The uncharted side of Senegal’s music world

Senegalese have an enduring proclivity for obsession. Whether it is sport, politics, music, or religion, Senegalese put their whole in whatever they get involved in. It makes it a somewhat knotty task to pinpoint a particular domineering passion for the people here, like you would soccer for Brazil, American football for the US, cricket for India, or rugby for South Africa.

But music is certainly not a diminutive part of daily life here. Every aspect of Senegalese life touches on it. In fact, one of the most fascinating thing you can find in wrestling, for instance, which appears to be doing well here, despite seemingly losing grounds in many other countries in the region, is the dancing part, where the competitor wrestler is escorted into the ring by his dancing bouncers - that part of it could get you mesmerizingly engrossed; it is really captivating. Such is the musical life of Senegalese.

And they have a lot to show for it.

For a country with a great respect for family cast system, dancing has evolved from being a cast base attribute to everyone’s domain. According to a renowned sociologist, as part of his doctoral thesis, recently at the University Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis in northern Senegal, ‘‘successes in music in Senegal have led to decastification of music.’’

‘‘52% of artists are singers from castes deemed noble, while 22% are actual griots, (traditionally regarded as poets, praise singers, and wandering musicians, considered a repository of oral tradition)’’ Dr Saliou Ndour stated.

Youssou Ndour, Baaba Maal, Ismaila Lo, Coumba Gawlo, among a host of a remarkably acclaimed line up of artists, represent Senegal’s finest.

Both Baaba Maal and Youssou Ndour have been in music for over two decades now. The duo constitutes a formidable artistic ambassadorial core, not only for their artistic ability in terms of the trade, but also the ability to have kept their role as the Senegalese they are while at the same time creating a niche for themselves at the global level.

Frederic Tendeng, a local journalist, blogger and well known political analyst, is familiar with the music scene in both Senegal and Gambia, where Youssou Ndour reportedly got part of his musical training under the Super Eagles, which dominated the music scene in the region in the early 70s. Tendeng argues that Youssou Ndour can be credited for the modern version of Mbalx, the most popular kind of Senegalese music, and he said that the man with the unofficial title of ‘King of Mbalax’ has been quick to realize the need to blend traditional instruments with modern ones. ‘‘This is also true for Baaba Maal,’’ he said, and ‘‘it is what gave the two an abiding edge over the multitude of musicians in the country.’’

Many musicians here seem caught up between an unfulfilled urge to transcend traditional style and to make a hybrid of traditional and foreign style. The result is a tragic attenuation in quality of many works, making true musical ambassadors in the region some sort of an endangered species. The problem has to do mainly with mode of approach.

There is also the social responsibility aspect, in which the two musicians have actually led by example.

‘‘Youssou Ndour is for our country, what Bob Marley is/was for Jamaica, Jimmy Hendrix and Michael Jackson for the United States. He is what Jonny Holiday is for France,’’ the acclaimed Senegalese musician was described recently in an editorial by a leading independent Dakar daily newspaper, xibar.net.

Youssou, as he is fondly referred to by many Senegalese, is not just the Bob Marley or Michael Jackson being referred to for his undisputedly captivating voice, nor is it just because of his popularity. In fact, it is mainly because of a combination of these and many more qualities, with a solemn show of responsibility to the society he believes made him what he is today. His involvement in humanitarian work is well noted given his ties to the UN and various other bodies both at home and abroad. Ndour is the owner of Senegal’s best selling newspaper, L'Observateur. He owns a popular radio station, recording studio, a music production company, a chain of night clubs, among various projects that include a TV station that only awaits signal, which is presently being held back thanks to some political interference by what is Senegal’s political dynasty, President Abdoulie Wade’s family.

Baaba Maal is no less a force of societal change. Winner of the 2008 Djembe award, Baaba Maal has a particular pan-Africanist appeal, and he makes no quietness about his wish ‘‘to restore the continent's history.’’ He is truly Senegal’s cultural ambassador both by way of the kind of message he sends and his appearance.

