🚨 Senegal 🇸🇳- A concerned Senegalese message to his President, part 2️⃣.

Well, folks, did you know that President Faye’s first international trip was to Mauritania 🇲🇷? Someone asked me: why didn’t he make his first trip to the AES? I laughed and answered: he’s the President, he does what matters to him the most. Also, this trip shows where his priorities lie. So, the government said that his visit is about common interests between the two countries.

My elderly Senegalese man sent me this and I translated it for you. Here is what it reads:

Subject: Open letter concerning the creation of the Directorate of Religious Affairs and the Integration of Arab Education graduates

To
Mr. Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye President of the Republic of Senegal

Mr President,
I am speaking to you today as a retired education inspector and as an activist, to express my deep concerns regarding the recent creation of the Directorate of Religious Affairs and Graduate Integration of Arabic Education within the Presidency of the Republic. This decision, as announced in the communiqué of the Council of Ministers of April 17, 2024, raises several important questions which, I believe, deserve in-depth reflection.

Firstly, as a nation that prides itself on its secular character, it is surprising and worrying to see a directorate specifically dedicated to religious affairs and the integration of a specific category of graduates being established directly under your high authority. This approach seems to indicate a preference not only for a particular faith, but also for a specific teaching discipline, which can be seen as a breach of the principle of equality that must prevail in a secular state.

Secondly, the question of the neutrality of the State in the face of different religious confessions arises acutely. It is crucial to know which faith the director of this new direction will come from, and how this appointment could affect the balance and cohesion between the different religious communities in Senegal.

Thirdly, the integration of graduates of Arabic education raises the question of relevance and fairness vis-à-vis graduates of other linguistic disciplines. Why create a specific structure for graduates in Arabic, and not for those in other languages ​​(French, English, Russian, German, Spanish, national languages, etc.)? This decision could be seen as a form of favoritism which undermines the principles of fairness and equal opportunities for all citizens, regardless of their academic training. This is all the more so since the first article of the constitution is unequivocal: “The official language of the Republic of Senegal is French. The national languages ​​are Diola, Malinké, Pular, Sérère, Soninké, Wolof and any other national language which will be codified.” No reference to Arabic! So Mr. President of the Republic, if you really want to create a break, reshape the constitution and establish Arabic as a second official language to put yourself at ease.

Finally, I wonder about the placement of this direction within the Presidency. Could this organization mean political interference in areas which should rather fall under educational and religious technicalities managed in a more neutral and independent manner?

Mr. President, secularism is a pillar of our Republic. As evidenced by our constitution: “The Republic of Senegal is secular, democratic and social. It ensures equality before the law for all citizens, without distinction of origin, race, sex, religion. It respects all beliefs.”
This secularism must therefore be preserved and protected.
This is why I implore you to reconsider this initiative, ensuring that public administration remains a space of neutrality and equality, in accordance with the principles that have guided our nation to this day.

Please accept, Mr. President, the expression of my highest consideration.

Thiaroye Azur,
April 18, 2024

Mr. Abdoulaye Sall
Retired education inspector.
Activist in his spare time.

🚨🇸🇳- In Senegal, the Mourides have more power than the President.

The first time I heard about the Mourides was in 2015 when a Senegalese friend told me about them, and he insisted that they are more powerful than the President of the Republic. My first reaction was: there’s simply no way this can be true. So, I must confess that he was right.

The Mourides are a large Islamic Sufi order (a Muslim who is a member of an ascetic, mystical sect, or a Muslim who seeks direct experience of Allah) in Senegal that has significant political, economic, and religious influence. They are considered one of the most powerful voices in Senegal, and can enforce rules and regulations that others cannot.

Yesterday as I was planning to post this, I called an elderly Senegalese old friend of mine who happens to be a TRAORE like me, but he doesn’t speak Bambara lol. It doesn’t matter, the territory of Senegal was part of the Mande empire (Ancient Mali 🇲🇱). So, when I asked him if it’s true that the Mourides are really more powerful than the President, his reply was,

“Oh yes! They are even more powerful than the Mogho Naaba in Ouagadougou. What you guys in Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 can do to the Mogho Naaba, you can’t do that to the Mourides in Senegal 🇸🇳.”

