Achi news desk-
In Ndiaganiao, a remote village in the agricultural region of Senegal, men from all over the country flock to congratulate the father of president-elect Bassirou Diomaye Faye
Ndiaganiao, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 28th March, 2024) In Ndiaganiao, a remote village in the agricultural region of Senegal, men from all over the country are flocking to congratulate the father of president-elect Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
Speaking from the porch of the pastel-coloured family home and dressed in a silk blue boubou, 84-year-old Samba Faye says he is “happy and proud” of his son.
“He came to see me before the election, crouched at my feet and asked me to pray for this success,” Faye said as men came up to greet him while others gave him buzzing phones.
“We could never have imagined that he would become president of the republic one day although we prayed that he would go as far as possible in his career,” added Faye.
“Bassirou has always been a serious and ambitious boy.”
Just 10 days after his release from prison, the anti-establishment candidate Diomaye – who comes from an educated but modest family background – won the presidential election in the first round, winning 54.28 percent of the a vote The 44-year-old man, who has said he wants a “break” with the current political system, is about to become the youngest president in Senegal’s history.
“I asked him to do everything to satisfy the Senegalese people” who “have high hopes” of him, said Faye, who worked in the agricultural sector training farmers how to use new equipment, to AFP.
“I told him that a great responsibility now rests on his shoulders.”
Outside the house, little girls play barefoot in the dusty alleys in front of buildings from another era where old wooden doors and others made of rusty metal still stand.
Across Ndiaganiao, where Diomaye won 80 percent of the vote, walls and dilapidated buildings bear his name and that of his mentor Ousmane Sonko in white paint.
The new president’s uncle whose surname is Dimaye Faye said his nephew’s intention was not to run as a leader.
“That wasn’t really his goal.
He had never really planned to get involved in politics but his friend Ousmane Sonko … drew him into politics,” said his uncle, a political science professor in the United States who said he spent two years with the leader when- African Thomas Sankara from 1985 to 1987.
“The main advice we can give him is … to stay himself, be humble and keep his ability to listen,” added the uncle.
At the local headquarters of Faye’s party, PASTEF, the walls are covered with posters of the new president.
Mor Sarr, who introduces himself as Faye’s best friend and an officer at PASTEF, admits that he watched over the voting to avoid any electoral fraud. He remembers playing football “on sandy pitches outlined by stones” with Faye and sharing food when they didn’t have much money as students. They met at school at the age of 11 and went on to share a room between 2001 and 2004 at the University of Dakar.
“Diomaye has always been very close to his mother, Khady Diouf, who used to help with the household chores after school. Diomaye was also a small shepherd who looked after his goats,” said Sarr.
“With all the twists and turns that events have taken, this is actually a dedication of a long democratic struggle, of a truly faithful conquest of power,” he added.
Outside the PASTEF building, shop owners wait for customers after placing their carts full of fruit and vegetables under trees. The locals travel around mainly on foot or in horse-drawn carts while some own cars that kick up clouds of orange dust as they pass. The village needs essential infrastructure including paved roads and a health clinic. One shopkeeper, Fabienne Dione, told AFP that the locals expected the new president to make changes.
“We expect a lot from him. The village, for example, needs a hospital. He also needs to invest in education to give our children a chance to succeed,” he said.
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