Rédaction Africa Links 24 with pierre Dieme
Published on 2024-03-02 07:05:46
Everything we have seen since the signing of the decree canceling the election on Sunday, February 25, strangely resembles the events of December 17, 1962. The only thing missing from the picture is the arrest of the Prime Minister.
When we attend a theatrical performance, scenes unfold in multiple acts that are thought out and planned to capture our attention and lead us by the nose to the final act. When the curtain falls, the audience applauds wildly to pay tribute to the actors’ performance, celebrating the enchanting moment they have just experienced. At that moment, no one thinks about the immense work of the backstage hands: stagehands, lighting technicians, makeup artists, costume designers, sound engineers, and so on. An entire army of skills without which the magic would never have happened. And above all these people, there are the playwright and the director. They have invented, created, and delivered a moment of joy to hundreds of spectators. With a few exceptions, as unanimity is impossible in this matter. Some may leave grumbling, disappointed or frustrated that a particular part of the show did not meet their expectations… That’s life!
Similarly, the political scene… rarely offers us high-quality shows bordering on perfection. To the point where we never wonder why or how, as the magic works wonders! We are led by the nose, scenes and acts unfold, and we find ourselves at the end of a… term without grasping the thread, discovering, stunned, the outcome of a cleverly crafted plot. This is in the case of a successful staging, in service of a well-written story with a happy ending. Conversely, in a story where the acts unfold uninspiringly, leaving the end of the plot to be guessed from the first act, the spectators have a lump in their stomach. They do not applaud. They endure the actors’ game, who are themselves stressed by the negative vibes sent back by disapproving sighs from the audience.
Back to reality!
Let me say it outright: Throughout the twelve years of President Macky Sall’s reign, the Senegalese have been dumbfounded by a rather tasteless play, where both the staging and the actors fall far below the promises of the credits. At the beginning was the promise of a modest and virtuous governance… The highly advertised film gradually turned into a horror movie. And the downfall we witness since February 3, the initial date of the start of the electoral campaign for the presidential election scheduled for February 24, gradually reveals the backstage where so many hands, no, I should say so many small minds, are at work… The end of the show is near, and there is a sense of plagiarism in the air. Everything we have seen since the signing of the decree canceling the election on Sunday, February 25, strangely resembles the events of December 17, 1962. The quality of the staging making the difference, as well as the actors’ performance, but mostly due to the colossal, especially economic, underlying stakes.
Everything is there: A President who weakens the Prime Minister, a National Assembly surrounded by security forces and emptied of opposition MPs, the judicialization of politics, religious leaders complicit by fact or by their silence, the flagging of the Constitution, the domestication of the administration, a press that helps cover up all the abuses of power…
The only thing missing from the picture is the arrest of the Prime Minister, as was the case with President Mamadou Dia, the head of government in 1962, and the total control of power by a so-called unified single party for decades.
What seems interesting to note, and what many analysts in our country should scrutinize closely, is the Foccart method that seems to be the thread of all this. Jacques Foccart, the all-powerful “Mr. Africa” during General De Gaulle’s time, was an expert in destabilizing African regimes that had barely emerged from colonization. With his armies of mercenaries and spies, he brought order to all African countries with leaders aspiring to true decolonization rather than formal independence. All the first coups d’état that occurred in Africa, once under French domination, bear the imprint of Jacques Foccart. Jacques Foccart’s strength lay in the fact that he was invisible to the public eye. He did not seek personal glory. He served exclusively General De Gaulle in his idea of France’s influence. Foccart inspired and continues to inspire a category of nostalgics of the conquering, “self-assured and dominant” France, as General De Gaulle described England… Unfortunately, Jacques Foccart’s heirs do not have his genius or talent. And Africa has changed so much!
This digression is just to point out a direction to which we should turn our gaze: The hyperactivity of Mr. Robert Bourgi, who claims to be the adopted son of Jacques Foccart, should be questioned and contextualized. What role does he play with President Macky Sall, whom he claims to be familiar with? We also saw him in a photo that should have remained private, dining at the home of Prime Minister-candidate Amadou Ba. From time to time, he gives suggestive interviews on the crucial issues of our country, of which he claims nationality, not exclusive! I saw on the front page of a website that he claims to know what President Macky Sall intends to do after April 2, 2024, the date of his departure from the presidency…
In truth, Robert Bourgi lacks the stature of his mentor and, above all, his legendary discretion. He is fond of tailor-made suits, flaunts his relationships… He reveals confidences told to him to show off and impress. He is not a man of the shadows, which he should have remained! This is why the ongoing play in Senegal, in which he claims to be an actor, almost completely reveals the identity of the true authors of the staging! Moreover, the lead actor is increasingly subject to outbursts that reveal glaring weaknesses, including verbal gaffes incompatible with the prestige of the position… This urges the prompters to raise their voices to be heard when he goes off-script… Unfortunately, attentive spectators also hear them, which is the height of irony for a prompter.
All this is quite messy!
Let us hope that upon his return from the summit of gas-exporting countries where he is heading today, March 1, 2024, President Macky Sall, who will meet important figures as part of the reconfiguration of strategic partnerships for the development of our gas and oil resources, will return with contracts signed before the end of his term scheduled for April 2, 2024.
“Fortunately, the election was canceled in time!” think the cynics!
Ah! That smell of gas!
Read the original article(French) on Dakar Matin
