Gainako Newspaper

Even as a sculptor of words, I struggled to cast the man in a single
sentence with destructive force: artistic, original, concise yet comprehensive.

But then, I realised, I was looking at a star beaming light too much for the
eyes to handle. The assignment will therefore change from the ''definition
of a man'' to the ''definition of a phenomenon''. Am talking about Youssou
Ndour, this grandson of Siray and the Yasinmars; hey, the most articulate
bard of Africa, please stand!

Note it from today, from this article. There are five branches to the Youssou
Ndour tree, just as there are five derivatives from the word Youssou.
Follow me:

1. Youssou The Pioneer
Before the Super Etoile of 1979. there was the Super Etoile of 1959. It was in that year that light
struck Medina Dakar, on the nostrils of the Atlantic Ocean. And it swung its laser beams with force
and reach never before registered from the people of Senegambia, communicating in the language
called Wolof, and dancing to the musical billed Mbalax. The man has arrived, definitely! Eyeing the
question again: What exactly is so trailblazing about this man so as to qualify him--among others.--as a
proud refection of a whole continent and its people.

In the beginning
Halis neeh nah, chapacholy, tap your feet and start the journey. Am actually rewinding you to the
beginning of the 80s when here-- in Senegambia --all that was 'cool' about music was Reggae, Pop,
R&B, Rock and Roll, and anything else invented elsewhere, but definitely not Mbalax, also known as
Ndaga.

Back then, it was common to brand Ndaga fans Gorrgigain (woman-like) as if mbalax was
purposefully meant for women. That invites the question: was the music texture feminine?

The twisted belief ran deeper than labels and name callings. It had something to do with a seriously
distorted thought that was disturbing and pitiful all at once. For the crime men Ndaga fans committed
was no other than falling in love with a music genre locally invented and driven.

Admitted or not, someone, something has made many people believe that in order to be sophisticated
, enlightened or civilized one has to embrace a music type manufactured from other parts of the world,
because whatever is home-grown is inherently inferior, uncultured, unworthy of celebration.

The nature and size of that ignorance was sickening. But it did not last long. For it was at the height of
that self-imposed shame, powered by sheer nonsense, that light bolted from the person of Youssou
Magigain Ndour. He became the gentleman who shattered every molecule of that notion till the bald
face lie about our inability to create anything worthy of pride, was exposed and buried.

Youssou Ndour is not the inventor of mbalax, certainly. What he did, however, that nobody else has
done-and will ever have the chance of doing - is that he became the first person to almost single
handedly lift mbalax from the shadows of nowhere onto the international stage and sold it platinum!
Mbalax, today, is popular and accepted by millions of people to whom it sounds like Chinese (but still
ok.). Yet, no matter how trendy, how fast and big it grows, there is a place exclusively for Youssou,
and Youssou only. This is because he is Mbalax's lexicographer. Youssou architectured the words
that have come to form the Mbalax lexicon.

Closely linked with his pioneering feat, is his rescue beat. This is the man who picked up, retinkered,
and re-invented what was thrown and about to be buried, and by that single stroke of faith , saved a
critical component of a whole people's culture from extinction. In a sense, therefore, Youssou did not
pick up gold from the dustbin; instead, he made gold from trash.

Youssou The Artist
Never before has much power, wealth, pride, prestige and inspiration poured from the canal of
African music as it did since the coming of Youssou with a microphone on one hand, and Afro-Cuban
improvisation on the other. He tumbled the bombs-one smashing album after the other -from 1979
to-date. The world paused to listen, for the music was not only refreshing to the soul, but it was also
wrapped in a melody and magic impossible to ignore.

In the formative years were the songs steep in folklore and praise singing so characteristic of
Senegambian griot music. That soon gave way to historical reconstruction, which also, in recent years,
matured into the generally sophisticated ballads, rich in thought and instrumentation.

Being the innovative artist he is, Youssou continuously managed to splash-in between the
ages-remakes or remixes that exploded in the charts just as loud as brand new songs. For over 25
yrs, Youssou's music flamed, delighted fans, and smashed charts with incredible consistency. The
ebbs and tides, comings and goings, ups and downs, they say, is the nature of business, the flow of
life.