Unlike Youssou, Baaba Maal was born to a fishing family, representing that defying cultural line - a fisher man’s son, a musician. But today Maal’s people are surely proud of a son they really have. His annual "Festival les Blues du Fleuve" drives the message straight home.

"I think education is one of the most important gifts that we can send to the next generation, in order to pass to the next generation, because I believe that without education the next generation in Africa will not be able to understand what's going on in the whole world and how to go into it and how to exchange ideas, how to use the modern way of communicating to be part of the world. I think education is really, really a key to develop the mind and to develop the spirit and to be free for a lot of things," he was quoted saying recently, as part of an occasion that brought together a cross section of musicians from across the continent and beyond.

These two people aren’t Senegal’s only finest; there are many like them. But arguably they are unbeatable in this country.

The reality about their success story though doesn’t appear obvious to many here, who are mostly confined to ‘‘intellectual ghettos.’’

Bob Marley certainly wouldn’t have been the renowned star he was beyond the shores of Jamaica if he had not identified with the rest of the world; nor would Michael Jackson’s passing have attracted the level of attention it got globally if he had not carved himself a place in the heart of the world’s population.

This is unfortunately what many Senegalese today fail to realize. And the awareness deficiency is extremely prominent among artists, who appear resigned to competing at the local level than international. You don’t want to argue that you are aiming to go beyond Senegal when you can’t say a word in a single language that is spoken outside the region called Senegambia.

Wollof, which is spoken only within this region, is the predominant language in Senegal. It is such a perfect medium of artistic communication that it is seen as the only way of making a way into the highly competitive music industry here in this region. But although uncharted, there is general feeling that it is the only acceptable language in the music industry. While much fuss hasn’t been made openly about it, there is one or two reasons to believe that there are perturbed feelings towards this.

‘‘If you want to sing here, you have to note that here is Senegal. You must sing in Wollof,’’ a little known Senegalese drummer recently told a popular TV talk show, to a disappointingly rapturous applause from his accompanying fans.

That was widely believed to have been directed to an emerging star who sings in Bambara, a dialect popular in neighboring Mali. He is not by any means the only one who sings in a language different from Wollof; Baaba Maal sings predominantly in Pulaar. There are a few others who sings in Diola, Mandinka, etc.

There has hardly been any word of condemnation for that yet, and there probably never will be. But the underlying fact remains that this unspoken reality here holds sway the development of music in a wider section of this enormously rich Senegalese society.

Interestingly, unlike the tribalistic drummer, whose popularity doubtfully extends to a greater section of the country, the Bambara singer is a near household name in not only Senegal but as far as neighboring Gambia. And there is every reason to believe that he would do equally well in Mali. However, there are very many equally potentially talented people like him who can’t manage to make their way up there because of these largely uncharted issues about Senegal’s music world.

Gambia: Caught red-handed

Gambia might not be the only country whose rights situation was reviewed in Geneva recently, at the 7^th session of the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR), but thanks to a largely unfavorable press and an unhelpful attitude of indifference on the part of the leadership to the media attention it gets, the country’s highly debatable human rights record remained prominently in focus. Even countries with equally moot reputation had the courage to preach, cautiously though, to the government of the ‘Smiling Coast’ about the need for a free society.

Perhaps the only country in the world that appears to closely rival Gambia in terms of this attitude of pretence of coldness towards external criticism is Eritrea, another highly isolated nation. This, however, does not mean these are the only countries on this continent which are mostly wanting in their responsibilities towards ensuring free society. There is Ethiopia which, shamefully, happens to be de factor capital of the feeble African Union. There is also big brother Kenya; needless to mention Libya. And the list goes on and on and on.

The situation under which any society operates is influenced mainly by the prevailing laws. Amply convincing evidence abound, the world over, to show that under hash prevailing circumstances people are bound to adjust to ensure that life goes on.

