Radio and TV personality Bouba Ndour has warned that Senegal is heading towards what could become a major institutional and economic crisis following the dismissal of Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and escalating tensions within the country’s top leadership.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Monday, Ndour said the political fallout between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his former ally Sonko marks a dangerous turning point for the West African nation, with economic instability and constitutional uncertainty already taking shape.
He cautioned that the country could be entering a period of prolonged instability driven by political rivalry, institutional breakdown, and worsening economic conditions.
“Well, hello, thank you. Well, that’s a question that everybody’s asking. Where do we go from here? This is totally something unexpected from the Senegalese population. After two years in power, they’re already fighting for a potential second term. Who’s going to run? I think it’s the basis of this whole crisis.”
Ndour said the dismissal of the prime minister and the subsequent political manoeuvring signalled deeper instability at the heart of government.
“And now that the president has fired the prime minister, he wants to head to the parliament and lead it.
“So we are heading also for a major institutional crisis that’s going to lead this country into an unstable future, knowing that as I’m talking to you, we are going to a major economic crisis, where basically all sectors of this country are suffering from the laying off of a lot of employees, the real estate is down, the economy is very uncertain.
“All the major economic partners already have actually stopped helping this country. So this is the future of this country, as I’m talking to you, it’s very uncertain.”
Addressing the disagreement over IMF-related economic reforms and fuel subsidy policies, Ndour dismissed suggestions that international financial institutions were at the centre of the political rift, instead pointing to personal ambition.
“Actually, I don’t think IMF is the source of this whole problem. I really personally think that this is really because of their political ambition. Both of them, actually, they’re all looking for 2029. Although he speaks about IMF a lot, I don’t think Sonko will say no to IMF. This country badly needs that.”
He argued that the political crisis is driven more by rivalry within the ruling movement than by ideological or economic disagreements.
“So I think this parliament stands, from what I know, for what Sonko wants. And I don’t think this has to do with subsidising fuel or anything. This is strictly personal and political ambitions for 2029. Anything else is just a diversion.
“But I think we’re heading for some crazy situations. And nobody really knows what’s going to happen. We don’t even know if this Sonko trying to leave the parliament will go to, according to a lot of experts, there are problems already existing that will maybe not allow him to return to the parliament as a parliamentarian.”
On public sentiment and whether Senegal’s youthful revolutionary movement has failed to meet expectations, Ndour offered a stark assessment.
“Well, on a personal view, I would say definitely, yes. You know, the hopes were so high with these guys coming into power.
“Everybody knows what happened and how they, you know, basically, 10 days, they needed 10 days to go from a jail cell to the power. So this is, people feel like the populations, they’ve done what they were supposed to do, and they were expecting in record times, you know, the changes that were promised by this PASTEF project.
“Because as we remember, they never portrayed this political party as a personal party where you have to follow one leader. They had an idea and a project and they sold it to the populations.”
He added that public frustration is deepening amid worsening socio-economic conditions and unmet expectations.
“And people died. 90 people died for them to come to power. They moved, you know, they fought for these guys to come. And now, two years later, we’re having, even if they were not fighting, because up to last week, one of them was president, the other was prime minister. We are going to major problems.
“So, of course, disappointment is huge. Like I say, the hopes were so high that now people are even kind of embarrassed to acknowledge the situation. But in reality, yeah, people are going through problems.
“And I think if they don’t really do something about it, it could really go against them because this cannot keep going. And people would just like be giving them time to just do what they want. Because like I said, they promised changes in record time.”
Looking ahead, Ndour warned that Senegal’s polarised political environment could spiral further, with the judiciary potentially forced to intervene in disputes over parliamentary leadership and constitutional authority.
“Well, let’s put it this way. I think the president’s responsibility is to make sure that all the laws are respected. It’s not because you have majority at the assembly that you can force and do exactly what you want.
“So, at the end of the day, maybe the constitutional court will step in and rule for or against this whole idea of Sonko becoming the president of the parliament.
“personal ambitions is taking over like, you know, the rule of law and people cannot accept it. And I think at one point, the president’s responsibility is to make sure that the laws are respected.”
He concluded with a stark warning about the country’s political future.
“Now, they’re going to push for sure what is to happen. Then, I think at the end of the day, it will be up to the president to let it go or to maybe try to find ways to clarify this whole situation and tell us, you know, where to go from here. But something is for sure, if Sonko becomes the president of the parliament, welcome to the biggest institutional crisis that this country has ever faced.”
Boluwatife Enome
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