Yesterday marked the tenth anniversary of a popular election that brought incumbent Senegalese president, Abdoulaye Wade, to power.
By Sheriff Bojang Jnr.
On March 19 2000, Wade defeated Abdou Diouf in the second rounds of the ballot, ending 40 years of socialist rule in the former French colony. He won the race with the help of other major opposition parties that went into alliance with him under the banner of Sopi (change) 2000.
He finally won the race after trying in vain four times starting from 1978. Wade defeated Diouf on a promise of sound and effective policies and programmes in the areas of economy, education, infrastructure, democracy and the rule of law. There was an optimism that the new president would live by his promises and keep the hopes of the nation alive.
No single failure
Marking the tenth anniversary of his leadership, President Wade told RFI yesterday that he could not recollect a 'single failure' during his decade in power. He boasted of good roads, high education spending, agricultural 'revolution' etc.
"My predecessors built bad roads and we had to do them again every year... but now we have roads just like the ones in Europe", President Wade said.
Wade also admitted that Senegal's 70% farmers were not 'particularly content' with his programmes but were better off as a result of his decade in power.
'Prestigious' projects
Over the last decade of Wade's presidency, Senegal has seen more infrastructural developments than ever in its history. Tarred roads, big bridges, pedestrian paths... you name them. Wade's critics might not agree but just a few years ago (before he kicked off the road construction project), travelling within the capital, Dakar, was as annoying as driving in Lagos or Abuja. The Roads were so bad and insufficient that a 20km journey would take you at least four hours to complete.
Thanks partly to the 11th Summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (hosted by Senegal in 2008), the Wade administration succeeded in changing the shape of Dakar and other major cities to a great extent. It won't be difficult for someone who last visited Dakar five or six years ago to fall in love with today's Dakar.
While Wade's road projects have eased traffic congestion in Dakar, his opponents often described the projects as 'prestigious' and said they are misplaced priorities.
Investment in education
One of Wade's top priorities since he came to power has been investment in education. He built schools across the country and made education a bit more accessible and affordable, though there is still room for improvement. He promoted gender parity in primary education, and thanks to his government's 'Education for All' campaign, there's the same number of girls as boys in primary schools in most of urban Senegal.
President Wade's biggest achievement is the investment of 40% of the budget in education. But what baffled me was his failure to admit that under his ten-year rule, the Senegalese economy has consistently declined, while the cost of living is skyrocketing. Yes, President Wade might have inherited a declining economy, but I've always argued that over the last ten years of his reign, he has taken some gambles with the economy that yielded nothing but suffering to his already suffering people. He embarked on some unnecessary and expensive projects like the African Renaissance Statue at a time of economic hardship.
We cannot talk about Senegal's economy without mentioning what is now called 'Seguragate'. While the Senegalese people often took to the streets to protest against high cost of living and rising food prices, President Wade had the guts to give 100,000 Euros and US$50,000 to Alex Segura, the outgoing IMF Senegal representative, as a 'farewell gift' in November last year. Wade and his cronies later came up with every dumb reason to justify his action.
First, they said the gift was made as part of an African tradition... that when your guest is leaving, you give him a gift to say thank you for everything. This is absurd and ridiculous! First, Alex Segura was very critical of Senegal's economic policies and Dakar had nothing thank him for. Second, Yes, in Africa we always leave our guests with gift. But as traditional and cultural as Senegal is, a simple souvenir or a big traditional gown would have been a perfect gift for Segura. And any of those would have cost not more than US$100.
After failing to sell the so-called African tradition reason, President Wade's officials went on TV to question why people were making a big fuss out of a gift of 100,000 Euros and US$50,000. They said these were not big amounts to deserve such debates and publicity. Wade and those officials are obviously very rich, but what about the poor electorate, those women who frequent the streets of Dakar begging for food and pennies... what about the unemployed youth? What about everybody else?
No matter what side the dice is thrown, Seguragate is seen as the biggest presidential scandal in Senegal's political history and it discredited most of what Wade claimed to have stood for.
Feet in Water
The biggest contradiction of President Wade's anniversary statement came when he admitted that the residents of the suburbs of Dakar had a right to be discontented because of recurrent flooding, and went on to say that he could not think of any day on which he failed.
First, hundreds of thousands of your poor people went through (and are still affected by) a severe flood, making them homeless and hungry, while you stayed in a posh Swiss hotel with your family. They turned to the government for help, a help that never came. If you didn't fail them, then what's your definition of failure? Typical African Head of State!
I must say that my opinion does not matter a bit. But the Senegalese are going to the polls again in 2012 to decide whether or not Wade deserves to stay on their leader. Their votes matter!
