The BBC reports on protests as the Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade inaugurated his blasphemous idolatrous potentially personally lucrative 49m (160ft) bronze ‘Monument of African Renaissance’, costing $27million (£18million) and built by North Korean workers. Followed by a familiar distraction tactic.
In his address, Mr Wade solemnly declared that Senegal was formally assuming sovereignty over military bases that since decolonisation in 1960 have continued to house French army and air force personnel. The announcement appeared designed to boost national pride in a country that sees itself as shaking off the last vestiges of colonialism. In fact, France and Senegal reached an amicable agreement last February under which most of the 1,200 French military personnel based in Senegal would leave this year.
And a reminder of the background of the “designer” of the monument
[Abdoulaye Wade] studied [on a scholarship] at the lycée Condorcet in France. College at Besançon, France -doctorate in law and economics. Met his wife Viviane Vert there. Worked as a barrister in Besançon before returning to Senegal where he opened his own law firm and began teaching courses at the University of Dakar.
Subsequent professorial activities include econometrics research at Boston University, lecturing in the faculties of law and economics at Paris II, and consulting for the Organization of African Unity and the African Development Bank. Member of the Stockholm-based International Academy of Comparative Law. Awarded the French Legion of Honor.