Editorial:

Following our editorial on our dear sister Fatim Badjie, we received numerous emails and phone calls from concerned parties. A good number of those who contacted us, were genuine in their interventions. They all pleaded for Fatim to be given chance, since she was new in the job. We assured the callers  that the Freedom Newspaper,  harbors no grudges against Fatim Badjie. Our editorial was meant to counsel Fatim to be wary of the devil Yahya Jammeh.

We were highly touched by the positive remarks made by some of the concerned callers. These callers said so many good things about the Freedom Newspaper. We are human beings and therefore must acknowledged our deep appreciation to  the callers’s  positive report card about the Freedom Newspaper. They meant well for Freedom. Thank you callers.

We also want to thank the callers for setting the records straight. Fatim never worked for GAMCEL, but one local company in Gambia.

Their concerns raised about Fatim’s relationship with Jammeh were also well noted. This paper is not out to smear Fatim Badjie. We love her, that’s why we ventured into advising her.

Jammeh is not to be trusted. He abuses his workers all the time and we have facts to backup our assertions here. If Jammeh was not a player, we wouldn’t have bothered advising Fatim.

Just to allay the fears of her family, this paper will not condone any blackmail from any quarters directed at Fatim. Our primary duty is to provide a  news medium to Gambians, irrespective of party affiliation, creed, tribe or origin to freely express their views on uncensored. Fatim is of no exception to such readership empowerment.

Having said that, we must point out that Fatim is an enterprising young lady, who should jealously guard her future. We have no doubt in our mind that she comes from a good family. Her Dad Dembo Badjie is an upright, honest and gentle fellow. Dembo spent all his life trying to nurture good values on his kids. And his investment has started paying off.  Fatim, Malick and others are all masters in their own fields. Dad’s fine legacy should be protected.

Fatim  reserve the right to associate herself with the Jammeh Government. We also reserve the right to disagree with her or any other person  in Jammeh’s Government. Disagreeing on issues, does not necessarily mean we are enemies. We must be able to respect each others view points, no matter how harsh such view points are.

Now that Fatim has chosen to be in the public limelight, by accepting a Ministerial position with the Jammeh administration, her life is no longer private. The Freedom Newspaper will continue to respect and defend her rights at any given time.

We have no bone to pick with her, as long as she’s doing the right thing. Let her do her job right and fear no man. God is with the righteous. If she follows the footsteps of her Dad, she would deliver the goods.

Agreed, this paper is widely accessed and information published by Freedom should be properly scrutinized. We are aware of  our journalistic responsibilities. This, we shall perform without any biasness or prejudice.

Our former colleague Muhammed Jawara’s observations and that of the former Tennessee State University student’s comments were all considered positive criticism against this paper.

But we beg to disagree with Jawara about his claims that our reportage of Gambian news was bound to put people’s lives in jeopardy. The Freedom Newspaper have  nothing to gain by putting people’s lives in jeopardy. Our primary objective is  to report the news faithfully, objectively, accurately without ill-will.

We must be able to distinguish private and public life. If Fatim was not in Government, the Freedom Newspaper wouldn’t have wasted its pages editorializing her.  Now the rest is history.

We have no intention of wasting our precious time on a person we considered as a sister. Fatim is free to do her job, without fear or favor.  Let her bear in mind that fans of her family are keenly watching developments. She should refused to be used by Jammeh or any other person.

The beauty of education is to be able to own one’s mind. That, Fatim should use her own judgment on issues of national interest. If it means saying “ good bye” to Jammeh, she should do it.

 On final note, we want to assure the Badjie family that this paper harbors no grudges against them. The common enemy is Yahya Jammeh. Thanks for your attention.