A head of state who dons camouflage so as not to go unnoticed, you have to have lived until 2024 to see that again. Of course, the costume and the staging recall the attire of the pot-bellied Macky Sall ten years earlier, who then jumped from his pedestal to a failing water treatment plant with, in the heroic and vengeful garrison, the inevitable Mimi Touré. A distressing spectacle that we did not think we will see again soon. Alas…

It does not take all the same people, but it starts again.

At least we won’t die stupid: it’s a blessing, while we’re still alive, to have the remarkable chance to also enjoy the touching spectacle of the slender President Bassirou Diomaye Faye in commando camouflage, sleeves rolled up, bush hat on his head and rangers on his feet, his step determined, preparing to confront these cursed waters which trouble his magisterium by sowing desolation in the East.

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An inevitable release of water, we learned from the Omvs, to prevent the structures from giving way under the weight of the excess water. The why and how will probably be reserved for later, after the ministers and heads of state of the organization have chatted about the sex of the angels engendered by the receding Senegal River.

Better late than never, says the wise man… Now, in fact, it is no longer the time to shed a tear and worry about our poor fellow citizens who see the raging waters devastating their lives. Time, already lost, is now for action.

Back to square one.

It was in April 2024, upon their accession to power, that the new regime must have ploughed the hinterland, this Senegal of the depths that votes for a virtual unknown with a rickety CV. Out of gratitude and recognition: say thank you and, at the same time, inquire about the emergencies of this exasperated but patient people, who know how to change direction when the guide they choose takes the wrong path. There will undoubtedly be no shortage, during these information tours, of a compatriot with language direct enough to explain to them the hazards of wintering and the emergencies of the hour.

It will not be anything like that…

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The newly elected President prefers to take a plane and visit the world’s elite, pose with the world’s greats, and repeat old refrains about the future of humanity. As for the Senegalese who are waiting for a, uh, social project that is supposed to protect them from poverty, they can wait for the benefits of the 2050 horizon, with their feet in the water, their pants rolled up and their bundles on their heads.

There, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye does them the honour of looking down on them, flying over them, after the promise of a budget of eight billion of our poor CFA francs of which no one really knows which wounds these underdeveloped currencies will heal. Of course, on the spot, the sublime saviour does not fail to announce a strong decision to show his determination. It is the traditional gold miners who get the brunt of this occasion. 

Meanwhile, Ousmane Sonko, the « best Prime Minister of all time » according to his admirer the President, is organizing his quest at Dakar Arena towards the Legislative elections. Apparently, there must not be much left of the political funds, or even of the other drawers where it can scrape public money without a hitch, since the president of the Pastef party, reckless head of the list of the coalition of the same name, is forcing himself to demand a tithe from his unconditional supporters, via Kopar Express.

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I forgoe: in April 2024, when Macky Sall reluctantly handed them the keys to the Senegal house, they find falsified accounts and a country in ruins.

Never mind: in Ousmane Sonko’s eyes, the opportunity is too good to present his version of the history of the events of 2021 to 2024. Of course, it is mainly about his political genius and his strategic vision that will install Pastef at the helm of the Republic. Of course, his disciples drink the milk: « Ousmane Mou Sèll Mi » is a visionary who sees the troubles coming at a gallop, foresees the pitfalls, anticipates the plots and pushes patriotism to the point of giving up the presidency of the Republic to let his second, whom he nicknames « Serigne Ngoundou », pass.

The Supreme Patriot pushes genius to the point of knowingly falling into the Sweet Beauty trap. Rest assured, it was done on purpose… His convictions for « corruption of youth » and defamation are scheduled, just to entertain the tyranny in place that will not pay attention to the placid Bassirou Diomaye Faye, already in prison.

His Sioux tricks bear fruit: on March 24, 2024, 54% of the Senegalese electorate vote for his left arm.

This is also the moment that Bougane Guèye Dany choses to draw attention to his future voters: at the cost of his freedom and at the risk to his life, he will go and help the victims of the disaster in eastern Senegal. Of course, the police do not see it that way, especially when their bosses receive orders from above. It ends with a forceful arrest, police custody and a committal warrant. The appearance before the judges in flagrante delicto is set for next week, October 30, to be precise. For the time being, Bougane Guèye Dany is waiting in prison in Tambacounda for Justice to rule on his refusal to comply with the orders of the gendarmes.

The vituperations of the leaders of the Coalition « Samm sa kaddu », Barthélemy Dias at the head, will not change anything. Well, not all of them. We learn that Déthié Fall, third on their national list, as a good African politician, chats at night with Ousmane Sonko. A bit like his mentor at the time, Idrissa Seck, then leader of the opposition, who negotiated the cheese of Cese on the sly with Macky Sall, while his flock spat fire on the regime.

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One day in the distant future, when the suicidal bigwig of « Gueum sa bopp » is on the winning side, we should not be surprised to see him gather his flock at the Dakar Arena to explain to them the political genius that lies dormant within him and inspires this reckless but strategic way of voluntarily throwing himself into prison; which would be, according to his predecessors, « the shortcut to the Palace ».

This is the moment that Amadou Ba has chosen to come out of the woodwork. In front of the press, at the Socialist Party House – a legitimate return to the mother house – the candidate who came second in the March 2024 presidential election dots the i’s. According to him, despite his silence since the last presidential election, we now know « who betrayed whom »… The opportunity is too good not to wash himself thoroughly: he is not dying of hunger, no doubt about it, but it is not a crime when you have nothing to reproach yourself for.

It comes on time, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, who accuses him of all of Israel’s sins, including falsified accounts and an inexplicable fortune, challenges him: a public debate to settle all accounts. Personally, I don’t believe for a second that this debate will take place. But the problem will not come from Amadou Ba: his lieutenants say he is in favour of the duel, anywhere, at any time. The cold shower will come from the CNRA: under the rule of its new president, Mamadou Oumar Ndiaye, who declares that he has no intention of playing the policeman, the regulatory body is still doing the circumlocution police…

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Problem: no one is demanding that it be publicized. If it is held outdoors, in front of a crowd of curious onlookers, far from televisions and radios, how is the CNRA concerned? The parade recalls Ousmane Sonko’s evasions when the Justice summoned him in the Adji Sarr case, or Mame Mbaye Niang: he always has a friend who only wants the best for him to jump out of nowhere and prevent him from responding to the summons.

And, even when in his capacity as Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko had to face the representatives of the People for his General Policy Statement, it is from the ranks of the MPs that light shines: Guy Marius Sagna, with his customary verve, presents him with the excuse of the Internal Regulations to get out of the trap by a back door, before the President of the Republic himself dissolves Parliament.

All this reminds us of the years of embers, with the peak of the 1988 presidential election, when the opponent Wade and his flock including the current president of the CNRA, demanded a face-to-face with President Diouf. The Socialists, who were not banking too much on the nag that served as their foal, multiplied the pretexts to avoid the massacre live… In short, there is no question of holding this face-to-face that Barthélemy Dias wants to sneak into by specifying that only the use of French, the official language, will be tolerated… Is this a blow to the syntax?

By Ibou FALL