Madiambal Diagne : La presse, le pouvoir et le pognon
In the Senegalese media sphere, he has carved out an undeniable niche for himself: press magnate, columnist, and even analyst at times, notably during certain speeches by the head of state. Throughout a career spanning more than twenty years, Madiambal Diagne has done the best and worst with the press. He informs, vilifies, and denounces certain unethical practices. But he also engages in personal attacks, as evidenced by the case of Abdoul Mbaye, former Prime Minister.
In fact, no one escapes his sometimes venomous pen. Political figures (opposition as well as the presidential majority); religious figures, high-ranking state officials, and even his colleagues. Everyone is served through his weekly column called "Les lundis de Madiambal," published in his newspaper, Le Quotidien.
"Madiambal's Mondays"
It was this column that first got him talked about on June 6. This time, it was about the land disputes on the Dakar coast that are currently shaking the country. In his text entitled: "Finally, they did worse than the Wades with our lands," Madiambal harshly attacks President Macky Sall and his government.
"It is clear that the nightmare continues, that the government, after less than a year of managing public affairs, is making a negative impression with unorthodox practices," he wrote.
However, since the arrival in power of the leader of the Alliance for the Republic (APR), Madiambal Diagne has made a clear transformation to become a journalist and supporter of the Benno regime. Like many opponents and members of civil society in the 2010s, he has allied himself with the current regime, its leader in particular.
Madiambal Diagne had set himself up as the President's shield. All the personalities who dared to question Macky's "sober and virtuous" management were met with incendiary responses from him. It is certainly not anecdotal that the "journalist" served as moderator during the presentation of Macky Sall's book "Senegal at Heart," published a few months before the 2019 presidential election. Rather, it is a perfect illustration of their closeness.
Commitment at the cost of Freedom
But suddenly and surprisingly, Madiambal dons his fighter's tunic to join the "maquis." He thus discovers the "dark and vicious" side of the governance of Wade's successor. This about-face intrigues more than one. The person concerned justifies himself: "I am embarking on this adventure with a single challenge: to inform readers everything for a peaceful and viable progress of our Republic. This requirement for transparency, fidelity to reality, and concern for the public interest has always been the hallmark of this title."
Arguments that don't convince. Some who have known him associate his attitude with his impulsive nature. "He has very impulsive reactions, sometimes on both sides, both negative and positive reactions dictated solely by emotion. He analyzes after the fact. He's someone who can be stung on the spot," says one of his acquaintances.
For Yakham Mbaye, a Macky Sall loyalist, "it is more appropriate to question the morality of this moralizer, who on Monday publicly defamed the one he claims to be his friend. On Tuesday, he rushed to his office and left to go on TV to give a speech that was the opposite of the one he gave the day before. To say that this person is a weather vane is to show great kindness."
In fact, the man loves being in the spotlight. Revealed to the general public in the aftermath of the first change of government in 2000, Madiambal Diagne was then seen as a sentinel of good governance, driven by his newspaper Le Quotidien. His revelations about the "mismanagement" of the liberal regime earned him the antipathy of Wade's government. He paid for his journalistic commitment with an 18-day prison sentence in 2004 for "disseminating secret correspondence and reports."
Moussa Sarr
He will emerge from jail a hero. His time in prison increases his notoriety and strengthens his newspaper until Wade's fall. But since 2012, his positions have continued to waver. The man becomes versatile. Sometimes he marches for the State, sometimes he makes surprising outings under the noses of his "friends."
In fact, for a long time, Madiambal Diagne has been hiding his game and still has a lot to say about his life. He doesn't like to talk about himself. Contacted by Seneweb for this article, the man declined. "In reality, his real name is Madiambala Bâ Diagne," whispers one of his old acquaintances. Aged around sixty, he is originally from Pékesse, a rural community located in the Tivaouane department in the Thiès region.
A graduate of the prestigious Judicial Training Center (Cfj), the former clerk did not have a long career in this Senegalese legal profession. He was expelled in the early 1990s. Moreover, his expulsion still causes a stir. Some argue that he was involved in dubious practices. This sanction will undoubtedly be the source of a "visceral hatred" Madiambal harbors toward state representatives.
This is how the former clerk became a journalist. He took his first steps in the profession at Wal Fadjri L'Aurore, which became Walf Quotidien. His openness and writing style did not go unnoticed. The man who goes by the pseudonym Moussa Sarr attracted the attention of the authorities.
Rise and fall of the Avenir Communication Group
This writing enthusiast would build a reputation in the press, eventually creating his own press group. Indeed, after his removal from the register, the former clerk, who freelanced at Walf, also had a job at an NGO with American funding. But a dispute with the NGO forced him to take legal action. An amicable settlement was reached, and the NGO decided to compensate him.