But if Michael Jordan has broken the law gravity by walking on air, Youssou Ndour has defied the
order of micro-gravity by refusing to float under weightlessness. Put simply, this is the artist who
refused to go! Or relent in his success!

Through the muscle of his will or natural course of events, he declined to admit into into his career a
pause, much less a slip, in effect, slapping the rule of ying and yang (two sides to every coin) on the
face.

An eloquent African tenor voice has switched on daylight and arrested the earth on its axis, practically
denying the night entry. Anyhow you look at it there is something in Youssou Ndour, it seems, that's
so thick and tough. It refuses to bend, let alone break.

That assumption, by extension, presupposes that the man is just different or bears certain attributes
that differentiate him from other artists. From the Beatles to Bob Marley, Mariama Kebba to Elvis
Presley, Michael Jackson to 50 Cent, the world abounds with incredible voice range, tall in fame and
fortune.

There also are the prolific and multi-talented, in the likes of Baby face (Kenny Edmonds), Quincy
Jones. Phil Collins, Prince and Salif Keita, to name a few. Even closer home, one is awakened by the
wisdom spinning in Chon Secka's music or poetry in beginners such as Abdu Gitteh Secka, and
originality in traditionalists such as the versatile Gambian Maestro, Jaliba Kuyateh.

All these world-famous artists possess, in varying degrees, different strengths, but nonetheless,
arguably talented artists in their own fields. Most have the advantage of language (singing in an
international language like English) or Location (coming out of the West) or both.

Now, despite all their extraordinary abilities, one is hard-pressed to think of an internationally famous
artist who has maintained a number one position in his/her area for more than a quarter century. So,
Youssou the artist, is not merely an artist, but one with a record that's either already good for the
Guiness Book Of Records or on the verge of completing that Guiness-book-bound journey. And it
shall crest there.

Youssou The Pacesetter
The twin engines that propelled African music and Dance in the twin giants -Congo DRC and
Nigeria-have either broken down or don't simply hum with the noise they used to. The roaring rhythms
now call home elsewhere. It's Senegal.

Here they gestate, and the growth rate so alarming, so impressive that if the ratio of Senegal's
musicians to the general public equalled their economic wealth in terms of per capita income, then she
would have easily qualified for the G8 Club. Too many musicians-with genres defying
classification-are beating a sound grid that's extremely powerful and diverse. In fact, there is so much
hope in Senegal's music that even the World Bank is investing.

It cannot be that Youssou alone occasioned all that downpour of art. He must however be credited
with bulldozing the thick forest that was music, and paving a world-class highway on which everyone
else is doing 100 km per hour.

Almost everywhere on the African continent music called home to a dusty back street, peopled by
women-courting-alcoholic-nobodies! Low, was their road. And their habits so perilous that they
almost always perished after one hit album, or two, at most. Summed up, the music industry suffered a
chronic lack of dignity and future.

Consequently, it was nobody's envy. People instead sent their sons and daughters to school to study
Law, Medicine, and the rest of the white-collar gamut, but definitely not Music. In fact, word has that
Youssou himself wrestled with his Dad in order to pursue his musical career. Of course, his father
couldn't have done otherwise, for he too wanted his son to be a productive, successful citizen, and not
the drug smacking, alcoholic type.

Twenty five years later, Youssou Ndour, in reply, told his father (Elhajj Elimane Ndour) that he had it
all wrong. Sometimes tenor, other times Suprano, he flexed his voice anyhow he liked. Backed by
African percussions (tamma and sabar) and European string instruments, the music rocked, and the
fans fell for it from one country to the other, like Domino! Bingo! He proved all that need be, and
broke all the records that were. For the first time in Senegal-and Africa for that matter-someone has
achieved holistic success from music.

By so doing, he has infused new blood into music. More importantly, he managed to bleach clean the
shame and backwardness associated with music. Thus, it's now ok to go study music up to university
level or pursue it informally, even if one is not a griot.

Honour and respect finally returned to an art ever since respectable but for too long dragged in the
mud. Youssou, by way of his skills and religious dedication to work, has finally set the standards, and
he himself a world-class specimen, inevitably.

Youssou The businessman-cum Manager
Making wealth is sometimes easier than managing it. The music industry, in particular, is replete with
artists who become millionaires at midday, bankrupt at mid-night. They do forget that wealth, no
matter its size, if not managed properly, will perish sooner than you ever thought. Here too, here again,
Youssou , in his characteristic defiance hallmark, said NO to going broke after accumulating wealth .

Unlike the west, making significant fortune from music is not easy in Africa. At least, not those
overnight millionaires from one platinum album or even Single. This is mostly because of lax or
non-existent copyright laws, poor marketing and wide spread poverty in general. To that end, while
their Western counterparts make it and lose it in no time, African musicians hardly make a fortune at
all. For the most part, they embark on music for the love of it or the griot-factor. On any given scale,
they live like average or upper middle-class families. Not Youssou Ndour.

In his string of firsts, Youssou count as one of the first-if not the first-African musician to build a
state-of-the-art recording studio, producing artists under the expertise of his all-round brother, Buba
Ndure. He also wields investment holdings in Mass Media (in the form of a radio station and
newspaper, and soon to be television station, I heard), real estate, and many more that are as
rewarding as his musical career. A journalist, I was told, once asked Youssou whether he was a
millionaire. He quipped, "In what currency?" Today, it shouldn't be unsafe to vouch that he is a
millionaire by any currency!

Perhaps his business may not be as insulated as his musical career. But even if his business follows the
normal cycles of business, there is still sufficient reason to salute his astute business investments as well
as the discipline that sustains it to date. Remember this is the man who started with corner street gigs
attended by a dozen or so people, and then onto Bercy (France) where close to twenty thousand
people, from every corner of the earth, converge every year for the Grand Bal. That alone sounds to
me quite a formidable business , and as he himself once couched it bufi yem mon sah mu neeh (even
if it were to cease now, mission accomplished).

The MC hammers, the Bobby Browns, the TLCs, the Toni Braxtons and the rest of the long list of
broke millionaires� wouldn't it be worth their while to fly into Senegal and find out what is that
Youssou Ndure is doing that they not doing or have not done. Among the many currencies they will
find in his possession , I predict, will be FULLAH AK FIEYDA (serious-minded/resolve). He has a
lot of that, and they too can have it without learning Wollof .

Youssou The Immortal
"A life has no meaning except on the impact it has on other lives," so said the first black man to be
inducted into baseball's hall of fame. In my small world, that sentence is so far the best definition of
immortality.

People who touch---positively or negatively-the lives of many others do eventually die like everyone
else, but their deeds live on. There is no gainsaying that many would prefer to be remembered kindly
for their outstanding contribution towards humanity. To this group belong scientists and engineers (the
Einsteins, Newtons, Daimlers and Wright brothers) Freedom fighters (the Mandelas and Ghandis)
sports personalities and artists (the Peles, Youssous, Picassos plus Holly Wood Hall of Fame.

There also are the Abachas and Hitlers who may not be forgotten but neither forgiven, for their
wounds still fester!

Friends aside, fans out, the world-especially Africa-has reasons to celebrate and express appreciation
to God for having created an inspirational figure like Youssou Ndour. Not that he is a saint, nor do I
intend to paint a personality cult around him as if he is a weakness-free human being, but am obliged
to concur with Titi in drawing the conclusion that he is a worthy ambassador not only of Senegal but
Africa and the rest of the globe, for he has all the credentials that make him exceptionally qualified.

In Youssou we see a hero who has been to the top of Kilimanjaro not with an airplane but by crawling
(remember his crystallized success is a result of quarter century of hardwork). That in itself is a pointer
to the old virtues of patience, deligence, and perseverance.

Wah Degah Yalla (truth be told), the man is a flagbearer. A benchmark. A hallmark. A
yardstick�..of excellence in and out of music, anyhow you define it! Having won music's most
prestigious award(Grammy); got appointed by UNICEF as Goodwill ambassador; got decorated with
every medal and important insignia in his country; got his name stitched in the French Dictionary (and
that's why Youssou is no longer a mere name, but also a word) in indelible ink; got Foundations
spawning for causes designed to uplift human kind; and contributed his quota to national development
through employment and foreign exchange generation, Youssou's biography is already thick.