Politics wise, repressive moves by droopy governments have always galvanized strong-minded and purposeful societies to resist unfair domination. We have seen it in many countries, communist China being a perfect example, where, for instance, citizen journalism has provided salvation for an oppressed people. China’s protégé, communist Cuba, is another perfect example where the power of online journalism has provided opportunity for much needed divergent views to be heard. There is also Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, etc.

What prevails in these above mentioned nations is no different from what is going on in many African countries today, Gambia very much included. And therefore you would expect no different response from any of the people concerned.

And it was the honorable Justice Minister Marie Saine Firdaus who had the unpalatable task of defending the human rights record of The Gambia! In a sense that is supposed to be a humbling assignment, but certainly not when you are up for such a huge global hostility as it became obvious for Gambia even as delegates headed for Geneva. From the look of things, the experience can be liken to that of a minor who is caught red-handed in a punishable act, and the only way out is to flirt with irrelevant obvious available excuses. The Justice Minister clearly blatantly ignored reason and patched up all sorts of unwitty excuses for the actions reportedly meted out to Gambians under her government’s watch. For an emissary of Yahya Jammeh who wants to keep their job, you will obviously have to do nothing less. Present rumor though doesn’t suggest a good performance of the Justice Minister.

Marie’s denial of the well documented human rights issues the Gambia government stands long accused of is not the issue here, the fact that she appeared to blame it all on ‘‘irresponsibility’’ on the part of the independent press is.

Now, this is where the problem about today’s Gambia lies.

There has been too much ruckus about the manner in which the Gambian media operates today, yet very few people appear concerned about the events leading to the current situation. If the Gambian media has disregarded the rule of engagement it is because the government itself, which now operates more or less on the principle of gangsterism, has thrown the very laws it made into the trash bin.

A heinously misguided anti-independent media policy engineered by devious elements within the early July 22^nd ‘Revolutionaries’, many of whom today hide behind pro-democracy organizations abroad, after fallen victims of their own perpetration, unfortunately remains a reality up to this day. And every indication are that this situation is likely to remain until there is a total sluice of the system. This might well mean total regime change. How the latter is attained remains an exclusive decision for the Gambian people, and none else.

Today, a purely independent media operates only outside the Gambia. And, as a matter of fact, this part of the Gambian press has been largely guilty of foul play only in light of its reporting of mishaps in government. The Gambian press appears to be guilty only when it report a witch hunting spree headed by members of the presidential brigade at the behest of the president, or when it reports political interference in the judicial process of the country, or when it reports unlawful arrests, extra judicial killings, unfair treatment of voiceless opponents of the regime.

The Gambia government’s accusation that journalists deliberately engage in sensational reporting only accentuates its guilt of thoughtlessness, for it clearly doesn’t appear to see that it is partly responsible for the prevailing situation.

Minister Firdaus cited the Gambia’s 1997 Constitution, which indeed guarantees free speech and free flow of information, to defend the government’s commitment to those ideals. But it is a well noted fact that the problem of Africa’s democracy is not necessarily constitutional deficiencies; it is mainly the culture of manifest disregard for constitutions. What is the essence of putting clauses in the constitution when they do not hold in reality? What is the essence of one thousand media outfits if they are not free to operate within the limit of their constitutionally guaranteed rights anyway?

And to attribute ‘‘false and defamatory’’ reporting to lack of training on the part of journalists tantamount to self indictment for any responsible government which is committed to its democratic responsibilities. It is a shame that the Gambia government would say so, when it has done all it can to choke any effort to strengthen the press, which include frustrating efforts to creating opportunity for training.

Justice Minister Marie Saine Fredaus’denial of Yahya Jammeh’s widely documented alleged pronouncement of the death penalty for human rights defenders also explains her and her government’s bigotry and lack of respect for the free flow of information aspect of the Gambian Constitution, contrary to what she claimed in her report.