It was with this money that he purchased land in the Djily Mbaye housing project. Part of it was used to build his house, the other part as rental apartments. When he achieved financial stability, he founded the Avenir Communication project. A carefully considered project. One of his former colleagues points out that an expert told him he had "never seen such a well-thought-out project."
In fact, the newspaper Le Quotidien was launched on February 24, 2003. To avoid his employees struggling at the end of the month, Madiambal froze their salaries until September. He began the adventure with a group of talented young journalists such as Pape Samba Diarra, former editor of L'Observateur, Babacar Diop, Mamadou Biaye, Soro Diop, Aminatou Mouhamed Diop, to name a few. The newspaper was a success from its first issues.
A few years later, Madiambal Diagne applied for funding from a foundation. According to some of his close friends, he explained that it was a foundation whose funding, open to all, only benefited English-speaking media. He then decided to try his luck. This is how he established Week-end Magazine on March 15, 2007, and the radio station Première Fm as well as the newspaper Kokoriko.
But his plan to create a radio station was blocked by the liberal regime, which had refused him a frequency. Despite this, he managed to get around the obstacle by partnering with someone who already had a frequency. But on the day of the launch in February 2007, the gendarmerie arrived and seized the equipment. It wasn't until September of that same year that he began broadcasting.
The radio station would soon fizzle out. Relations between Diagne and the NGO that funded it would lead to a lawsuit due to numerous payment delays.
Machiavellian manager
In his early days in the press, Madiambal exuded integrity and rigor. He didn't hesitate to dismiss some of his employees over issues related to ethics and professional conduct. He sometimes even dismissed employees over financial matters.
Little by little, the man is changing. For incomprehensible reasons and in an inelegant manner, Madiambal has dismissed many of his colleagues who were the brains behind his group. This is the case of the daily's former Director of Publication, Mamadou Biaye, the Editor-in-Chief, Aminatou Mouhamed Diop, and the head of the political desk, Soro Samba Diop. He has also, in a similar manner, parted ways with some of his employees at Wenk-end Magazine.
In fact, to get closer to Macky Sall's regime, Madiambal was prepared to liquidate anything that stood in his way. And the three former pillars of the newspaper Le Quotidien were considered an obstacle to achieving this goal. This rapprochement would also negatively impact the image of his newspaper, which was considered, rightly or wrongly, as a shilling in the pay of the government.
Dark-skinned, with the height and build of an NBA center, the big-headed man with a skull always in a ball-zero mood was well on his way to becoming a successful business leader. But Madiambal ended up confusing business with family. He managed the press group like his home. This is evidenced by the management of the equipment. "Sometimes, his family takes priority over reporting. The driver takes his sons to school in the editorial vehicle while the reporters wait," says a former Quotidien employee.
As for financial matters, no one had the slightest idea, including those who ran the newspaper or the magazine. Making ends meet was becoming increasingly difficult. ''There were sometimes huge salary delays. And when they asked him to pay with his own resources, he would say, "We don't mix up the accounts," even though he sometimes went to the newsagents to collect money."
A very difficult interlude, especially at the end of the liberal regime and the beginning of Macky Sall's power (2011-2013). "When my mother asked me if I had received my salary, I told her that I am paid on the 52nd of the month," recalls a former reporter with great humor.
A "greedy" businessman
In addition to his status as a media boss, the president of the French-speaking Press Union (since 2014) now holds a small fortune. This is evidenced by Yaxam Mbaye's response to Diagne's statement on land. "Between Niaga Peulh, Bambilor, Toubab Dialaw, Ouakam, Ngor, Almadie, and Grand-Dakar, he sits on 59,000 square meters, or, if you prefer, 5.9 hectares. In Ouakam, he has 1,546 square meters divided into four plots of land measuring 164, 180, 204, and 998 square meters. This is the equivalent of the surface area of ten houses," reports Yakham Mbaye, Managing Director of Le Soleil.
Ouakam, precisely! Today, Madiambal Diagne's former collaborators are wondering if the man has not fooled them. Indeed, according to officials, Madiambal Diagne gathered them one day to tell them that the group should have a headquarters. A request was written for a site in Ouakam. Sources had told his former collaborators at the time that they had been allocated land in this area, but Madiambal had led them to believe that the request had not been successful. It is only with Yakham Mbaye's revelations that many of them are wondering if their former boss has not diverted the land for personal gain.
In fact, in recent years, Madiambal has come to resemble a true businessman more than a media tycoon. Some decry him as a greedy businessman who ignores certain ethical rules in favor of his personal interests. We recall the 200 million dollar affair that pitted him against Thierno Lô, a former minister under Wade.
"Margouillat"
Today, the man whom Baba Tandian, a perennial adversary, calls "Margouillat" thinks much more about other, more lucrative activities than his press organ. Moreover, he was the chairman of the board of directors of the Yavuz Sélim school, whose closure, demanded of Macky by Erdogan, caused a lot of noise. With a triangular face and a rather rare smile that betrays perfect white teeth, the former clerk, now a former member of the Senegalese Investors Club, is also active in the transport and real estate sectors.