On the music front, there is every reason to believe that an institution such as JOLOLI will be here
long after Youssou Ndour, because it is manned by highly educated, skilled, trained and dedicated
professionals. Am not talking about other Jololi artists, but Youssou alone has already created a bank
of songs whose colours, texture, and instrumentation suffice a doctoral dissertation.
Here now lies the record. It has peaked. It's immense, illustrious, immaculate and impressive. Thus,
inevitably immortal!

TOWARDS YUSURISM
I've no idea how the French Lexicographers entered and defined Youssou Ndour. I've however, set it
upon myself to do a thesaurus of Youssou. Determining the entry formats (whether polysemous
headwords or homonymous main or sub-entries, superscripted or not) and a host of other
grammatical or linguistic issues shall be set aside for another discuss. For now, find below five
derivatives of the word Youssou, as coined by this writer..

1. YUSUISM (Noun)1. A philosophy, idea or concept based on the ideals of Youssou
2. Movement to promote the works and values of Youssou
3.Any act of succeeding against the odds, especially when
disadvantaged by language or formal education like
Youssou Ndour.
2. YUSUYISTIC (Adjective). 1. Like Youssou Ndour or in the manner of Youssou
Ndour.
2. Something that sounds like Youssou Ndour
e.g. He has a Yusuyistic voice/ what a ~ feat!
3. YUSUNOMY (Noun) The study of Youssou Ndour and his works
e.g. She majors in ~
4. YUSUIST (Noun) 1. Follower, admirer, lover, supporter or fan of Youssou
Ndour and/ mbalax
2. Believer in Youssou Ndour and his ideals
3. Someone whose role model is Youssou Ndour or wants to be like him
e.g. She is a staunch ~ or ~ will be organising a concert tomorrow.

5. YUSU (verb) ~d (pt/pp) 1. To make or do as Youssou Ndour did with Mbalax
i.e. Internationalise or popularise a local product/concept
e.g. Cheray has now been yusud i.e made popular as an
internationally packaged cereal
We need to Yusu our businesses i.e. go international
I want to Yusu i.e. go big! Be a star! A success story

Artists like Beethoven, Baach, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelango, Picasso and others are the subject of
much research and revival in tertiary institutions. Their tenure, volume and richness of work is no
different from Youssou's, except that he is non-white, non-classical (except where it means
excellence), non-western, and more importantly singing in a language that's non lingua franca (National
or international language)

If, however, we have to wait for a professor from Sorbonne to come and set up a course in
YUSUNOMY at Cheikh Anta Diop University, then am afraid we have not yusud. Youssou and his
works (as well as the works of other equally distinguished African artists) should by now be the focus
of intense scholarly research and serious product development.

Yusuism, in closing, I want to believe will gather pace in the next few years. Schools, streets,
monuments, books, shirts, buildings��will bear his name. And it won't be done to please Youssou
but for the purpose of our heritage, and inspiration for our children. Which is why Youssou must never
forget he has a continental obligation.
He must not derail, puncture or soil in anyway what is entrusted him. He is one of the few Custodians
of a whole people's pride. Let the Youssous and Mandelas rise, sanity and glory shall be Africa's.

LU YAGA DEGALA (Whatever lasts long is true) so said the Wolofs. . Science says any theory that
withstands the test of time shall be canonized as Law. This Youssou Ndour and Super Etiole story
now constitute a pivot on which others rotate, much like the centrality of Newton's Laws to Physics. If
falsified, then everything else will unravel, off the hinges!

On anyone's watch, Quarter century at No.1 spot is long enough to earn one super star. Rest the
case, Youssou Magigain Ndour DEGA LA�Come again Mbye Gaye �.DEGA LA �..DEGA LA
��True!

.............................................................Breaking News
........... Point Director
.....Pap Saine Disappoints His Journalists
.............................By Solo, Banjul correspondent...........June18th, 2008
A young sports reporter at the Point Newspaper by the name of Mr. Ebou Manneh has received the
shock of his life recently when he wrote a story indicating that the new coach for the Scorpions Paul
Put was not happy with the ministry�s plans to hire a Gele-Gele to transport the Scorpions to Dakar
ahead of their match with Algeria.

According to sources at the Point Newspaper, Mr. Pap Saine, the Point Director who was not keen
in publishing the story not only dropped the story but called Mass Axi Gai, the Secretary of State for
Sports and told him what the boy wrote; but that he Pap Saine has dropped the story.

