At the request of the Senegalese authorities, an auction in France of goods belonging to former President Léopold Sédar Senghor was suspended to allow direct negotiations with Senegal, which wishes to acquire all these lots, in total some 202 objects.  The sale was initiated by a fourth-ranking heiress, a great-grandniece of Colette Hubert Senghor. The descriptions of the objects offered to the public seem to indicate a significant market value, but also a great historical and memorial value.  “We were contacted by the Senegalese ambassador to France and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present the Senegalese state’s request for mediation regarding the lots from the estate of Léopold Sédar Senghor and his wife,” he said. Solène Lainé, associate auctioneer at the Caen auction house, explained to the France Press Agency. “The Senegalese State wishes to acquire the entire Senghor fund”, which belongs to an individual and has nothing to do with the fund bequeathed to the town hall of Verson (Calvados). It is in this town, where he died in 2001, that the former Senegalese President used to spend summer vacations after his marriage to Colette Hubert, a Norman. Senegal announced, through its Minister of Culture and Historical Heritage, Aliou Sow, that it would acquire the collections put up for public auction in France to “preserve the memory and heritage” of its former President (1960 to 1980).

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The lots are mainly “jewellery and military decorations of Léopold Sédar Senghor”, as well as various other objects, such as diplomatic gifts. And that’s where it hurts. Indeed, it is a truism to say that objects offered to a serving head of state fall within the national heritage. It is really not in France that we would learn this, this country whose national heritage officials make it a point of honour to track down all the property (paintings, sculptures or other objects of art) taken away by the authorities political or administrative information on the occasion of their moves or which had been given to them in the context of their functions.

Why buy what is rightfully ours?

President Macky Sall attaches a value to Senegal’s acquisition of this important heritage from the collection of Léopold Sédar Senghor. The objective is laudable, even noble, to work to preserve a cultural and historical heritage. The objects could adorn the Senghor Museum in Dakar or other public places, and thus allow younger generations to immerse themselves in the life of the first head of state of independent Senegal. The negotiations could be tough because we do not see the emotional bond that the seller could maintain with Senegal and its historical and cultural heritage, to prevent herself from making the most money from these sales.  This is a mercantile operation and the full price will be charged. How much will Senegal have to pay in the operation? No one can answer such a question and the importance of the sums allocated to this acquisition could give rise to major controversies. We will not be surprised to subsequently hear that the money could have been used to build schools, universities or this or that!

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“The seller and I perfectly understand the excitement caused by this sale among the Senegalese and Senghorists, we therefore decided to postpone the sale with the aim of dialogue,” declared Solène Lainé. Senegal assures that the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs would help bring the two parties closer together. But we can wonder if this is the role that we should simply expect from the French state. It seems necessary to me to take diplomatic and legal action to prevent such a sale in the name of preserving the cultural and historical heritage of which Senegal is thus robbed. It is in the same logic of demands for restitution of artifacts, cultural and historical goods from which African peoples had been despoiled.  France has of course heard such demands and President Emmanuel Macron has taken steps to initiate restitution operations for many of these historical properties taken away by the colonizers and which adorn museums and other public and private collections. It is in this context that France returned (provisionally, it is said) to Senegal, in November 2019, the sabre of the founder of a theocratic empire between Senegal and Mali, El Hadji Omar Tall. The object is part of the collection of the Museum of Civilizations in Dakar.  The restitution of part of this heritage of Léopold Sédar Senghor, consisting of art objects, jewellery and other honorary decorations, should be a major demand. Some of these decorations and valuable objects may have been given to him because he was president of the Republic of Senegal. It cannot be fair and acceptable for private individuals to enrich themselves in this way on a heritage belonging incontestably to the State of Senegal and its Nation. This means that the State of Senegal should already take legal action to oppose the sale, and demand, if necessary, through legal channels, the restitution of such property.

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Even if the financial issues were very different, the same logic could have been applied with the acquisition of images of the photos taken during the ceremony of laying the first stone of the Great Mosque of Diourbel. We see in the images purchased for sixty thousand euros in March 2023, Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacké, the founder of the Mourides Muslim religious brotherhood. The historical and cultural interest is enormous, especially since authentic images of the religious guide are not common. Only one photo of Serigne Touba, taken in 1913 in Diourbel by a colonial soldier, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Marty, was known until now. The community of Mouride disciples therefore organized to purchase, in a private sale, these photos taken in March 1918 and which are taken from the personal album of Jean Geoffre, an architect who was stationed in Senegal and who had retired In Lyon. But one might wonder whether such images could not have been obtained by other means. Indeed, nothing would guarantee the heirs of Serigne Touba that this religious guide had agreed, for example, to leave all the rights to his image to the family of the architect who owned the photos.

The eternal regrets for the legacy of Léopold Sédar Senghor

Certainly, Léopold Sédar Senghor has brought a lot to Senegal. His legacy is immense in the sense that the most important legacy was the intangible heritage that he left to his country and his people. Léopold Sédar Senghor had the reputation of having a very detached relationship with material goods and wealth. President Abdoulaye Wade acquired, on behalf of the State of Senegal, the Dakar villa of his illustrious predecessor, the “Dents de la Mer”, at Fann-Résidence in 2005.  The widow of President Senghor intended to put on the market this eight thousand square meter property, acquired in 1978, in one of the most beautiful districts of Dakar. The property purchased by the State of Senegal was rehabilitated and transformed into the Léopold Sédar Senghor Museum and inaugurated in November 2014 by President Macky Sall, as a prelude to the Summit of the International Organization of the Francophonie which was held in Senegal. There is no confusion on this point, this villa does not fall under the same regime as gifts offered to a head of state by his foreign counterparts!

The fact remains that we could question the choices of Léopold Sédar Senghor in his donations and legacies of his heritage. He left many things to the town of Verson including his house and various other movable property, but perhaps not much to his hometown of Joal, or to Djilor who saw his first steps.  He was also not particularly concerned to include in his will any donation to a museum, a university or a public institution, of works of art or pieces from his collection. We are therefore not surprised today that not a single Senegalese can claim to be among the heirs carrying out the sale of personal objects planned in France. The fact remains that we should act quickly, the auctioneer remains clear, if the negotiations do not succeed quickly, the sales will be rescheduled for December 2023!

By Madiambal DIAGNE / mdiagne@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH