity. Some media shops even noticed The Observer’s demise as a chance to broaden their very own affect—a short-sighted transfer that ignored the broader implications of the federal government’s actions. Like the fracturing of Fleet Street when The News of the World fell in scandal, the Gambian media did not see that the autumn of 1 paper weakened your complete ecosystem.
The ripple impact was rapid. Journalists throughout the nation took be aware: if The Daily Observer may fall, none of them had been secure. Self-censorship unfold like wildfire, as media shops already depending on authorities promoting income grew much more cautious.
Where as soon as daring reporting had been the hallmark of Gambian journalism, warning and timidity now dominated the day. The closure of The Observer was a stark reminder that even in a post-Jammeh Gambia, press freedom was fragile, and the federal government’s grip on the media was removed from loosened.
More troubling was how the paper was not solely betrayed by its sister newspapers, however by its personal little kids—the journalists who as soon as labored there, constructed their careers, and established their fortunes. These journalists, who owed a lot of their success to the crucible that was The Daily Observer, turned a blind eye and maintained tight lips because the mighty paper was delivered to its knees. It was as if the closure of this media big was an act of divine will, when in actual fact, it was the results of human neglect.
The closure of The Daily Observer wasn’t simply the top of a newspaper—it was the start of a brand new period of media monopolisation. Fewer shops now managed the narrative, and the variety of thought that had as soon as outlined the press started to shrink.
Other publications could have celebrated their elevated market share, however they did not see the larger image: the elimination of The Observer weakened your complete press panorama. The media grew to become ripe for manipulation, because the remaining shops confronted the identical monetary and political pressures that had led to The Observer’s demise.
Long earlier than the Gambian authorities even entertained the considered establishing a faculty of journalism, The Daily Observer had already cemented its place because the veritable cathedral of Gambian journalism, functioning as a de facto academy for journalists. It wasn’t merely a newsroom—it was a classroom, shaping the subsequent era of journalists, writers, and students with hands-on expertise and mentorship.
The newsroom, helmed by seasoned editors who doubled as mentors, welcomed not solely educated journalists however additionally aspiring writers—college students with a ardour for the written phrase. It was a sanctuary for the curious, the daring, and the stressed—a spot the place the spark of inquiry was nurtured and remodeled into the fireplace of journalism.
Young abilities like Baboucarr Ann, Rohey Samba, Bamba Khan, Bankole Thompson, Sheriff Bojang Jr., and Simon Peter Mendy all began writing for The Observer whereas they had been nonetheless in highschool or center college.
And in contrast to at the moment’s internship fashions, which frequently exploit younger expertise at no cost, The Observer paid its contributors handsomely, recognising that good journalism deserves good compensation. The paper, like the nice publications of Victorian England, understood that fostering expertise was not solely about alternative but in addition about equity.
This paper was the bedrock upon which a lot of at the moment’s distinguished media figures constructed their careers. Momodou Musa Touray, now the writer of Gambiana; Sheriff Bojang, the writer of The Standard; Assan Sallah, the writer of LamToro News; and Bankole Thompson, the writer of The PuLSE Institute, a Detroit-based, unbiased non-partisan suppose tank—all of them are merchandise of The Daily Observer.
Today, these males now maintain the levers of energy in Gambian and worldwide media, persevering with the custom of journalism they honed at The Observer. Their rise to prominence within the media panorama speaks volumes concerning the coaching and alternatives The Observer supplied to younger journalists, providing them a platform from which they might develop into trade leaders.
Beyond the media realm, the influence of The Daily Observer has reverberated throughout many sectors of Gambian society. Countless former staffers of the paper are actually making waves in a variety of fields, from politics to academia, regulation, and public service. Take, for instance, Yankuba Darboe, the present chairman of the Brikama Area Council, whose time at The Observer sharpened his expertise in public communication and administration. His rise in native authorities is a mirrored image of the far-reaching affect the paper had in shaping minds able to main and influencing communities.