Sources close to the Point further indicate that the Secretary of State for Sports, Mass Axi Gai later
called the reporter Mr Ebou Manneh and accused him of being used by somebody to undermine him
Axi. Impeccable sources added that he told the young reporter that he is of age now because he is
over 56 years but did not stop there. He was said to have threatened the reporter as thus,� If anybody
is trying to kill me, I will kill you,� he told Ebou Manneh.

Sources further revealed that the big man later went to the young man�s father to ask for mediation
between him and the boy; that he wants bygones to be bygones.

Mr. Manneh who was visibly shaken by the threat was said to have notified the FA about the matter.

Information circulating among the media practitioners speaks unkindly of Mr. Pap Saine as Director
who should be the protector of all the journalists especially the young ones but has instead endeavored
to put the young man�s life and profession under threat by his exposure of an internal report which was
dropped. They said he should have known better than to stoop so low.

..............Dida Halake
...Detained for Insubordination after Demotion
....................................By Solo, Banjul correspondent...........June18th, 2008
The Managing Director of the Daily Observer Newspaper, Mr. Dida
Halake, was arrested on Saturday, 14th of June, 2008 and detained at
the Kotu Police station for two nights. He was said to have been
transferred to the Police headquarters in Banjul on Monday, 16th June,
where he was questioned, advised and released without bail or charge.

Mr. Halake's problems were said to have arisen when he was informed
that Nene Mcdoual Gaye, the former Information Secretary of State,
has replaced him as Managing Director of the Daily Observer company
and that he, Dida, is only to retain the position of Editor in Chief, one of
the two he previously held. He was said to have resisted verbally to the
proprietor of the company, Mr. Amadou Samba, who then must have
tipped the IGP, who came with ten senior police officers, leading to his
immediate arrest and detention at the Kotu Police station.

According to my informant close to the Observer Company, Mr. Halake was also complaining that
Mr Amadou Samba came to collect a huge amount of cash which he took away without any
accountability.

Mr. Halake, in his short time as Managing Director of the Daily Observer,
placed himself in a controversial position and took the mantle of defending
the Jammeh regime with fierce ferocity not reminiscent of media bosses.
He went on to dismiss a young freelance reporter for accepting the position
of an executive member of the Gambia Press Union. He also went on the
offensive against all media houses, journalists and executives who subscribe
to the press union and branded the GPU as the Gambia political union.

Mr. Halake did not stop at the media personnel. He constantly criticize opposition politicians by
insinuation in his Dr. Owl's corner, issues that he thinks would tarnish them and promote president
Jammeh. Many thought perhaps he was doing that so that he could get closer to the Gambian leader
so as to accrue more benefits.

This reporter sounded the feelings of media practitioners on his arrest and detention but most of them
expressed little or no sympathy for him. Some called him a puppet whilst others called him a slave, yet
still others called him a month piece or termed him as an apologist of the Jammeh oligarchy.

In another development, a young Foroyaa reporter, Mr Saikou Ceesay who went to Mr. Halake at
the Kotu police station to confirm his arrest on Sunday got himself arrested when the police saw in his
hands a recorder while chatting with Halake. He spent the rest of the night at the station and released
on bail the following morning, Monday 16th. He is yet to be charged but was asked to be reporting to
the police station.

............................................BREAKING NEWS
...............NDAM
....External Wing Resigns From The Party
.................................................June16th, 2008
On May 30th, 2008, we the external wing of the National Democratic
Action Movement (NDAM) tendered our collective resignation from
NDAM to the Secretary General, Lamin Waa Juwara.

This was a difficult decision on our side, given the principles upon which
we cultivated our comradeship and the potential that constantly struggled
to rise above the constraints of the lack of resources to contend with the
"status quo" at the genuine service of the people of Gambia. We are
under no illusions about the urgent need to change the wretched conditions
of Gambia's existence.

We deemed it highly principled to make our decision public information to be followed by a detailed
analysis of our opinion and position relating to Gambia's future.

Our action was as a consequence of unresolved internal contradictions within the movement due to
circumstances beyond our control, which were further compounded by distance; which became our
enemy.

