From left: Bashirou Seck, Brother Jehron Muhammad and Dr. Mujahid Nyahuma pose for photo. Photo courtesy of Jehron Muhammad

This week we focus on a recent, January 5, Zoom discussion from Senegal with Bachirou Seck, CEO of a Dakar-based firm. He also serves as Chief Advisor to the Office of Special Envoy of the Republic of Sierra Leone Ambassador Waleed Shamsid-Deen.

The discussion also included Philadelphia-based Dr. Mujahid Nyahuma, adjunct professor at Rowan University and co-director of Global Africans. Nyahuma is a member of the Delaware African Affairs Commission.

The wide-ranging discussion with Africa Watch included acknowledgment of the Nation of Islam’s historical impact via its weekly news organs Muhammad Speaks (1961-1975) and, more recently, The Final Call on coverage of liberation struggles around the globe and their reporting on geo-political and geo-economics, with a special emphasis on Africa and Africans in the diaspora.

Also included in the discussion was an update on Senegal’s new administration, including its new parliament and its youthful president, the 44-year-old Bassirou Dismay Faye.   

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The discussion opened with Mr. Seck, from his home in Dakar, thanking The Final Call for being featured in a previous edition of the weekly Africa Watch column for telling his “African story.” (See The Final Call, Vol. 44 No. 11) 

“To be able to have the opportunity to just have my story told in The Final Call was something that was really groundbreaking here in Senegal, and even in the U.S. because I shared it with people in the United States and they were really, really impressed, and they were really, really satisfied and happy because this is a story that needs to be told,” said Mr. Seck, a graduate of Cheikh Anta Diop University.

“I think this is a long time coming—call it a dream come true. To be able to have our story told by our own people, to just write our own narrative.

In addition, this interview was put into that package that is definitely instrumental in highlighting people who are working to bridge the gap (between Africans and Africans in the diaspora) and helping people come back to the continent,” he added.

During the conversation, Dr. Nyahuma discussed the global impact of Muhammad Speaks “which predated the internet,” this columnist pointed out. “I’d like to add to that, the Muhammad Speaks was also the liberation newspaper for the national liberation struggle in Africa.

Everyone was reading Muhammad Speaks in terms of being up to date, (on) what was happening in Mozambique, (in) Angola, Guinea (and) Southern Africa,” said Dr. Nyahuma.

“In addition to that, what was happening in terms of liberation movements that were taking place in other parts of the world. And I think that you fit it really adequately that we did not have internet.”

Mr. Seck also commented on the top of the front cover that appeared on each Muhammad Speaks, which included a graphic of two Black men grasping each other’s hands, stretched out across a partial map of the world. “It’s really important.

I think from that time it was like a lot of efforts being made through the connection. Now it’s happening. We’re no longer stretching our arms but we are definitely shaking hands, and we should really report it.”

“Thanks to the work of people like Rev. Dr. Leon Sullivan and his biannual African African-American Summits and the work on the continent by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and others … like religious leaders from Senegal who travel very often to the U.S. to build this connection, has been instrumental in building that bridge,” he continued.

Mr. Seck also shared that Muhammad Speaks was a platform then and today, The Final Call is a platform “to raise awareness of our people, especially in America on international geopolitics. And I think this is one of the reasons why Malcolm X was killed. To me because he was able to internationalize the struggle.”

Concerning recent developments in the West African country of Senegal, Seck explained that the country is writing a new page in the African mission.

“After 64 years of those so-called independents (former administrations) awarded to France to its former corporate interest, this is the very first time that we elect a government based on a project that really wants to break up or renegotiate our relationship with France,” he said.

“A project that is fostering sovereignty over all aspects of the life of our nation, including education, including the management of our natural resources, including our international relations. We are no longer under the yoke of France.”

President Faye, who won more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round of the March 2024 elections, and his Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, recently took control of parliament in snap parliamentary elections held in November.

During President Faye’s December 31 address to the nation, he said, “As of now, I have instructed the Minister of the Armed Forces to propose a new doctrine of cooperation in defense and, involving, among other consequences, the end of all foreign military presences in Senegal, starting in 2025.”

The Senegalese diaspora sends over $2.9 billion in remittances annually to Senegal, representing about 12 percent of the country’s GDP, according to ecofinagency.com. “This amount surpasses both foreign direct investments and public development aid,” the website states. PM Sonko has proposed a diaspora bank to enhance investments and lower transfer costs.

According to Seck, with the government now controlling parliament, “the Faye administration is encouraging Senegalese nationals and the diaspora to come and take over the business of running the country.”

During Faye’s speech, he announced the launch of a new program allowing every Senegalese to apply for public positions in competition or to propose projects and investment opportunities. He also mentioned the introduction of four bills on transparency and good governance, which will be submitted to the National Assembly.

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