As Faye and Sonko take charge, what lies ahead for Senegal?

By Aurore Bonny

DOUALA, Cameroon (AA) – Senegal has a new leadership as two men released from jail just a month ago have taken over as president and prime minister.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye became the youngest elected leader in Africa when he won the March 24 election, and has chosen popular opposition figure Ousmane Sonko as his prime minister.

Their stunning rise from prison to power is rooted in the “mass support for the political model of governance they advocate,” according to Abdias Codjo Orisha, a consultant and geopolitical expert from Benin.

“Faye is 44 years old and Sonko is 49. They embody a certain youthfulness that resonates with the nearly 60% of the population that is in the 18-35 age bracket,” he told Anadolu.

“This is the age group most affected by the ills that plague Senegal, which is a country that is particularly feeling the winds of Pan-Africanism and nationalism.”

Despite the strong support they enjoy, Codjo Orisha and other analysts believe the duo has their work cut out for them, primarily with economic and geopolitical challenges.

He said a major talking point in their campaign was corruption and “fiscal anomalies” that they accused ex-President Macky Sall and his government of overlooking.

Another key issue was the mismanagement of Senegal’s natural resources, particularly oil and gas, he added.

In one of his first moves after taking office, Faye has announced plans for an audit of Senegal’s oil and gas sector, saying it will be a top priority for his government.

“The political and financial situation in Senegal will be shaken up a bit in the days to come. Faye has promised to renegotiate the main economic agreements, particularly those concerning oil and gas,” said Codjo Orisha.

“They have long focused on the problems in this strategic sector and the many irregularities that have marred various contracts,” he added, pointing out that Sonko even published a book on the issue in 2018.

Senegalese political consultant Ibrahima Ba believes there is ample evidence suggesting that the country’s resource wealth has been “poorly managed.”

For him, the change in leadership has come at the right time.

“It’s a time when the country is wondering about an economic alternative to shake off the misery that has hit Africa,” he told Anadolu, adding that Senegal’s “economy was shaken by a regime with no economic alternative.”

- ‘Result of a wave of sovereignty’

Senegal, like several other African countries, has witnessed a rise in calls for more sovereignty, particularly when it comes to what critics call the outsized influence of Western powers such as France.

Both Faye and Sonko have been strong proponents of greater national sovereignty, and analysts are keeping a close eye on how they intend to follow through on their rhetoric.

“Faye is one of the young Africans who have cut these ties (with former colonizing powers) in a systemic way. His discourse is in tune with these emerging aspirations,” said Ba.

For Codjo Orisha, the rise of Faye and Sonko should be viewed as “a result of the wave of sovereignty sweeping across West Africa.”

The issues that these new leaders intend to tackle notably include the CFA Franc, regional security and the status of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the question of French and American military presence, he said.

The CFA Franc issue remains eminently political on the regional level, and Senegal’s new leaders could contribute to the debate that this currency inherited from colonial France should be replaced by the eco, the joint currency proposed by several West African countries, said Codjo Orisha.

“But there is quite a high chance that they will not agree … Above all, it should be noted that Faye has to go about it delicately,” he said.

- ECOWAS: In or out?

As for Senegal’s relations with ECOWAS, Codjo Orisha believes that Faye intends to help strengthen the bloc, which is reeling from the withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, all countries in a state of political transition after military coups.

“This will likely be a complicated task, especially because there are other leaders who don’t necessarily operate according to the Pan-Africanist logic,” he said.

Regis Hounkpe, a Franco-Beninese geopolitical expert, said that many believed Faye’s government “would initiate Senegal’s exit from the bloc.”

“I, however, think he is a critical defender of ECOWAS,” he told Anadolu.

“But he doesn’t have a magic wand. He is inheriting a country that is not functioning as it should on a number of levels. He’ll need time to organize and get things back to where they should be.”