We expressed our heartfelt gratitude to our brother Waa Juwara for not being a spectator when we
needed an ally to resist the blatant abrogation of our democratic rights by the AFPRC-APRC regime.

We know what he endured since these "tin soldiers" stormed into our lives and continue to perfect the
"government of patronage" with the clear intent of eroding our social fortitude to resist and challenge
tyranny and the political madness that pervades African life.

We assured Waa Juwara that, we don't make disposable friends; that there is no love lost but the
resistance must continue. We hope our paths will cross again in the struggle to liberate Africa, the only
logical conclusion to our freedom.

.........................................'TIL VICTORY ALWAYS!
Soffie Ceesay
Omar Joof
Mbaye Sarr
Ousainou Mbenga

.....GAMBIA SCORPIONS IN HIGH GEAR
...................By Solo, Banjul correspondent..................June 16th, 2008
Gambia�s National team, the Scorpions has not only humbled the Desert Warriors of Algeria 1-nil at
the Independence Stadium in Bakau on Saturday 11th June 2008 ascending them to first place of
Group-six but sent a signal to Senegal and Liberia that they have now turned a new leaf.

The scorpions drew with Liberia 1-1, drew with Senegal 0-O but beat Algeria to take the first place
pass Senegal in the group, making the Gambian fans thrilled once again. The win against Algeria has
boosted the morale of both players and fans alike and placed the team in a comfortable position to
fight on to qualify to either the World or Africa Cup of Nations in Angola in 2010.

The fact that the scorpions failed to sting the wounded Teranga Lions at home who were minus one
due to a red card, made many fans to lose hope, but they did stung the Algerians and played them in
such a way that all skeptics are now convinced that they are a team to be reckoned with.

The scorpions are going to play Algeria on Friday 20th June in Blida, Algeria. The hypothesis is that if
Gambia manages a draw in Algeria and defeat Liberia on home ground, then the possibility of
qualifying straight away is there.

The scorpions� morale was boosted by the inclusion of Ousman Jallow of Al-Ain in the United Arab
Emirates, goal keeper Bajaha of Sweden and Pa Modou jagne of FC WILL IN Switzerland,
replacing Pa Saikou Kujabi who was under suspension for two yellow cards at Liberia and the game
with Senegal in Gambia. It will be difficult to say that the team�s resurgence is due to the entry of
Ousman Jallow but his participation certainly showed the lay man that the team has been injected with
new blood. His insistence to penetrate the opponent�s defense threatened the Algerians that they had
to stop him by all means and that was what earned him the penalty. It is this penalty kick which was
effectively converted by Mustapha Jarju alias Tubabo into an only and winning goal of these seemingly
small but poisonous scorpions.

So as it stands, the scorpions should maintain their comfortable position by either defeating the Desert
warriors in their own backyard or keep them at bay through a draw and use the supportive home
crowd advantage to mercilessly sting the Liberian lone stars in Banjul.

This and this alone would maintain them in their lead to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nation in Angola
in 2010 and pave their way to possibly qualify to the World Cup in South Africa 2010 without any
controversy. Can they? They said they can. Nothing is impossible.

In another development Senegal drew 2-2 with Liberia in Monrovia on Sunday,15th June putting them
in slight lead ahead of Gambia in Group six by a goal difference. Senegal scored three goals and
concedes two while Gambia scored two goals and concedes one.

......Opposition Newspaper Journalist Detained Overnight
....................................By MFWA................June 16th, 2008
Saikou Ceesay, a reporter with the Banjul-based opposition Foroyaa newspaper was on June 15,
2008 arrested and detained overnight in Kotu Police Station in Kombo province, about 11 kilometres
South/West of Banjul ,capital of Gambia.

Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sources reported that Ceesay was arrested at the police
station while investigating the arrest and detention of pro-government Daily Observer managing
director, Dida Halake.

The sources said the journalist was taken to the Serious Crime Unit at the police headquarters in
Banjul the following day, where he was interrogated before being released on bail.

Even though he has not been charged with any offence, Ceesay had been asked to report to the police
on June 17.

Ceesay was reported to have been harassed and insulted while in detention. Meanwhile the Daily
Observer's managing director had also been granted bail.
...........................................
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