The Mogho Naaba is the emperor of the Mossi, the most dominant tribe in Burkina Faso. FYI, when @CapitaineIb226 came into power, there were rumors that the Mogho Naaba said that he’s too young to govern the country, that we should choose somebody else. It was really a big deal because, our youth were mad at him, and even threatened to vandalize his palace if he doesn’t mind his own business and leave this transition alone. That’s why my friend said that what you can do to your Mogho Naaba, you can’t do that to the Mourides 😄. Do you get it now?

Personally, I have no issue with our traditional leaders, but I refuse when they are trying to mix things up. We are no more in a kingdom or empire. If they want to reign as kings and emperors, perhaps they should have defended their thrones more against the invaders and colonizers. Those who resisted, we know them, but that wasn’t enough. They were conquered because they didn’t have the superiority of the firearms, and many of them were betrayed by their own people. And we also know those who also colluded with the enemies.

So, we are told that President @DiomayeFaye visited the
Caliph General of the Mourides at Touba, as part of his first official outing after his election, a trip greatly appreciated by Serigne Mountakha Mbacké, who prayed for the Head of State and for Senegal as a whole.

After Touba, the Head of State went to Tivaouane for a private meeting with
Serigne Babacar Sy Mansour. President @DiomayeFaye expressed to the Caliph his desire to continue the city's modernization program and support the finishing work on the Grand Mosque.

Alright, when this happened, I saw a lot of criticism on X, because I saw that the President had to remove his shoes and walk barefoot into the compound until he got into the house. Many didn’t like that, but Senegalese are saying that this is their tradition. Nothing can be further from the truth. Tradition and religion are two different things. Sometimes, it happens that they borrow practices from each other or are mixed up, but that doesn’t make them the same.

Anyway, in our tradition, we say the king doesn’t move, people go to him. So, if @PR_Diomaye took the trip to meet these leaders, it means they certainly are more powerful than him. I’ll post a part 2️⃣ about a Senegalese who is concerned about something that the President recently did which of course is alarming‼️. Stay tuned!

The Zulu Kingdom sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or the Kingdom of Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north

The kingdom grew to dominate much of what is today KwaZulu-Natal and Southern Africa. In 1879, the British Empire invaded, beginning the Anglo-Zulu War. After an initial Zulu victory at the Battle of Isandlwana in January, the British Army regrouped and defeated the Zulus in July during the Battle of Ulundi. The area was absorbed into the Colony of Natal and later became part of the Union of South Africa.

Shaka initiated many military, social, cultural and political reforms, forming a well-organized and centralised Zulu state. The most important reforms involved the transformation of the army, through the innovative tactics and weapons, and a showdown with the spiritual leadership.

Another important reform integrated defeated clans into the Zulu, on a basis of full equality, with promotions in the army and civil service becoming a matter of merit rather than due to circumstances of birth. #Africa

🇪🇹 🇪🇹 🇪🇹 🇪🇹 💪🏿💪🏿✊🏾
"Women marched alongside men to the battle at Adwa 128 years ago. Just like their men-folk, Ethiopian women were ready to sacrifice themselves to prevent colonialists from sneaking into their country, thus forcing their children to live in servitude.

Empress Taytu Bitul is clearly a symbolic women she was not only a diplomat and stateswoman with resolve, but also an ingenious commandant versed in the art of war, a tactician par excellence.

Taytu collected ten to twelve thousand women in the camp and issued water jugs to all of them, the army of another kind filled their jugs at the river and were ready to carry water to those who fought, wherever they stood. The Italian colonizers even appealed to her on the behalf of their commander as they started suffering from thirst.

“Women’s role at the battle of Adwa revealed the truth that nothing can be done without the participation of women and it would be an exemplary deed for today’s effort to recognize women’s participation all over the world. We generally hear that Ethiopia won the battle. But we ignore the fact that women played decisive role in the victory. There were ten-thousands of women who prepared their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons for the war in which they also took part. All in all women were the leading force behind the victory of Adwa, they were preparing food and water, providing medical care for the wounded and they were following the soldiers with a slogan of ‘freedom or death’. Lets not forget the role of our great grandmothers.”
#Africa

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