President Diomaye Faye, you recently formed a political party called Kiiraay, abandoning your former party, PASTEF, led by Ousman Sonko. Kiiraay means protection. I believe this is why you welcomed members of Macky Sall’s party, who are now surrounding you to protect you politically. You are now in their hands. This is why they always whisper into your ears as to what to do.
You have the belief that these political wolves will support you in your bid to run for the 2029 presidential election. This is why you supported Macky Sall’s candidacy for the UN Secretary General post. Don’t you know that these politicians are now divided? Some are still with Macky Sall and others are not.
Aminata Touray, who is now very close to you, is an example. She fell out with Macky Sall when she was not selected as speaker of the National Assembly, as promised by Macky Sall. This was why she went into a rage and left Macky Sall’s party. As a result, members of Macky Sall’s party in the National Assembly, who formed the majority at the time, expelled her from the Assembly. Now she is one of your lieutenants, including Abdourahman Diouf.
You really trust them, not knowing that they are following you because of their self interest. They don’t have the interest of your country at heart. They are behaving like vultures scavenging on a carcass where everybody tries to get the best part of it. And Macky Sall currently is struggling to be elected Secretary General of the United Nations. He does not have time for you, does he? His party is no longer strong. The last National Assembly election results showed this. Ousman Sonko’s party, PASTEF, won 130 seats out of 165 seats while Macky Sall’s party performed poorly.
Instead of trying Macky Sall in a court of law for atrocities under his watch, where over 70 Senegalese were killed by security forces for exercising their rights to demonstrate, you are now seeking to align with his party to support you. Were you not also among over 1000 Senegalese arrested and imprisoned? Have you not learned a lesson?
Macky Sall’s brother-in-law, Mansour Faye, recently said: “We are still in Macky Sall’s party. We are not going to join another party. We welcome anybody who wants to join us.”
President Diomaye Faye, you will know what he means if you read between the lines. Some other members of Macky Sall’s party have accused you of being incompetent, and that you cannot govern your country. These are the people you rely on to back you in the 2029 presidential election. Do you think that they will abandon their party, APR, to support you? Don’t you know that they are going to rally behind their own candidate?
Reconciling with Ousman Sonko is the only solution. Swallow your pride and go back where you belong. Don’t you know that he is your protector politically? He groomed you politically. He guided you politically. But what did you give him in return? Dismissal from his Prime Minister post!
Your trouble with Ousman Sonko started when you dismissed Ida Mboge as the coordinator of your coalition and replaced her with Aminata Touray. This angered Ousman Sonko. It did not go down well with his supporters, who accused Aminata Touray of safeguarding her interest because she fell out with Macky Sall.
Ousman Sonko also had another issue with you. He felt very bad about it. This was why he invited journalists and revealed the agreement he had with you, stating that El Malick Njie, former speaker of the National Assembly, was present when he had the agreement with you. It seems you did not honour the agreement.
What is baffling is that one of your new political allies, Antouan Diom, who was serving as Interior Minister in Mack Sall’s government, once accused you of being a terrorist. And it is the same Antouan Diom you invited recently for consultation. You also invited other allies of Macky Sall for the same purpose. Didn’t you?
This is why Ousman Sonko’s supporters doubted your loyalty to their leader and party. In an interview with journalists, you said if you were not satisfied with Ousman Sonko’s performance, you would dismiss him. And you did so!
Ousman Sonko’s supporters felt that you had betrayed him. But you know very well that Ousman Sonko was politically prepared. Instead of resigning from his post as a member of the National Assembly, he only suspended it, meaning he could take back his seat any time.
Because Ousman Sonko’s party forms the majority in the National Assembly, they integrated him into the Assembly. El Malick Njie had to resign from his post as speaker of the National Assembly to give way to Ousman Sonko to be elected speaker, and this was what they finally did. El Malick Njie has now retained his seat as member of the National Assembly. You can see the political gerrymandering Ousman Sonko has done. President Diomaye Faye, can you match him politically? You know that Ousman Sonko is now so powerful that he can at any time call for a vote of no confidence against your government.
Because of your anger, you declared that it is God who made you president and not PASTEF, Ousman Sonko’s party. But you once said: “I struggled for 10 years to make Ousman Sonko president but I could not. He campaigned for me for 10 days and made me president.”
By the time you realize that Macky Sall’s allies who are now surrounding you are only after their interest, you would have been politically destroyed. A word for the wise is enough.
