[Guest Édito] Éloge de la... ''Jacadémitude'' (par Ousseynou Nar Gueye)
JACQUELINE FATIMA BOCOUM: a prominent figure in the Senegalese media and an iconic mentor of leadership (By Ousseynou Nar Gueye)
Jacqueline Fatima Bocoum emerged this Thursday, February 12, 2026, from a dynamic two-day training session for 130 young men and women, aged 18 to 30, held at the ENA (National School of Administration). The session included several masterclasses, notably those I had the pleasure of attending, led by a State Inspector General, the current Governor of Saint-Louis, the Grand Chancellor of the National Order of the Lion, and the Director General of the National Civic Service. All delivered captivating presentations, followed by warm and interactive discussions with the audience. This gives you an idea of the caliber of the speakers.
This continuing education course, offered by Jacadémie, an organization specializing in leadership development and public speaking (founded by Jacqueline Fatima), focused on respect for the institutions and symbols of the Republic. As has often been the case in recent years, Jacadémie continues to offer these free continuing education courses, now in their umpteenth edition, with unwavering determination, a commitment to the Republic, and the support of goodwill from citizens.
By thus giving back to the Nation, Jacqueline is only following in the footsteps of her late father, who was Prefect of the Republic, successively posted in several localities of Senegal, including Bambey, Foundiougne, Rufisque, Tivaouane…
The duty of friendship: "Let us love each other while we are alive"
The tribute I feel compelled to pay him here, a "duty of friendship," has been brewing within me for a long time. Then, a few weeks ago, the decision to do so finally blossomed, becoming an urgent and undeniable duty that I had to fulfill, without false modesty. This came after Jacqueline Fatima herself paid a vibrant and moving tribute to her friend, a friend of Senegal, where he has resided for over a quarter of a century; the land of Teranga, where he has "founded a family" and where he wishes to be buried (one day, God willing), the former officer Jean Martin Jampy, founder and current CEO of Teranga Securities Operations (TSO) and Teranga Airport Security (TSA), here in Dakar. "Friendship, like love, are the only two things that grow when shared." "Learn, earn, and then return." Let us love one another while we live.
Alongside her civic engagement and commitment to Senegalese youth and women's organizations, which she also empowers (she is a patron of the "CADET" association for young people seeking leadership and excellence, and she also helps impactful women in certain Dakar neighborhoods to fight for the well-being of their communities), Jacqueline has supported several Directors General of APIX for the past 17 years, including the current and dynamic Bakary Sega Bathily, for whom she serves as Special Advisor, alongside her colleague J.Mb. She does so with professionalism, naturalness, tact, and efficiency. In this position at our public agency in charge of major projects and investment promotion, she has had the pleasure of mentoring numerous communication experts, several of whom have since become Directors of Communication in public and private agencies and companies, excelling in their roles just like their mentor. One of them warmly testifies: “Jacqueline taught me the tools of institutional communication and, above all, the meaning of participatory management.” Let's be clear: Jacqueline is generous in sharing her expertise, imparting soft skills through her own exemplary conduct and her unique emotional intelligence, mashallah. She coaches public speaking and oratory skills to individuals one would hardly imagine, and whose names are strictly confidential.
An exceptional speaker and a great digital writer
In her verbal expression, she possesses unparalleled oratorical mastery. The woman who was the emblematic voice of Sud FM and also the Director General of “Radio Nostalgie,” before becoming the very first female media mogul in Senegal with the Com7 Group, knows how to effortlessly captivate her diverse audiences, with non-verbal communication equally adept at sparking engagement and connection with her listeners. The power of conviction through sheer force of will: that is JFB.
Naturally adept at producing original aphorisms and quotes on various societal themes—words immediately adopted as adages by her readers—she has captivated a community of enthusiastic Twitter users on the platform now known as X:JFB, three letters that have become a recognized hashtag, celebrated when she was named one of the 100 African influencers on female and intergenerational leadership in 2023. Before, and for quite some time now, she has dedicated herself, with what appears to be a genuine pleasure in writing, to promoting Senegalese women on her LinkedIn network on an almost daily basis. These 360° portraits surprise their subjects and generate numerous positive reactions from her network and many shares of the posts. Beautiful sketches of women who make us all proud, because they are all "Invisible Giants", as Changemaker Coumba Touré, writer, storyteller and female leader, calls them.
The fountain of youth
"Woman is the future of man," said the poet René Char. Let me paraphrase him and say that "Jacqueline Fatima Bocoum is projecting the future of Senegalese women of the current young generation, aged between 20 and 35." What fountain of youth does she draw from? That remains a mystery. Or rather, "Mum's the word," to quote the title of the first of her two books, published by Editions Xamal in Saint-Louis, and whose official launch I had the pleasure and privilege of attending, in the presence of her first mentor, the late Babacar Touré of Groupe Sud Communication, followed affectionately by her father, Souleymane Nasser Niane, on a certain Friday some years ago.
Jacqueline was my Managing Director when I was at the helm of Tract, a tabloid daily belonging to the COM7 Press Group, for two years at the beginning of this millennium. Whenever the opportunity arises, I always find intellectual delight in working on a project with her, when she trusts me and is kind enough to include me in the discussion. She firmly believes in family values and also in friendship: "friends, that family whose members choose each other."
A year 2026 marked by consecration
A Knight of the National Order of the Lion, married to H., she is the mother of twins, a girl and a boy, who have just begun their university studies. She remains young at heart while being a wellspring of wisdom in both word and deed. The release of her next book, "Souadou or the Price to Pay," is expected this year, focusing on the social challenges facing women in our time. It promises to be a busy year, with a Strategic Leadership and Community Impact Award to be presented to her in September at the prestigious Africa Stars Gala 2025-2026 in Congo. This award will be preceded in June by her being named honorary patron of the Senégalias Entrepreneurs Fair in Brussels. Then, she will be selected to participate in the Japan-Africa Women in Business & Investment Forum 2026, from October 23 to 25, 2026. A full schedule indeed, need we say more? Kaar, Kaar, Machallah ... None of these tributes are too much for Jacqueline Fatima, godmother of Franco-Arab schools in the suburbs, member of a pan-African NGO (Agro Bio Vision) and who will organize training sessions in the regions in a few weeks.
A laugh that defies time
The most cherished memory I have of her is our work meeting in Youssou Ndour's office in Almadies in 2000. He was a shareholder in Com 7, and a few days later he appointed her head of this media group, then the most powerful in Senegal (350 employees, seven publications). And me, bursting into that office on that Sunday, our day off. We shared bursts of laughter and expressions of joy at realizing how well we knew each other. She was wearing a beautiful red dress. She still has that infectious, radiant laughter that crinkles her bright eyes and reveals her beautiful teeth—eyes she undoubtedly inherited from her mother. Speaking of the wonderful woman who gave her life, Jacqueline Fatima was named after the wife of a minister in our Republic at independence, who was himself the closest friend of JFB's brilliant father.
She retains what constitutes eternal youth: the incandescent spirit. However, for that famous Sunday of work in Almadies, I no longer remember what I was wearing. Nor what the one and only King of Mbalakh was wearing. I'm probably getting old. But nostalgia is always what it is. As Radio Nostalgie aptly put it in its slogan back then, under the guidance of my dear Paul Saviote: "Always copied, never equaled."
May Allah grant us long life, so that we may be here to agree upon this wager on the future and excellence. Amen.
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