In a free society, the first thing the citizens would have expected was official refutation of allegations of such magnitude. But that is not Yahya Jammeh’s Gambia. He feels so condescending that he would not respond; he simply doesn’t care about what the [Gambian] people think. Isn’t that itself a clear indication of the kind of man that is ruling the Gambia? Doesn’t it give an idea about the kind of ‘democracy’ Gambians are enjoying?

So how the independent press in Gambia can be responsible for all this remains unanswered.

How the independent press could provoke the callous acts that resulted in the killing of soldiers alleged to have attempted to remove a government that itself usurped power by the barrel of the gun only God knows; how the independent press could be responsible for the merciless and murderous act of killing dozens of innocent school children who were exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights, demanding justice for the killing of their colleague by demonstrating is also a question worth answering by the Gambian authorities.

Was it also irresponsibility on the part of the independent media when the government that resulted from the illegal military regime unsuccessfully attempted to stifle the press with the introduction of the National Media Commission Bill, 1999 ("NMCB, 1999")? And how does the subsequent murdering of the man who championed the successful fight against that destructive bill, Dayda Hydara, has to do with the ‘‘irresponsibility’’ of the independent media in Gambia?

What about the missing journalist, Chief Ebrima Manneh – could he have been engaged in what the government call irresponsible journalism to warrant his arrest and continued detention? And also the opposition UDP supporter, Kanyiba Kanyi - was his kidnapping by armed men the fault of untrained journalists? The ‘witches’ who had witch hunters set upon them, under the watch of Yahya Jammeh’s presidential guards, did that have anything to do with irresponsibility or lack of training on the part of the Gambian media? When the six journalists where arrested was it because of unprofessionalism or the uncanny and irresponsible remark by the president against someone whose death this very government of his virtually stands accused of?

Basically, the focus has always been on the Gambian media because it provides the strongest of challenges to the remaining of Yahya Jammeh’s dwindling influence by revealing the excesses of his government.

When the political opposition in the country showed tangible signs of effectiveness in the embryonic days of the ‘July 22^nd Junta’, Lt., later Capt., and then Rt. Col. Yahya Jammeh’s rhetoric used to be directed to ‘unpatriotic groups’ who did not aim well for the country. The unsuspecting Gambian population quickly bought into that, as it were. The result is that even though they were and are still a minority, those who viewed Gambian opposition as enemy, with the aid of the APRC dominated media at the time, succeeded in wrongly portraying a majority view. Coupled with the effect of the internal damage caused by infiltrating destructive elements within the opposition, the likes of Lamin Waa Juwara, as his eventual switch in allegiance suggests, the opposition lost its essence. This left the baton in the hands of the independent media. At least that is what it appeared to be as the government directed every bit of its energy towards undoing the free press, which was clearly the only remaining means for Gambians who shared a divergent view to express themselves. No wonder the Gambian media has become the perceived ‘enemy’ of the Gambian [Yahya Jammeh’s] people.

When a people are confronted by the woes of a government that is on record disregarding the rules it laid down, itself, the only way out of such mess is by ignoring those very rules, because they obviously do not count. That is the situation in Gambia today, and it is the principle by which the truly independent Gambian media, which only exists outside the country, operates.

Just for the record

Make no mistake; Yahya Jammeh very well cares about what the international community feels about his record, contrary to the message his speeches tend to convey. And this explains his attitude towards the independent press which doesn’t appear to be an admirer of his style of governance. Yahya Jammeh also believes in the power of the media in shaping the minds of the masses, and he has made sure of using it much to his advantage. This is a fact the present disorientated opposition doesn’t seem to realize.

I am speaking out of experience. Jammeh detests seeing images of Gambian opposition figures on newspapers, and he has made sure of this, at least, with regards to the state controlled media. You are sure of seeing images of opposition figures on either the Daily Observer or GRTS only when there are bad things to report about them. Jammeh himself make sure of this.

The press, after all, can be fair, depending on the person judging. That is if it toes their line.