By Eric Elezuo
The story of the newest Africa’s president-elect, who is due to become full-fledged president in a few days, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, is a that of focus, determination and commitment to a course set to benefit mankind in general, and the good people of Senegal in particular.
Faye has undertaken a journey of hope, scaling every known political obstacle to arrive at his destination of victory for his countrymen, defeating the old order, and taking by the storm the seat of Presidency at 44 years, after a sojourn in the dark side of political incarceration.
An analyst, By Ibrahim Abdukarim, who told the story of Faye as a wake call for Nigerians, has the following as the trajectory that melted down at the seat of power.
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In 2014, Ousmane Sonko (then 39 years) invited his friend and fellow tax worker, Diomaye Faye (then 34 years), and other political newbies to form a political party, PASTEF. The Party was led by Sonko and dominated by young Senegalese. Faye was the Secretary General while Sonko was the leader.
In 2017, PASTEF competed for the legislative election, but they only got 1 seat out of 165.
In 2019, Sonko stood as the Presidential candidate of PASTEF, while Faye was his campaign manager. At the Presidential election, Sonko finished third with 687,523 (15.67%) votes, behind President Macky Sall (1st) and former Prime Minister Idrissa Seck (2nd).
In 2022, PASTEF participated in the National Assembly election and won 56 out of 165 seats. It became clear that Sonko was in strong position to win the 2024 Presidential election.
In 2023, President Sall’s government convicted Sonko on a trumped-up charge just to block him from running for President. The Government equally arrested Faye and imprisoned him just to keep them out. By July 2023, the Government disbanded PASTEF as a political party. Later that year, the government disqualified Sonko from running for President citing the conviction. But Sonko and PASTEF had a backup plan, Faye. Faye was sponsored as a backup candidate for President while Sonko challenged his disqualification at the court. Though the court reversed it, the government didn’t implement the reversal.
The election was scheduled for March 24 after the opposition resisted its proposed postponement.
On March 14 (10 days before the election), the government released Sonko and Faye from jail. Immediately after they were released, Sonko and PASTEF announced Faye as their candidate. They campaigned for just 9 days and were backed by the young people of Senegal.
At the election that was held on March 24, Faye polled 2, 434, 110 votes (54.34%), defeating the immediate past Prime Minister Amadou Ba who polled 1, 603, p713 votes (35.8%). Mr Ba was the candidate of President Sall ruling coalition.
On April 2nd, Faye and Sonko will form the next Government of Senegal. I predict that Sonko will be named the Prime Minister of Faye’s Government. I wish them success.
Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye was born on March 25 1980, of Senegalese parents. He is commonly known as “Diomaye”, and was a former tax inspector. He was the general secretary of banned PASTEF before he won the 2024 Senegalese presidential election in place of his disqualified associate, Ousmane Sonko.
Faye started his primary education in his village and then undertook middle and high school in Mbour. In 2000, he earned his baccalaureate, and successfully attained a master’s degree in law in Dakar Cheikh Anta Diop University and subsequently cleared both competitive exams, enrolling at the National School of Administration of Senegal (ENA) and the magistracy in 2004.
After graduation, Faye opted to become a tax inspector in the Tax and Estates department, where he befriended Sonko, a fellow alumus from the same school. In 2014, Faye and Sonko’s relationship grew closer in the Taxes and Estates Union, created by Sonko, the leader of newly founded PASTEF. During his time at the head of the union, Faye campaigned to facilitate homeownership for tax and property agents.
Initially a guest when the party was founded, Faye swiftly ascended to become one of the most prominent figures within the party. He would go on to become one of the ideologues and designers of Sonko’s program for his candidacy in the 2019 Senegalese presidential election. Sonko gained almost 16% of the vote and came third. In February 2021, Faye became the general secretary of PASTEF after Sonko was arrested, being accused of repeated rape by a massage parlor employee. As part of its strategy to win power, Faye attempted to unite the opposition for the 2022 elections, winning 56 seats under the alliance Liberate the People.
On 20 January 2024, the Senegalese Constitutional Council published the final list of candidates for the presidential election and Sonko did not appear there after several legal battles. Faye’s candidacy was validated because he was never convicted although remaining detained. Sonko quickly announced his support to Faye for the election.
On 15 March 2024, a day after Faye’s release from jail, he gathered hundreds of supporters at his first public appearance as a presidential contender. Former president Abdoulaye Wade and his Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) endorsed Faye on the same day, in a boost to his chances of winning election. The move came after PDS candidate Karim Wade was disqualified from contesting the race because he was a dual citizen at the time he submitted his candidacy. Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, another candidate in the presidential election, withdrew in favor of Faye.
During the presidential campaign, he has promised to create jobs, campaigned strongly against corruption, and vowed to reexamine energy contracts. He ran under the slogan “Diomaye mooy Ousmane”, which means “Diomaye is Ousmane” in Wolof, and is hoping Sonko’s charisma and popular appeal amongst Senegal’s youth will boost his campaign. Faye’s program is similar with Sonko’s for 2019. During the campaign, Faye released a declaration of his assets and called on other candidates to follow suit.
Faye is married to two wives: Marie Khone Faye and Absa Faye. Marie Khone is a close relative of her husband, and together they have had four children: three boys and a girl. He has not had any children with Absa. Faye and Ousmane Sonko are close friends, even naming one of his sons Ousmane in honor of their friendship. He had a traditional village upbringing and is Muslim.
On April 2, Faye will officially ascend the Presidency of Senegal, and it is left to be seen what positive changes his youthful, candour, experience and Africanism can do to make Senegal better than it is at the moment.
Additional information: Wikipedia
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