Abba T Hydara, a renowned and former cartoonist of the Daily Observer Company is set to release his latest cartoon book entitled 'Kooma Siloo' - The Back-Way.

The author, Aba T. Hydara commonly called Sheiky Hydara was born in July 1975 in Banjul. He obtained his secondary education at Muslim High School in Banjul city. He is a-three time award winner of UNFPA sponsored poster contest on "Deforestation" in 1992, 1996 and 1998 and UNDP organized contest. He has taught art and craft in different junior secondary schools across the country.

Conscious of the fact that illegal migration is increasingly becoming an issue of great concerns in The Gambia and the West Africa sub-region, Abba Hydara said he has to contribute his quota to the sensitization so as to open the juvenile minds to the sense of getting away from the dangerous journey to the European citadel.

In his work, the author has integrated the three skills of art - knowledge, seeing and understanding. The book is intended to give the user a routine knowledge to interpret cartoons.

The book is in addition, focuses on art series like foreground, background, horizon, shapes, outline, texture line, dots, and perspective among other core parts of art. Abba T Hydara, whose aim is to make this cartoon book  free of charge, expressed his resolve to target the students,  as it is through schools that we build the society of tomorrow.

As part of his voluntary work, the popular cartoonist has once built a giant Scorpion statue as a symbol of saluting and supporting The Gambia National U-17 football team during the 'Peace Tournament Competition' hosted and won by the Gambia U-17 team in 2006. Most of his works are on display at Ocean Bay Hotel where he works as artist and painter.