In the authorized discipline, we’ve got Lawyer Alhagie Abdoulie Fatty, one other former Observer journalist, who has carved out a big presence in Gambian regulation, representing high-profile instances and advocating for justice. Fatty’s journey from the newsroom to the courtroom exemplifies how the talents of essential pondering, analysis, and evaluation honed at The Observer can translate into efficient authorized advocacy and management. His transition from writing headlines to defending the downtrodden in courtrooms recollects the transformation of the traditional Greek orators—suppose Demosthenes—whose rhetorical prowess and dedication to justice influenced the course of historical past.
Academia, too, is residence to Observer alumni.
Dr. Ebrima Ceesay, now a revered professor on the University of Birmingham, is one other product of the paper’s rigorous journalistic surroundings. His scholarly contributions and his work in educating the subsequent era of thinkers and leaders might be traced again to the foundations he constructed throughout his time at The Observer.
His colleague, Dr. Baba Galleh Jallow, has additionally made his mark, contributing to the mental panorama each in The Gambia and overseas. Much like the traditional Athenian academies, The Observer was a modern-day Agora, the place debates, concepts, and important thought flourished.
One can not assist however draw parallels with Fleet Street in its heyday, when it wasn’t only a hub for journalism however a breeding floor for intellectuals, reformers, and future statesmen. Just as figures like Charles Dickens, who started as a Fleet Street journalist, went on to form British literary and social thought, so too have the graduates of The Daily Observer moved past the confines of journalism to affect regulation, politics, and scholarship. The Observer’s newsroom was akin to a crucible of expertise, the place uncooked potential was refined into the very leaders shaping modern-day Gambia.
The listing of distinguished alumni doesn’t cease there. The Daily Observer nurtured a wealth of expertise that has dispersed into numerous sectors, with former staffers contributing to enterprise, schooling, and civil society. The paper was not only a media establishment; it was a coaching floor for excellence, instilling in its workers a way of accountability, essential pondering, and a dedication to fact and repair that transcended journalism.
As the Greek thinker Heraclitus as soon as mused, “Character is destiny”—the Observer cast character in its workers, and their collective destinies now play out on nationwide and worldwide levels.
And but, regardless of their successes, the closure of The Observer handed with little greater than muted murmurs.
These alumni of The Observer, a lot of whom now wield important affect, may have banded collectively to rally for its survival, to problem the federal government’s resolution, or a minimum of make sure the dignity of the paper’s closure. But there was no grand defence mounted, no important effort to battle again.
To compound issues, whereas The Daily Observer was shuttered and its workers left unpaid, the federal government’s actions had been cloaked in a veneer of legality. The argument was that the paper owed taxes—however the quantity cited was not sufficient to justify the indefinite grounding of such a significant media establishment.
Activists reminiscent of Madi Jobarteh, who are actually vocal concerning the ongoing standoff between President Barrow and The Voice, needs to be reminded that The Observer deserved no much less of a defence than The Voice does at the moment. In reality, The Observer deserved it extra, as they had been victims in a conflict not of their making, whereas a few of The Voice’s troubles are self-inflicted.
The failure to defend The Observer was not only a failure of the media; it was a failure of Gambian society to face up for one in every of its key establishments. The very paper that educated so many journalists, constructed so many careers, and have become a voice for the individuals, was left to die, not as a result of it deserved to, however as a result of those that may have fought for it selected to not. It was a betrayal of the best order, a reminder that within the cutthroat world of media, even the mightiest can fall if these they helped elevate flip their backs on the essential second.
In the ultimate evaluation, the closure of The Daily Observer was greater than only a blow to the press—it was a blow to Gambian democracy itself. Without a free and unbiased press, corruption thrives, energy goes unchecked, and the individuals are left unvoiced within the face of injustice.