Despite everything, this gentleman, who looks like a common man with a rhythmic step, is described as a very sensitive person. "He has a disconcerting emotional response, he is very emotional, he has shed tears several times in front of his group's leaders. He can be devastated by bad news. But he is also very impulsive," says one of his acquaintances.
But the author of "Monday Madiambal" hasn't put down his pen yet. After spitting in the face of his "friends" in the presidential movement, he published another column entitled "Trust Pact with Macky Sall and the People." Fourfold proof that the man remains elusive. In short, a good chess player.
Author: Ousmane Dicko
Commentaires (30)
Je connais tres bien la famille du père de sa femme. Il a bien prié pour Sonko quand Macky l'avait fait arrêter injustement, ainsi que pour El Malick actuel président de l'assemblée nationale.
Il faut bien évidemment juger les crimes ou délits financiers commis sous l'ancien regime mais il faut le faire dans la justice sans sacrifier des femmes et des enfants de présumés auteurs. Nous avons au Senegal une société tres complexe, je connais personnellement le frère de cette femme arrêtée qui est un des cerveau de la communication de Pastef depuis 2018. Attention, attention, attention.
Se battre avec Madaimbal oui, il a cherché, il a provoqué et combattu le pastef par tous les moyens, mais arrêter sa famille pour satisfaire l'opinion publique, ou pour une toute autre commande, c'est non, non et non.
On comprend maintenant pourquoi il s’en prend au régime actuel
Il traînait des casseroles. Il a détourné nos derniers publics
Il s’est enfui à l’étranger lâchement en abandonnant Femme et enfants
C’est vraiment pitié de ce pays et des personnes qui ont gouverné ce pays avec des contre valeurs
Plein de fric, dépenses, jouissances festives, sexe, infidélités divorces et puis.... décès brusques ( crimes dans le milieu de la drogue), maladies, déchéance puis... pauvreté en phase terminale de vie et plus Tard l'enfer sous terre d'abord et plus tard ( faut pas rêver comme dans la bonne vieille chanson française " nous irons tous au Paradis" ).
Il y a juste deux éléments dont il faut se rappeler, éléments que les médias ne rappelleront pas: Madiambal, Latif Coulibaly, S. Jules Diop, n'ont jamais migré, ou transhumé vers Macky Sall. C'est Macky qui a été débauché du PDS pour les rejoindre. Et eux, ils ont été mis à sa disposition pour s'occuper de sa peinture. Cette peinture est absolument obligatoire pour que Macky puisse vivre au Sénégal et œuvrer pour la France. Les Madiambal, Latif et Jules Diop, étaient déjà les éléments d'un poste avancé de la France au Sénégal. Avant que Macky soit débauché, le poste avancé de la France avait reçu consignes de soutenir Idrissa Seck.
NB: J'ai déjà fait plusieurs textes avec des preuves de cela depuis 2012. On peut facilement les retrouver sur le net.
Ils ont fait la même chose avec Mansour Faye que les journalistes et chroniqueurs alimentaires de Pasteef ont accusé d'avoir détourné 1500 milliards avant que leur machine judiciaire entre en jeu pour le jeter en prison sur du mensonge.
La libération de Mansour Faye a surpris tous les moutons de Pasteef qui croyaient en ce que leurs journalistes et chroniqueurs payés pour détruire et mentir disaient de Mansour Faye alors que c'est des mensonges.
Madiambal Diagne quoiqu'on puisse dire de lui n'a jamais été accusé de viols répétitifs à Sweet Beauté comme votre demi-dieu.
Ces propos s’inscrivent dans un changement de ton significatif de la part de l’administration américaine. La semaine dernière, Donald Trump avait jugé que l’Ukraine pourrait « regagner son territoire dans sa forme originelle et peut-être même aller plus loin », après avoir assuré pendant des mois qu’elle devrait, au contraire, probablement céder des territoires.
Ces onze individus auraient été entraînés par un autre ressortissant serbe, « actuellement en fuite » et « agissant sous les instructions d’un service de renseignement étranger », ajoute le communiqué du ministère de l’intérieur.
Neuf têtes de porc, animal considéré comme impur par l’islam, avaient été découvertes au début de septembre devant des mosquées de la capitale française et de la région parisienne, suscitant des réactions indignées. A la fin d’avril, le Mémorial de la Shoah, trois synagogues et un restaurant avaient été aspergés de peinture verte à Paris – trois Serbes sont inculpés et écroués en France dans le cadre de cette enquête.
Attention il a intérêt à surveiller ses arrières car une balle perdue ou une chute accidentelle dans le métro parisien peut vite arriver. Le mec a donc intérêt à rentrer au Sénégal et à entrer en prison pour sa sécurité personnelle car les membres du clan sont menacés et ils sont sans pitié quand leurs intérêts sont menacés.
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