By Sheriff Bojang Jnr.
On March 19 2000, Wade defeated Abdou Diouf in the second rounds of the ballot, ending 40 years of socialist rule in the former French colony. He won the race with the help of other major opposition parties that went into alliance with him under the banner of Sopi (change) 2000.
He finally won the race after trying in vain four times starting from 1978. Wade defeated Diouf on a promise of sound and effective policies and programmes in the areas of economy, education, infrastructure, democracy and the rule of law. There was an optimism that the new president would live by his promises and keep the hopes of the nation alive.No single failure
Marking the tenth anniversary of his leadership, President Wade told RFI yesterday that he could not recollect a 'single failure' during his decade in power. He boasted of good roads, high education spending, agricultural 'revolution' etc.
"My predecessors built bad roads and we had to do them again every year... but now we have roads just like the ones in Europe", President Wade said.
Wade also admitted that Senegal's 70% farmers were not 'particularly content' with his programmes but were better off as a result of his decade in power.
'Prestigious' projects
Over the last decade of Wade's presidency, Senegal has seen more infrastructural developments than ever in its history. Tarred roads, big bridges, pedestrian paths... you name them. Wade's critics might not agree but just a few years ago (before he kicked off the road construction project), travelling within the capital, Dakar, was as annoying as driving in Lagos or Abuja. The Roads were so bad and insufficient that a 20km journey would take you at least four hours to complete.
Thanks partly to the 11th Summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (hosted by Senegal in 2008), the Wade administration succeeded in changing the shape of Dakar and other major cities to a great extent. It won't be difficult for someone who last visited Dakar five or six years ago to fall in love with today's Dakar.
While Wade's road projects have eased traffic congestion in Dakar, his opponents often described the projects as 'prestigious' and said they are misplaced priorities.
Investment in education
One of Wade's top priorities since he came to power has been investment in education. He built schools across the country and made education a bit more accessible and affordable, though there is still room for improvement. He promoted gender parity in primary education, and thanks to his government's 'Education for All' campaign, there's the same number of girls as boys in primary schools in most of urban Senegal.
President Wade's biggest achievement is the investment of 40% of the budget in education. But what baffled me was his failure to admit that under his ten-year rule, the Senegalese economy has consistently declined, while the cost of living is skyrocketing. Yes, President Wade might have inherited a declining economy, but I've always argued that over the last ten years of his reign, he has taken some gambles with the economy that yielded nothing but suffering to his already suffering people. He embarked on some unnecessary and expensive projects like the African Renaissance Statue at a time of economic hardship.
We cannot talk about Senegal's economy without mentioning what is now called 'Seguragate'. While the Senegalese people often took to the streets to protest against high cost of living and rising food prices, President Wade had the guts to give 100,000 Euros and US$50,000 to Alex Segura, the outgoing IMF Senegal representative, as a 'farewell gift' in November last year. Wade and his cronies later came up with every dumb reason to justify his action.
First, they said the gift was made as part of an African tradition... that when your guest is leaving, you give him a gift to say thank you for everything. This is absurd and ridiculous! First, Alex Segura was very critical of Senegal's economic policies and Dakar had nothing thank him for. Second, Yes, in Africa we always leave our guests with gift. But as traditional and cultural as Senegal is, a simple souvenir or a big traditional gown would have been a perfect gift for Segura. And any of those would have cost not more than US$100.
After failing to sell the so-called African tradition reason, President Wade's officials went on TV to question why people were making a big fuss out of a gift of 100,000 Euros and US$50,000. They said these were not big amounts to deserve such debates and publicity. Wade and those officials are obviously very rich, but what about the poor electorate, those women who frequent the streets of Dakar begging for food and pennies... what about the unemployed youth? What about everybody else?
No matter what side the dice is thrown, Seguragate is seen as the biggest presidential scandal in Senegal's political history and it discredited most of what Wade claimed to have stood for.
Feet in Water
The biggest contradiction of President Wade's anniversary statement came when he admitted that the residents of the suburbs of Dakar had a right to be discontented because of recurrent flooding, and went on to say that he could not think of any day on which he failed.
First, hundreds of thousands of your poor people went through (and are still affected by) a severe flood, making them homeless and hungry, while you stayed in a posh Swiss hotel with your family. They turned to the government for help, a help that never came. If you didn't fail them, then what's your definition of failure? Typical African Head of State!
I must say that my opinion does not matter a bit. But the Senegalese are going to the polls again in 2012 to decide whether or not Wade deserves to stay on their leader. Their votes matter!
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