Then got here a twist of irony so bitter that it left many shaking their heads. Not lengthy after the closure of The Daily Observer, The Standard, one of many nation’s main newspapers, awarded its prestigious ‘Man of the Year’ title to the very determine whose establishment had overseen the shutdown of The Daily Observer.
This resolution surprised the media group, because the award went to the top of the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA), the very company accountable for imposing the closure. The Standard, in its celebratory piece, praised the awardee for his dedication to nationwide improvement and dedication to fiscal accountability. Nowhere within the glowing accolades was there any point out of the tons of of jobs misplaced or the harm achieved to press freedom by way of the closure of the nation’s largest newspaper.
For many, the resolution to award such an honour to somebody so intently linked to the suppression of The Daily Observer felt like a betrayal of journalistic rules. It was a stark reminder that the media was not resistant to the identical political and financial pressures that had lengthy formed different sectors.
The award ceremony was held with pomp and circumstance, attended by the nation’s political and enterprise elite. Speeches had been made, and toasts had been raised, all whereas the ghost of The Daily Observer loomed giant over the proceedings. The very establishment that had silenced a significant voice in Gambian journalism was being celebrated, whereas these left jobless and unvoiced by the paper’s closure watched in surprised disbelief.
Simply put, The Standard newspaper’s baffling option to crown Yankuba Darboe, the Commissioner General of the GRA, with the best accolade a newspaper may supply, was the peak of absurdity. Here was a person presiding over an organisation that had develop into synonymous with corruption and bureaucratic buffoonery. What on earth had been the factors? Was it the effectivity of his spin machine or the depth of his promoting funds?
How many dalasis did the GRA pour into The Standard’s coffers to safe this honour? The state of affairs was eerily paying homage to the practices described by David Simon in Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, the place native politicians purchased beneficial protection from cash-strapped newspapers.
An identical case might be seen in post-Soviet Russia, the place media moguls near the Kremlin have been recognized to orchestrate awards and accolades to authorities officers in change for beneficial protection, thereby eroding the very rules of unbiased journalism.
The absurdity of the state of affairs wasn’t misplaced on the general public or the journalistic group. It revealed the widening hole between the beliefs of the press and the truth of its operations in The Gambia. The awarding of a ‘Man of the Year’ title to somebody so entangled with the destruction of The Daily Observer was not simply an insult to the occupation, however a sobering acknowledgment that even the press could possibly be purchased and bought, its ethical compass thrown off beam by political and monetary expediency.
This occasion left a deep stain on Gambian journalism, elevating uncomfortable questions concerning the function of the media in a post-Jammeh Gambia, and whether or not it was really free, or just reshaped to serve a brand new set of masters. The case is paying homage to Mexico’s Manuel Buendía case, the place investigative journalists had been killed or silenced, and the federal government honoured figures of authority who performed a job within the suppression of press freedom. Awards had been used as instruments to cleanse reputations, leaving the general public disillusioned and the journalistic group demoralised.
Ultimately, this recognition by The Standard symbolized a disturbing normalisation of state affect over the press. Rather than standing as an establishment that held energy to account, the media appeared more and more complicit in bolstering these very forces that sought to silence it. It wasn’t simply the closure of The Daily Observer that was troubling—it was the rising sense that your complete media panorama had develop into a mere extension of the identical political equipment that when crushed dissent.
This second set a harmful precedent, one by which the press, as soon as the guardian of democracy, was slowly being was its personal gravedigger. As seen in Turkey below President Erdoğan, the place once-thriving unbiased media shops had been systematically shut down or co-opted into state-run propaganda machines, the parallels had been stark.
The Gambia now dangers heading down the identical path, the place press freedom exists solely in title, whereas the media quietly succumbs to political affect and financial pressures. The once-vibrant journalistic panorama is in peril, because the grip of energy tightens across the throat of free expression.
To be continued.
By Arfang Madi Sillah
Washington DC
Read Part One of the e book here.
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